Autographed Beatles Albums, Letters From David Bowie and Freddie Mercury: John Peel’s Astonishing Archives Go Up for Auction
variety.comJem Aswad Senior Music EditorFor those who don’t know, the late, legendary, longtime BBC Radio DJ John Peel was one of the most influential and important people in British music from the 1960s through his death in 2004.He arose in the mid-1960s as the BBC was forced to modernize its programming, and for the next four decades, he played a vital and arguably peerless role in just about every wave of contemporary music, from psychedelia through punk and Britpop and electronic music.
His incredible taste is reflected in the list of artists whose careers he supercharged with his many radio shows and “Peel Sessions,” from Pink Floyd through Rod Stewart, T.
Rex and David Bowie to countless punk, new wave, shoegaze, grindcore and other artists. While his reputation has been tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse, his influence on popular music is vast and undeniable.
And some 18 years after his death, dozens of precious items from his archives are being auctioned off by Bonhams — and the catalog is a museum exhibit in itself (check it out here).
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