John Peel - would reggae have taken off in the UK without him?

[sean]

i used to go in murrays muzic city in manchester, the vibes were ok to very good. the man Murray was very impressed that a little white bwoy was so into the man Scientist

[bmd]

I think it would have, but he undoubtedly had a major influence.. i recall listening to my first exposure of this music with a little transistor radio glued to my ear as a kid... for sure..

[Jackie P]

Believe it or not but Tony Blackburn played a lot of those UK special reggae-with-added-strings singles a few years before John Peel got the Jamaican music bug. The difference being Peel played the Ja import roots sounds on national radio before anyone else (I think!).

[Jackie P]

Ooops - Peter Levi has already covered these points more accurately earlier in the thread.

[6anbatte]

What is happening to his collection though?

This has just come out "John Peel - Right Time Wrong Speed: 1977-1987" and has the following reggae tracks on it -
Man Kind - Misty In Roots
Ku Klux Klan - Steel Pulse
All Wi Doin' Is Defendin - Poet & The Roots

And that's it.

An album called "Anthology Of American Folk Music" was released in the 60's spanning 12 albums and contained THE rarest American Roots music from the personal collection of a guy called Harry Smith.

(You can now get it as a 6 CD box set.)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_m_h ... =7&Go.y=15

Harry actually approached the Library Of Congress with this suggestion.

Surely similar could be done with John Peel's reggae collection.

Is there anyone out out there who knows how to approach this?

[Snow Leopard]

I think I still have a tape of a Culture Peel session from about 1982. The BBC producers always aimed for a 'live' sound, this often gave a better rendition than commercial recordings which can tend to get over-produced IMO.

The British Library (www.bl.uk) have a massive sound archive already - it would be good if the Peel collection was saved for the nation. Anyone can use the library, although you have to pay for a 'Friend' membership for access to some archives.

[6anbatte]

Thanks Snow Leopard. I'll check that out.

[medusah]

You Brits and BBC radioheads are lucky lucky lucky to have been there! Without the UK Reggae/Punk connection, I would have never known any reggae beyond major label artists Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, and Johnny Nash. Producer Don Letts, the Clash, The Slits, Jah Wobble and PIL, The Basement 5, Stiff Little Fingers, The Police, New Age Steppers, Nina Hagen, and a whole bunch more artists from that scene got exported to US college radio stations because of the Peel sessions making them well known beyond the south of England. Then, that turned us American kids on to a huge amount of small label stuff we'd have never known about. Everyone started a band! But, isn't it funny that the UK kids credit Patti Smith and the Ramones for bringing punk to England! And Patti Smith played reggae, smoked ganja, and pursued Rastafari. Always a circle. We are all one.

[6anbatte]

Hi Medusah

I have to agree with you! Wonderful times. I was 18 in 1977 and, being totally music and gig mad, I really did think I had died and gone to heaven. Thankfully, I did go and see as many bands as I possibly could.

[MightyZ]

Although I understand that reggae (and formerly ska and rocksteady) had already a following in the UK prior to the late 70's peel shows, it was a session on John Peel that really confirmed my route into Roots Reggae - He played 3 tracks by Culture, one of which was Behold - this was the turning point for me.