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.

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John Peel Wiki

Show[]

Name
Station
YYYY-MM-DD
  • 2022-02-27
Comments
  • Electronic DJ and producer Erol Alkan is Tom Ravenscroft's latest guest to Peel Acres - helping him explore the many treasures hidden among his dad John Peel's vast archive of records, collected over a lifetime of music fandom and a career as a BBC radio DJ.

Sessions[]

  • None

Tracklisting[]

  • {Intro} Erol Alkan: Spectrum

Erol's first selection is a 1968 album from great American soul and blues singer Etta James. The title track was one of the biggest hits of her decades-spanning career. Like many records in the Peel Acres collection, Erol notices John has at some point "corrected" the advertised track lengths.

Erol is drawn to his next pick by the artwork; "It looks joyful!". American rhythm and blues singer Herbie Goins left Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated in 1965, to front the Nightimers. The following year they released this single (and in '67 an album of the same name), which proved popular with the Mods - and later, Northern Soul fans.

Stockport rock band 10cc have been in Erol's ears a lot recently. He pulls out their 1977 release Deceptive Bends - the first album following the departure of half the founding members, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The cover was designed by art group Hipgnosis, known for creating some of rock's most iconic artwork.

(Interview with Richard Evans, album cover artist and author of “The Art Of The Album Cover”.)

This wildcard selection is a 1974 release by American acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke, is completely instrumental and features his typical fingerpicking style (which led to painful tendinitis and a need to alter his technique in the early 80s).

Erol next grabs an album which graces his own collection - from American sound designer and composer Fred Weinberg - which was basically an electronic rock music experiment. He compares it to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop - a now-closed sound effects unit known for its pioneering work in music technology and for scoring shows such as Doctor Who.

  • Merrell Fankhauser and HMS Bounty: Things (Goin' Round In My Mind) - (album - Things!)

The pair are surprised by how much they enjoy their next wild card selection, the only album from US psychedelic band Merrel Fankhaser and HMS Bounty. Tom compares their sound to sixties rock and rollers the Bobby Fuller Four.

Erol remembers listening to this track on pirate radio in the mid-90s. The 12" promo from British DJ Depth Charge (one of several aliases of J Saul Kane) samples dialogue from kung-fu film Shaolin vs. Lama.

For his final pick, Erol one again chooses a title track - this time from an album considered one of first (and greatest) records to intentionally profile pure dub; from Jamaican producers and musicians Keith Hudson and Aston "Family Man" Barrett.

File[]

Name
  • Erol Alkan Peel Acres
  • Peel Acres - 05 - Erol Alkan.mp3
Length
  • 0:46:55 (podcast)
  • 1hr (broadcast)
Other
  • Thanks to BBC Radio 6 Music
Available