The Latest Breaking News from John Peel

Watermelons in Bristol: how UK heatwaves are affecting growers

Most allotment holders say the heat has meant more work for smaller crops, although some have found a silver lining

The Guardian - UK · Aug 20

“Our music is derived from all the trips we’ve had. There’s horror, beauty, paranoia, ecstasy, even randiness; every sort of human mood”: The birth of psychedelic warlords Hawkwind

Events around their 1970 self-titled debut album included turning a radio testing device into a musical instrument, impressing influencer John Peel and using subsonics to make drunk people physically sick

Louder · Jul 27

"He was seriously wondering if the Ramones would ever make it as big as the Bay City Rollers." How the Ramones made the debut album that only sold 6000 copies but changed the world

Few bands shook the UK music scene like NYC punks the Ramones did in 1976. Fewer still can claim they actually built one. Welcome to a revolution

Louder · Jul 17

BBC radio DJ Andy Kershaw dies aged 66

DJ spent almost three decades working for corporation and was best known for Radio 1 show from 1985 to 2000

The Guardian - UK · Apr 17

“He struck it big, and we were all green with envy. It was terrible: we fell out for about six months. It was ‘He’s doing much better than I am.’”: When T. Rex opened the floodgates of glam rock with the riff-driven groove of Get It On

T. Rex's signature song was written and recorded while on a hectic US tour, and would be their only stateside hit

MusicRadar · Apr 9

‘A lot of late 70s bands wore grey. But we were determined to have fun’: the return of the mega-influential Swell Maps after 46 years

Championed by the BBC’s John Peel and signed to Rough Trade, the band were punk when that meant DIY, psychedelia and prog as well as screaming chords. What’s more, they loved Pink Floyd …

The Guardian - UK · Mar 10

“This guy came up after a gig and said he was a specialist in repetitive strain injuries. He said, ‘What you’re doing is exactly what we tell people not to do’”: Inside the (literally) blistering sound of British alt-rock’s cultest heroes

With a refreshed lineup, a new EP, and a boxset documenting the band's storied career, The Wedding Present founder/frontman Gedge and new guitarist Wood tell us why they're not afraid to bleed for their art – but they're not superglueing the wounds together

Guitar World · Feb 10

Former Radio 1 DJ Andy Kershaw ‘unable to walk’ after cancer diagnosis: ‘I’m determined not to die before Trump’

Former presenter is as known for his colourful life as for his years presenting and reporting for the BBC and Channel 4

The Independent UK · Jan 29

“The studio bill came to £148.50. So with the £1.50 in change we all bought a celebratory bag of fish and chips”: Before superstardom and multi-million-selling albums, the young Def Leppard made their very first record on the cheap

“It was difficult doing the scream in The Overture on a Sunday morning”

MusicRadar · Jan 24

"If you break the song down, it's really not that original. But I thank God every day that I wrote it": How one radio play turned the Undertones' intended final release into a brand new beginning

A story of punk rock, John Peel and some misspelt graffiti

Louder · Jan 15