Wednesday, January 04, 2006

John Peel book

In an uncharacteristic display of good taste my Dad bought me the John Peel auto/biography for Christmas.

It is one of those books that, once started, it was hard to put down.

The first half of the book was written by Peel himself before he died, the second half written by his wife Sheila with help and support for their children.

Peel's humour, humanity and wit shine throughout his chapters. There were several real laugh out loud moments and a lot of genuinly interesting stories as well. Sheila's half was equally compelling and brought a different perspective to Peel.

If anyone who listened to Peel either on late night Radio One (as I did as a teenager and student) or who enjoyed his dry wit on Home Truths hasn't got hold of a copy yet I would strongly recommend it.

When he died I listened to the tribute programme on the saturday on Radio 4 on my way to a Lib Dem training event and arrived, untypically for me, with tears running down my face. I guess after years of listeneing to him that I felt he was more friend than DJ. This book reinforced that feeling.

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