Ian The Tank Engine (real name: Ian McFee) is originally from Bury but lives in Nottingham and was a close friend of Peel from the 60's, when he corresponded with the DJ on Radio London in 1967. He became his friend when Peel started on BBC Radio One, until his death.
Peel would often mention Ian's name on his shows and once dedicated a full programme to him on his birthday on 21 August 1993.
In 2016, Ian became a '5 Before 6' DJ on BBC Radio 6 Music for one week.
Mentioned On Shows
- 1986
- 15 October 1986: Peel mentions that he received the Son House live LP from his friend Ian McFee last week.
- 1987
- 05 January 1987: Peel mentions that Ian The Tank Engine gave him a Christmas present of a John Fahey record called Visits Washington, D.C.
- 16 November 1987: Peel mentions his friend Ian McFee bought a record of drag boat racing, which he plays briefly on the show
- 1989
- 11 January 1989: Peel plays a track from a Pacific compilation album called Music Of The South Seas, given to him by Ian McFee for Christmas.
- 1990
- 05 September 1990: Peel dedicates Royal Trux's Baghdad Buzz to Ian The Tank Engine.
- 13 October 1990: Peel mentions going record shopping with Ian The Tank Engine at Piccadilly Records.
- 04 November 1990: Peel plays three tracks from the Amphetamine Reptile label for Ian The Tank Engine.
- 1993
- 21 August 1993: The whole programme was dedicated to Peel's friend Ian The Tank Engine, as it was his birthday. Unusually, it ran from 12 midnight to 3 a.m. due to a Sting concert.
- 2000
- 23 March 2000: Peel mentions that Ian The Tank Engine gave him a record by Frankie Beverly And The Butlers for his birthday present last year.
- 19 September 2000: 'My friend Ian The Tank Engine deserves a kiss full on the lips for sending me for my birthday six R'n'B singles which I didn't previously own. It's a funny thing, because when I was about 10, 11, 12, something like that, my uncle Michael, who was sort of the black sheep of the family, went to New York, and in those days absolutely nobody did that, I'd never known anybody been to America at all prior to that, and he brought me back some records, bless him. Unfortunately, I don't have any of those records, but I do recall that one of them was by Red Prysock, and as a result I became something of a closet Red Prysock fan, a tenor saxophonist, and one of the records that Ian sent me was by Red Prysock, and this is it. It's also got an insane tempo, you'll think I'm playing it at the wrong speed.'
- 2001
- 23 August 2001: "Ian The Tank Engine" gets a chorus of Happy Birthday and a "fantastically fattening and death-dealing" cake to celebrate his birthday the previous day.
