Leeds

Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in Yorkshire's West Riding, the history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the name referred to a wooded area of the Kingdom of Elmet. The name has been applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small manorial borough in the 13th century, through several incarnations, to being the name attached to the present metropolitan borough. In the 17th and 18th centuries Leeds became a major centre for the production and trading of wool. Then, during the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a major mill town; wool was the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing, and other industries were important. From being a compact market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century Leeds expanded and absorbed the surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the mid-20th century.

Links To Peel
Leeds was one of the cities where Peel did his roadshows. In one roadshow in 1985, he met David Gedge of the Wedding Present who sent him a tape of the band. Gedge recalled the meeting on This Is Your Life:

"One of the first times I actually pressed one of my grubby tapes into your palm was when you did a disco in Ilkley. I traveled up from Leeds to come and see you and eventually plucked up the courage. And you were actually I think more interested in how I was going to get home, because I think the trains had all finished or the buses, and you said, “How are you getting back?” I said, “I don’t know, I never thought about that actually.” You said, “I’ll give you a lift.” I said, “You can’t give me a lift, you’re going completely the wrong way.” And in the end, you actually got me in your car, you sent me all the way home, dropped me off at my door … I’ll never forget it, because I think obviously (inaudible), you’re very important in British culture and pop music and stuff, but to me, ultimately you’re a great bloke. And that’s more important than anything else.”

On another roadshow in Leeds, Peel also met for the first time Andy Kershaw, who recalled along with Peel in the Independent, published in 1995, on how they met each other:

JOHN PEEL: Andy has some memory of seeing me when I was doing a roadshow at Leeds University. I think it was one of about four gigs I did where I'd play lots of music that nobody liked very much. People would stand around looking glum and slightly puzzled. The first time I really remember him was up at another gig in Leeds some years later. He asked me if I wanted to stay at his flat. Usually I go to the nearest Novotel, but I thought: no, I'll be more sociable. So I went back to this block of flats which seemed to be full of mainly old people. It was about 1am and all I wanted to do was go to bed. Andy flung the door open and said: "Hi there, come on in. We're having a jamboree." I've never forgotten the word jamboree - it still makes my blood run cold. I walked in and there were about 20 people clutching banjos, guitars and concertinas. Because it was so late, I said: "What about the other people in the block?" He replied in a typical Andy way - sort of selfish but generous at the same time - "It'll dothem good to hear our music." And I thought, Jesus, 100 people strumming banjos at this time in the morning. After that, our paths began to cross regularly after he joined Radio 1 and shared an office with John Walters and I.

ANDY KERSHAW: I first saw John doing one of his roadshows at Leeds University. He wouldn't remember me because I was just another spotty student. My memory is of going into this virtually empty hall in the student union. There was this rather portly middle-aged chap with a beard standing on the stage, blinking under the spotlights, while the din of his records was booming around the room. It was an intimidating atmosphere with this one man saying nothing between record changes. I never saw the days of the John Peel roadshow, when he used to to play the whole side of a Pink Floyd album, but I'm told that was even more surreal. From the ageof 14 onwards, I would listen religiously to his programmes. I was entertainment secretary at the university, and used to book concerts on the basis of what he recommended. The first time we actually met was at the end of 1984, when I had to interview him for the Old Grey Whistle Test. I remember feeling concerned that he might be precious, hostile or even nervous. But I found out within about 10 seconds that what you see and hear with John is what you get. About a year later, I invited him to my flat in Leeds after he'd done another one of his gigs. There were a lot of musicians strumming away on banjos and guitars in the lounge. I think he has this nightmarish memory of "the night when Andy tried to entertain me".