John Peel Wiki

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John Peel Wiki
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Family

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(This page is about the Leicester band. For the Bristol band of the same name, see Family(2)).
Roger_Chapman_and_FAMILY_1969

Roger Chapman and FAMILY 1969

Dim

Family were an English rock band, formed in Leicester in 1966. They came to London in 1967 and gained a contract with Reprise Records, for whom they recorded a series of albums before splitting up in 1973. Family were one of the most accomplished, popular and critically acclaimed bands to come out of the 1967-68 London "underground" scene, gigging regularly on the British club and college circuit and enjoying some commercial success, but unlike many of their contemporaries they never managed to win a large audience in the United States.

A fuller account of Family's career can be found at Wikipedia.

Links to Peel[]

FAMILY_Glastonbury_Festival_1971

FAMILY Glastonbury Festival 1971

Glastonbury Festival 1971

Family were among Peel's favourite late 1960s artists and his affection for them remained, long after he had lost interest in most of the music he had played in that era. He seemed to see them as down-to-earth provincials, free from the London underground trendiness and snobbery which so dismayed him. They gained a reputation by gigging in London during 1967, and did their first Top Gear session in November of that year. Peel previewed their first single in his International Times column of 5 October 1967 ("There is a nice record forthcoming from the Family (A Tony Hall Enterprise)..."[1]), attended the launch party for their debut single at the trendy London nightclub Sybilla's on 1 November 1967 (pictures here and here) and became a staunch supporter of the band. One of his wishes for 1969, expressed in his column in the I January 1969 issue of International Times, was "May the Family appear on Television" [2] - and indeed they appeared on How Late It Is later that year.

Peel expressed a liking for singers with what he described as "extreme voices". Family's lead singer Roger Chapman could be placed in this category, with his throaty, sometimes harsh voice and an odd, bleating vibrato which at times sounded as if he was gargling.

As Sheila Ravenscroft recalls in Margrave Of The Marshes (p.286), Roger Chapman was one of the guests at Peel's wedding.

After Family split up, Chapman and Charlie Whitney formed Chapman-Whitney Streetwalkers (later known simply as Streetwalkers), who did four sessions for Peel, between 1974 and 1977.

Festive Fifty Entries[]

Peelenium[]

Sessions[]

"Second Generation Woman", "Dim" and "Observations From A Hill" from session #4, session #5 except for "Bring it on Home", and all of session #6 available on "BBC Radio Volume 1 1968 – 69" (2004, Hux Records), first two tracks of session #7 available on "BBC Radio Volume 3 1970" (2009, Hux Records) and sessions #8 and #9 available on "BBC Radio Volume 2 1971 – 73" (2004, Hux Records). Session #9 was also previously released on "The Peel Sessions" (1988, Strange Fruit).

All the tracks above plus "Scene Through The Eye Of A Lens", "The Breeze" and "Winter" from session #1, session #2, "Processions", "The Weaver's Answer" and "Me My Friend" from session #3, "How-Hi-The-Li" from session #4, "Bring it on Home" from session #5 and "Good New Bad News" from session #7 available on "At The BBC" (2018, Madfish). #7 available in full on Anyway: Remastered & Expanded Edition ((Esoteric, 2023).

1. Recorded: 1967-11-20. First Broadcast: 26 November 1967 (presented by Peel and Tommy Vance). Repeated: 24 December 1967 (presented by Peel and Vance). 

  • Peace Of Mind / Scene Through The Eye Of A Lens / Voyage / The Breeze / Winter

2. Recorded: 1968-04-16. First Broadcast: 21 April 1968. Repeated: 26 May 1968.

  • See Through Windows / Hey Mr. Policeman / 3 X Time / Old Songs New Songs

3. Recorded: 1968-07-29. First Broadcast: 04 August 1968. Repeated: 15 September 1968.

  • Processions / The Weaver's Answer / Me My Friend / 3 X Time / The Breeze (first broadcast 15 September 1968)

4. Recorded: 1968-11-11. First Broadcast: 24 November 1968. Repeated: 05 January 1969.

  • Dim / Second Generation Woman / How-Hi-The-Li / Observations From A Hill / Hometown (first broadcast 05 January 1969)

5. Recorded: 1969-03-11. First Broadcast: 30 March 1969 Repeated: 27 April 1969, 09 October 1973.

  • Love In A Sleeper / I Sung 'Em The Way I Feel / Bring It On Home / A Song For Me

6. Recorded: 1969-07-28. First Broadcast: 03 August 1969. Repeated: 01 November 1969, 22 September 1975 (penultimate Top Gear).

  • Drowned In Wine / Wheels / No Mule’s Fool / The Cat And The Rat

7. Recorded: 1970-08-10. First Broadcast: 05 September 1970. Repeated 05 December 1970.

  • Holding The Compass / Lives And Ladies / Good News - Bad News

8. Recorded: 1971-07-02. First Broadcast: 17 July 1971. Repeated: 06 October 1971

  • Save Some For Thee / Burning Bridges / In My Own Time / Seasons

9. Recorded: 1973-05-08. First Broadcast: 22 May 1973. Repeated 31 July 1973, 09 October 1973.

  • Buffet Tea For Two / Boom Bang / Check Out
Chapman-Whitney Streetwalkers / Streetwalkers

Four sessions. Tracks marked * released on I'm Walking, Complete Streetwalkers 1974-77 15xCD boxset, 2016 (Madfish).

1. Recorded 1974-06-27. First broadcast 04 July 1974, repeated 01 August 1974

  • Tokyo Rose* / Hangman* / Roxyanna* / Systematic Stealth* / Get Out Of My Life Woman*

2. Recorded 1975-08-21. First broadcast 28 August 1975, repeated 15 October 1975.

  • Burn It Down / Toenail Draggin'* / Crawfish*

3. Recorded 1976-06-08. First broadcast 18 June 1976. Repeated: 26 July 1976

  • Daddy Rolling Stone* / Run For Cover* / Me Me Horse And Me Rum*

4. Recorded 1977-03-14. First broadcast 11 April 1977. Repeated: 03 May 1977, 09 June 1977

  • Chilli Con Carrne / Mama Was Mad / Crazy Charade

Live[]

  • 04 January 1970: Recorded 1970-01-01. First Peel concert show. Singer Roger Chapman was hit by flu, so the band were forced to reduce the length of their set and Tyrannosaurus Rex were added to the bill. Available on "BBC Radio Volume 3 1970" (2009, Hux Records) and  "At The BBC" (2018, Madfish)
  1. Love Is a Sleeper
  2. Stop for the Traffic
  3. 93’s OK J
  4. Song for Sinking lovers
  5. Here Comes The Grin
  1. Good News - Bad News
  2. Drowned In Wine
  3. Wheels
  4. Processions/No Mule’s Fool
  5. Holding The Compass
  6. Lives And Ladies
  7. Strange Band
  8. The Weaver’s Answer
  9. Blow By Blow
  1. Good News - Bad News
  2. Spanish Tide
  3. Part of the Load
  4. Drowned in Wine
  5. Holding The Compass
  6. Between Blue and Me
  7. Children
  8. In My Own Time
  9. Take Your Partners
  10. The Weaver's Answer

Other Shows Played[]

(The following list was compiled only from the database of this site and is incomplete. Please add more information if known.)

1967
1968
1969
1970
1972
1973
1975
1976
1977
1978
1980
1981
1982
1983
1988
1990
1992
1993
1994
1996
1997
1999
2003
2004
Chapman-Whitney Streetwalkers / Streetwalkers

See Also[]

External Links[]

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