Umm Kulthum

Umm Kulthum (Egyptian Arabic: أم كلثوم‎‎ ), born Fātimah ʾIbrāhīm as-Sayyid al-Biltāǧī (فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي) on an uncertain date (December 31, 1898, or May 4, 1904[1]) and who died February 3, 1975, was an internationally famous Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title Kawkab al-Sharq كوكب الشرق ("Planet of the East") in Arabic. Known for her extraordinary vocal ability and style, Umm Kulthum was one of the most influential Arab singers of the 20th century and is arguably the single most prominent Arab woman in Contemporary history.

Links To Peel
Peel reviewed two of her albums in 1969 on the underground magazine, International Times (IT 54, 1969-04-11 p.13), where he described all the tracks as  'seven really incredible performances'  on the Twinkling Star album and recommended the second LP, Light On The Desert, as the  'one you MUST hear'. He described her sound as very moving and appreciated it as an instrument, plus mentioned her voice as quite astonishing.

Peel certainly would have played her records on his Top Gear show in the 60's, but doesn't seem to play it much after. His record collection after his death confirms the two albums of Umm Kulthum he kept, where he reviewed them for the International Times.

Shows Played
1969
 * Unknown