You'll Never Walk Alone

As a staunch supporter of Liverpool football team, Peel had a special place in his heart for the song most closely associated with the club. You'll Never Walk Alone was played at both his wedding in 1974 and at his funeral 30 years later.

Originally written for the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel, the Anfield anthem was adopted by fans on the Kop terrace shortly after a cover version by Merseybeat band Gerry & The Pacemakers reached number one in the UK charts in 1963.

The recorded version that seemed to appeal most to Peel was a live crowd rendition that appeared on The Kop Choir LP released in 1972. Seven years later, on the night of his 40th birthday, the DJ played the track as a bonus after counting down the 40 records he would like to hear at his birthday party and described the addition as “the best record of the lot.” In 1983, introducing the song on My Top Ten, Peel referred to the Kop Choir as “the greatest group on Earth.” The match recording, a regular feature of Peel's live DJ sets, appeared on the DJ’s [http://www.discogs.com/John-Peel-FabricLive-07/release/79510 FabricLive. 07] compilation, released in 2002.

A host of artists produced session versions of the song, including a reprise of their hit by Gerry & The Pacemakers in 1972 and a string of covers in spring 1982, when the DJ asked all his guests to attempt the song as part of an eventually abandoned album project. Peel also featured a Kop version of the song on his shows as part of the track Fearless from Pink Floyd's 1971 album Meddle.

In less happy times, Peel would choose an Aretha Franklin performance of You’ll Never Walk Alone to play on his first radio show following the Hillsborough stadium disaster in April 1989, when 96 Liverpool fans died. On 15 April 1999, he played the same version on his show again to mark the tenth anniversary of the tragedy.

Session Versions
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 * Cover Project
 * Ju Ju: (first broadcast 27 April 1982]
 * Crabs: (first broadcast 03 May 1982
 * Shambeko Say Wah: (two versions) (first broadcast 18 May 1982)
 * Endgames: (first broadcast 26 May 1982)
 * Gymslips: (first broadcast 20 May 1982)
 * Diagram Brothers: (first broadcast 22 July 1982)
 * Amazulu: (first broadcast 07 July 1982)
 * Kevin Coyne: (first broadcast 08 July 1982)
 * Three Johns: (first broadcast 10 August 1982)


 * Other session versions
 * Gerry & The Pacemakers
 * Melys

Other Show Plays

 * WORK ONGOING
 * WORK ONGOING

Links

 * Wikipedia