A petition has been launched appealing to Glastonbury Festival to change the name of the John Peel stage amid historical sexual abuse accusations. The petition has been addressed to festival organiser Emily Eavis to rename the pink and blue tent and claims it is a "slap in the face to sexual abuse survivors".
The late disc jockey did not deny being involved with underage girls over the years and his first marriage was to 15-year-old Shirley Anne Milburn in Texas - where it was legal at that age - in 1965 when he was 25. He maintained she lied about her age at the time. An interview originally published in The Herald in April 2004 stated that Peel admitted to sexual contact with "an awful lot" of underage girls.
Glastonbury Festival renamed the stage from New Bands Tent - which has historically promoted new and up-and-coming artists - to John Peel in 2004 "in honour of the late and great DJ and Festival friend", its website states. The DJ, who died suddenly in October of the same year, often gave a platform to new bands and genres outside the typical remit of BBC Radio 1 at the time. The festival has been approached by Bristol Live for comment.
