Stowmarket

Stowmarket is a small market town in Suffolk. In the UK census of 2011, the town had a population of 19,280.

Links With Peel
Stowmarket is the nearest town to Peel Acres, the Ravenscroft family home in Great Finborough. Stowmarket itself is situated about 3 miles to the east of the village.

In April 1989 Peel attended his first football match since witnessing the Heysel stadium tragedy in 1985. The game was a 1-1 draw between Stowmarket and Histon (10 April 1989).

In March 1997 Peel was invited to unveil a plaque at the ceremonial opening of a resource centre in the town for people with mental and physical disabilities. During the ceremony, the local dignitary compering the event forgot his name (17 March 1997 (BFBS)).

John Peel Centre for Creative Arts
The John Peel Centre for Creative Arts opened in 2010 in the former Corn Exchange building in Stowmarket. Refurbishment continued over the next few years, with funding sources that included a £50,000 National Lottery grant. This work was completed in 2013.

Featured Bands
Peel was a keen supporter of local talent and often expressed something akin to paternalistic pride in their achievements. Having featured several bands from neighbouring Bury St Edmunds in his programme, he often expressed a desire to showcase talent closer to home: "I yearn for the day when I can introduce you to the Stowmarket sound" he had said on 18 July 2001. Electronic artiste Cowcube was perhaps the first from the town to feature on the Peel show. Although three Cowcube sessions were aired, these were recorded privately in the artiste's own studio. The first Stowmarket band to record a session in the traditional manner were the Vaults in 2002. They appeared to be particular favourites of the DJ, with Peel claiming on 16 January 2003:

“I couldn't be more proud of them if they were my own children, which blood tests have shown they are not."

(Please add to this list if known)
 * Cowcube (2000-03) (3 sessions)
 * Vaults (2002-04) (3 sessions plus a live Maida Vale set)

(Related page: Bury St Edmunds)

Mentioned On Shows

 * 10 September 1979: Peel mentions that before they built the by-pass, the town used to crop up in motoring reports because lorries got stuck in the main street.
 * 18 December 1992: Peel says that one of the few times he's ever danced in his life was when dragged onto the dance floor by a woman at a darts club dinner in Stowmarket (to a Whitney Houston record, to his shame).
 * 03 February 1996 (BFBS): Complains that the cinema in Stowmarket doesn't screen new films when first released.
 * 16 May 1997 (BFBS): After watching ice hockey on a television in the studio: "Aggravated assault that is to me. If you did that on the streets of Stowmarket on a Friday night, you'd be looking at a two-year sentence."
 * 07 July 1999: Peel mentions that Stowmarket has no record shops.
 * 16 May 2000: Following a trailer for the Love Parade festival in Leeds: "We're thinking about doing a love parade through the streets of Stowmarket but I don't think we'd get away with it."
 * 15 January 2002: When walking through the crowded streets of Groningen: "It's a bit like Stowmarket I suppose, on a Friday or Saturday night."

Links

 * John Peel Centre for Creative Arts


 * References