Tuesday, October 26, 2004
John Peel: A Legend
I woke up shattered again and it was a real struggle to get out of bed. The cold mornings aren’t helping and the clocks will soon go back making it even darker, but I also blame The Soprano’s for being shown so late on a Monday night!!
I finished off sending the last of my press releases so fingers crossed someone takes an interest somewhere. Got to keep plugging away and put I the effort otherwise I’m never going to get out of here.
Received some extremely sad news in the afternoon. John Peel died suddenly today while on a working holiday in Peru with his wife. He was 65. John was one of the original founders of BBC’s Radio 1 and it was his love for music and determination to give bands a chance from all obscurities that made him such a well-loved and respected figure. His crumbling tones emanating from the radio in between tracks not only displayed his huge passion for new and forward thinking music, but provided a soundtrack for generations of radio and music lovers across the UK.
He was responsible for initiating The Peel Sessions, where recordings would be made of unsigned and new bands in a studio and broadcast in the quest for airtime when they had no records to be played. Many famous artists played these sessions, or were introduced to the world by John, including my favourite band, Madness. It was this session that helped to broaden the market appeal of the band before they were a finished product, and as a sign of how much the recording is still valued today, only the most dedicated of collectors have a copy of it after being released several years ago. I have one, and since John’s death the value of that one rough recording has surely quadrupled in value.
Rest in peace John, and thank you for your dedication to music – you have left a legacy like no other.
John Peel: 1939-2004
Read more on John Peel
I was referred to a nice application from a journo friend who had a requirement to create PDF files. Adobe charge a fortune for their in-house editor, but OpenOffice can create PDF files for free and has some wonderful graphics capabilities. This will be very useful for creating professional fliers, websites and other promotional stuff. Just what I have been looking for.
Tomorrow is the day of the coffee morning with the corporate big-wigs. If anyone remembers, this caused much turmoil in my mind before I finally came to a decision about whether or not to attend, but the prospect of meeting an old pal for lunch after it and the opportunity to use the setting in a story somewhere were the persuasive factors. Except, the sole in my left shoe has burst and I do not have time to get new ones before then. So, I will walk into the boardroom with my less than pristine trousers on, burst shoe, unbuttoned shirt with the tie loosened at the top. And I don’t care.
Issues 22 and 23 of HJ are coming on, and I finished off two short stories that have been languishing in my ‘almost ready for submission’ pile.
I finished off sending the last of my press releases so fingers crossed someone takes an interest somewhere. Got to keep plugging away and put I the effort otherwise I’m never going to get out of here.
Received some extremely sad news in the afternoon. John Peel died suddenly today while on a working holiday in Peru with his wife. He was 65. John was one of the original founders of BBC’s Radio 1 and it was his love for music and determination to give bands a chance from all obscurities that made him such a well-loved and respected figure. His crumbling tones emanating from the radio in between tracks not only displayed his huge passion for new and forward thinking music, but provided a soundtrack for generations of radio and music lovers across the UK.
He was responsible for initiating The Peel Sessions, where recordings would be made of unsigned and new bands in a studio and broadcast in the quest for airtime when they had no records to be played. Many famous artists played these sessions, or were introduced to the world by John, including my favourite band, Madness. It was this session that helped to broaden the market appeal of the band before they were a finished product, and as a sign of how much the recording is still valued today, only the most dedicated of collectors have a copy of it after being released several years ago. I have one, and since John’s death the value of that one rough recording has surely quadrupled in value.
Rest in peace John, and thank you for your dedication to music – you have left a legacy like no other.
John Peel: 1939-2004
Read more on John Peel
I was referred to a nice application from a journo friend who had a requirement to create PDF files. Adobe charge a fortune for their in-house editor, but OpenOffice can create PDF files for free and has some wonderful graphics capabilities. This will be very useful for creating professional fliers, websites and other promotional stuff. Just what I have been looking for.
Tomorrow is the day of the coffee morning with the corporate big-wigs. If anyone remembers, this caused much turmoil in my mind before I finally came to a decision about whether or not to attend, but the prospect of meeting an old pal for lunch after it and the opportunity to use the setting in a story somewhere were the persuasive factors. Except, the sole in my left shoe has burst and I do not have time to get new ones before then. So, I will walk into the boardroom with my less than pristine trousers on, burst shoe, unbuttoned shirt with the tie loosened at the top. And I don’t care.
Issues 22 and 23 of HJ are coming on, and I finished off two short stories that have been languishing in my ‘almost ready for submission’ pile.
Colin 11:38 pm