John Peel Wiki

Changes to the look of John Peel Wiki will take place in the near future due to a new skin being rolled out over Oct/Nov across Wikia. Please see the Wikia Staff Blog for further details. On this site, the changes will affect the navigation from the left menu, as well as introduce a fixed page width with narrower content space. Please be patient while adjustments are made for the switch to the new system.

UPDATE: As the change is now in force for some users, I have switched the navigation to the simplified one for the new system. Please check Navigation in the Help section if you can't find things. I also initially made small adjustments to the front page layout, but have now reverted to the old look until all users are on the new system.

COUNTDOWN: Just a reminder for people still using Monaco that the final switch to the new skin is due on Nov. 3. After that, it will no longer be offered as an option. Sorry. Nothing to do with me.

Steve W

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John Peel Wiki
(This page covers both The Caretaker and other projects involving James Leyland Kirby, including V/Vm. For the alternative rock band of the same name, see Caretaker(2))
Caretaker

The Caretaker was a long-running project by electronic musician James Leyland Kirby, who also recorded as V/Vm. His work under the Caretaker moniker has been characterized as exploring memory, nostalgia, and melancholia. Initially the project was inspired by the haunted ballroom scene in the 1980 horror movie 'The Shining', the 1978 TV show 'Pennies From Heaven', and 1962 horror movie 'Carnival Of Souls', with his first several releases consisting of treated and manipulated samples of '30s ballroom pop recordings.

His works have received critical acclaim in publications such as The Wire and BBC Music, and the project was a favourite of BBC Radio DJ John Peel.

The project would end in March 14th, 2019 with Stage 6 of 'Everywhere At The End Of Time' that started in September 22nd, 2016.

(Read more at Wikipedia.)

Links to Peel[]

John Peel played numerous tracks from the Caretaker albums 'A Stairway To The Stars' (2002) and 'We'll All Go Riding On A Rainbow' (2003), which also both featured in his monthly Record Box selections for the BBC website, perhaps drawn by their echoes of pre-war discs from his show's Pig's Big 78 slot. While no Caretaker tracks reached the Festive Fifty during the DJ's lifetime, the second decade of the 21st century saw a fresh series of releases and F50 entries on Dandelion Radio yearly charts.

As well as material put out under the Caretaker moniker, Peel also played often disturbing cover versions by James Leyland Kirby under other aliases, notably V/Vm. In 2012, the V/Vm album 'Masters Of The Absurd' (2000) was among the 100 albums by artists beginning with V when details of Peel’s record collection were initially released via TheSpace website. (See Record Collection: V.) The LP was subsequently featured as the "Hidden Gem" for the letter V at the John Peel Archive blog. [1]

Festive Fifty Entries[]

Sessions[]

  • None

Other Shows Played[]

2002
The_Caretaker_—_A_Stairway_to_the_Stars_(_Full_Album_)

The Caretaker — A Stairway to the Stars ( Full Album )

2003
V/Vm
Vm_–_The_Lady_In_Red_(Is_Dancing_With_Meat)

Vm – The Lady In Red (Is Dancing With Meat)

  • 07 June 2001: Sick Love Has Torn Me Apart (I Blame Tony Wilson) (Sick Love Will Tear Us Apart (7") white label) (JP: "You can admire that intellectually but you have to say that regular exposure to it would kind of... it's the sound of nausea really isn't it? It's a very strange and unnerving sound. The sound of food poisoning perhaps.")
  • 30 April 2003: The Lady in Red (LP - Sick Love) Offal
  • May 2003 (FSK): The Lady In Red (Is Dancing With Meat) (CD - Sick-Love) V/Vm Test
  • 14 December 2004 (Rob Da Bank): Jack O Diamonds (CDR) white label
Rasherford & Binson
  • 28 September 1999: Solid (2xCD - AuralOffalWaffleTenPintsOfBitterAndABagOfPorkScratchings: 52 Fast Moving Tracks) V/Vm Test
Billy Ray Cyrix
  • 15 October 2003: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Mini CD - Achy Breaky Hard Drive) V/Vm Test (JP: "Sounded more like 'Rag Mama Rag' to me, but then what do I know?")

See Also[]

External Links[]