John Peel's Biography

John Peel was born John Robert Parker Ravenscoft in Heswall near Liverpool on 30 August 1939, the son of a cotton trader.

The famous BBC broadcaster died on 25 October 2004 after suffering a heart attack.

John Peel was BBC Radio 1's longest-serving D.J, and became a cult figure giving airtime to bands that were not on traditional playlists.

Later on in his broadcasting career, John Peel moved into the mainstream, presenting Home Truths on Radio 4, as well as using his distinctive accent on commercial voiceovers.

Before Radio 1, according to the BBC, John Peel completed his military service in Britain in 1962, and then went to the USA and worked for a radio station in Dallas. However an old Who's Who entry, somewhat confusingly, lists his spell in Dallas as 1960-1965.

John Peel worked for the offshore pirate radio station Radio London before joining Radio 1 at the beginning of 1967.

In Who's Who, John Peel listed his recreations as cycling and staring out of the window, and his clubs as Liverpool supporters and Eddie Grundy Fan Club.

His support of Liverpool FC went as far as naming his children William Robert Anfield, Alexandra May Anfield, Thomas James Dalglish and Florence Shankly.

The BBC have made John Peel's Desert Island Discs episode available for download.