- Six-part BBC series of one-hour shows presented by John Walters, who interviews Peel on his musical history since buying his first record in 1952.
- The series was first broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1987 on Saturday afternoons, with Thursday evening repeats. Repeated more recently by the BBC in edited form, with much of the music removed. (Peel Sessions gives first broadcast of final show as 1987-10-30, which was a Friday).
Music Fan
(First broadcast: 1987-09-26)
- Ray Martin & His Concert Orchestra: Blue Tango
- Johnnie Ray: Walkin’ My Baby Back Home (?)
- ???: Post Horn Gallop
- Handel: Zadok The Priest
- Earl Bostic: Sleep
- Bill Haley: Shake, Rattle And Roll
- Lonnie Donegan: Rock Island Line
- Lonnie Donegan: New Burying Ground
- Chris Barber’s Jazz Band: Oh, Didn’t He Ramble (LP – Traditional Jazz At The Royal Festival Hall) Decca
- Elvis Presley: Heartbreak Hotel
- Little Richard: Tutti Frutti
- Gene Vincent: Be-Bop-A-Lula
- Gene Vincent: Race With The Devil
Early Years As Broadcaster
(First broadcast: 1987-10-03)
- Beatles: I Saw Her Standing There
- Yardbirds: The Nazz Are Blue
- Captain Beefheart: Diddy Wah Diddy (single) A&M
- Doors: Break On Through (To The Other Side)
- Country Joe & The Fish: Porpoise Mouth (LP – Electric Music For The Mind And Body)
- Martha & The Vandellas: Love Bug, Leave My Heart Alone (single)
- Captain Beefheart: Yellow Brick Road (LP – Safe As Milk)
- Crocheted Doughnut Ring: Too Little Ladies (Azalea & Rhododendron) (single)
- Misunderstood: Shake Your Money Maker (demo)
- Fleetwood Mac: (???)
- Pink Floyd: Interstellar Overdrive (LP – Piper At The Gates Of Dawn)
- Captain Beefheart: Sure Nuff ‘N’ Yes I Do (LP – Safe As Milk)
Pre-Punk
(First broadcast: 1987-10-10)
- Captain Beefheart: Pachucho Cadaver (LP – Trout Mask Replica)
- Tyrannosaurus Rex: Salamanda Palagnda (LP – Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels Of The Ages) Regal Zonophone
- T-Rex: Get It On (single) Fly
- Fairport Convention: A Sailor’s Life (LP – Unhalfbricking)
- Soft Machine: Moon In June (session)
- Third Ear Band: (???)
- Andy Capp: Pop A Top (single) Treasure Isle
- Bob Marley & The Wailers: Concrete Jungle (session)
- Gap Band: (???) (LP – Magician’s Holiday) Shelter
- Nice: Intermezzo from “Karelia Suite” (LP – Ars Longa Vita Brevis)
- Neu: (???)
- New Riders Of The Purple Sage: Dim Lights And Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music) (LP – Powerglide)
- Faces: Had Me A Real Good Time LP – Long Player)
- Little Feat Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor (LP – Feats Don’t Fail Me Now)
Punk
(First broadcast: 1987-10-17)
- Eddie & The Hot Rods: Do Anything You Want To Do
- Ramones: Blitzkreig Bop (LP – The Ramones)
- Vibrators: We Vibrate (single) RAK
- Damned: Neat Neat Neat (session)
- Sex Pistols: Anarchy In The UK
- Generation X: Your Generation (single) Chrysalis
- Slits: Love And Romance (session)
- Siouxsie & The Banshees: Love In A Void (session)
- Adam & The Ants: Deutscher Girls (single)
- Teenage Jesus & The Jerks: (???)
- Fall: Bingo-Master’s Break-Out (single) Step Forward
- Undertones: Teenage Kicks
Life After Punk
(First broadcast: 1987-10-24)
- Nightingales: Urban Ospreys
- Joy Division: Twenty Four Hours (LP – Closer) Factory
- Echo & The Bunnymen: Villiers Terrace (LP - Crocodiles) Korova
- Cocteau Twins: Musette And Drums (LP – Head Over Heels) 4AD
- Altered Images: Song Sung Blue (LP – Pinky Blue) Epic
- Misty: Introduction (LP - Live At The Counter Eurovision 79) People Unite
- Double Dee & Steinski: The Payoff Mix (12” single) Tommy Boy
- Smiths: Reel Around The Fountain
- Bogshed: Tried And Tested Public Speaker (single) Shelfish
- Butthole Surfers: 22 Going On 23 (LP – Locust Abortion Technician) Blast First
Others
(First broadcast: 1987-10-31)
- John Peel: Top Gear Theme (LP – John Peel Presents Top Gear) BBC
- Roy Orbison: Running Scared
- Duane Eddy: Hard Times
- David Bowie & John Lennon: Fame (LP – Young Americans) RCA
- John Lennon: Gimme Some Truth
- Jimi Hendrix: Red House (LP – Are You Experienced)
- Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart: Willie The Pimp (LP – Hot Rats)
- Neil Young: Like A Hurricane
- Poco: Rose Of Cimarron (LP-Rose Of Cimarron) (ABC)
- Wild Man Fischer: (???)
- Bad Boy Orchestra: Do You Want To Dance (12” single) Southway
- ???: Post Horn Gallop
Availability
- Edited versions (around 40 minutes) of the shows are available online in streamed form at the BBC Radio 6 site, and from The Peel Tapes. Edited versions of shows 3-6 are on John Peel Torrent Compilation 17 of 17 (Various).
- The only full show currently available is #4, shared via the Peel Newsgroup in November 2008: [1], [2]. Please address re-up requests for shows #3, #5 and #6 to the newsgroup.