[PaulDavisThe1st]

... and to underline the diversity of the genres Peel championed: he was both one of the main early radio promoters of punk, but just a few earliers had championed Tangerine Dream's Phaedra as one of his favorite albums of the year.

I think that if you wanted to try and come up with a simple way to describe what connected all the music that Peel championed over his long career, it would have to be something like "new energy". He didn't seem as interested in what a band actually sounded like as where their energy came from and what level it was on.

[twic]

Looking over a list of Peel sessions:

http://www.thepeelsessions.co.uk/bands.html

I am struck by (a) what a range of extraordinary stuff there was and (b) just how many times he had his favourites on! I don't think i have ever heard of Loudon Wainright III outside the context of John Peel. I don't think i'd ever heard of The Fall outside of John Peel, and that's despite the fact that i was a regular listener to Mark and Lard!

[spatulon]

One thing I love about the internet - a couple of years ago I googled some half-remembered lyrics to a song I'd heard a long time ago on John Peel's show, and eventually found it was called Hey Gravity by M.A.S.S., and that someone had uploaded it to YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SOTqFNDhYI).

[eterm]

That was near the top of my favourite festive fifty and as such I often listen to that along with other favourites from that time such as Ballboy. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct1_3mKnutU )

[twic]

Love that noughties guitar sound.

[zimpenfish]

> Loudon Wainright III outside the context of John Peel

He was a regular guest on Jasper Carrott's UK show in the late 80s. It was most strange context-switching from a genial Brummie comedian to an acerbic American singer.

[Joeboy]

He also performed several times in MASH, one of the biggest sitcoms of all time.

Edit: Song for Loudon Wainwright III by his daughter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdvk7O3Tz6A. Don't know if he deserves it or not, but it's a remarkable song.

[matt_the_bass]

FYI, I appreciate your use of “acerbic”. Thank you for making the Effort to use a “fancy” word.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

Didn't he do "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road"?

[zimpenfish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu5hzc2Mei4

Apparently!

[JKCalhoun]

And Ultravox! At least in the U.S. the Foxx-fronted band flew under the radar. We were too busy grooving to Hall & Oates. ;-)