In my teens and early twenties I was an avid fan of John Peel’s Radio 1 program. I recently got a CD of tracks he played in the period 1977-87 – just the time I was a listener. It brought back a lot of memories. Not just of people and events and first snogs, as teenage records are supposed to, but of ideas. John Peel was a colossal and lasting influence on me, not least in the way I think. I admired his openness to hearing what anyone had to say musically. He gave a lot of people a chance to be heard, and a lot more the inspiration to get out and be heard.
That’s very valuable. Being heard is something we all need. That’s not about having everyone listen to you. Top 20 records were getting played over and over on everyone else’s shows, but the more I heard them the less I wanted to listen. It’s about being part of a conversation. If you were played on John Peel’s show, you were really part of something. You were expressing something. Just listening to his show made you part of the conversation. That’s being really heard – being part of a community of listening. Because you can’t be heard without other people’s engagement.
John Peel demonstrated that listening and being listened to are inseperable. His show was listened to devotedly. Why? Because of all the listening he constantly did to all the records and demo tapes bands (including mine!) sent him. Listening to his show inspired me to listen and to express myself – and to do it authentically, because otherwise it wouldn’t be me that was being heard.
June 30, 2009 at 5:33 pm |
A fine eulogy for a fine man.