Margrave Of The Marshes

Just felt compelled to write this review...well I say review its more of a wayhey! This is book is not only funny but insightful and had me laughing out loudly one minute, thoughtful the next. The life this legend lived was extraordinary. And I do mean LEGEND!

A lesson to anyone who wants to write an autobiography (16/16 people found this helpful)

Peel had been planning this book for several years but alas begun writing it too late - he died half way through. Fortunately Sheila "Pig" was so close to her husband that she has no problem whatsoever completing it in a way that is still incredibly satisfying; she seems to have shared many of his friends and experiences so very little is lost to the world. It also helps that Peel left a brief synopsis of what he saw the book including in the form of a letter to his publisher (included in the appendix), almost everything he wanted to incorporate is here - it's just a pity that the second half of the book doesn't feature the dry humour that was unique to the great man, I would have loved the have read his thoughts on some later events. What Sheila does give us is a clear depiction of a man completely in love with music and life, it is fascinating to read about his approach to listening to demos and the organisation of his shows (like so many people out there I was involved in a band who got played on Peels show and was over the moon to receive a note from him - I now have the added bonus of being able to picture how the great event happened!). It's a fairly large book this, but then John Peel was a larger than life character so that's no surprise, what is a surprise is how much he gives us in the way of personal thoughts and extremely difficult and shocking events in his life. This is a truly affecting autobiography and a million miles away from the glossy, self congratulatory rubbish that almost every other "celebrity" churns out. After reading this fantastic book I deeply regretted not having listened to John Peels shows more and above all I was simply left wishing that he was still around. What a disaster for music his death was but thankgod we have this to remember him by.

A wonderful book (7/7 people found this helpful)

I've just finished the Peel biography and my eyes are still moist at the realisation that he really is no more yet I chortled out loud at some of the anecdotes, both his own and those of his wife. I defy anyone to read it and not hear it read in John's dry Liverpudlian tones in their heads. I just wish he'd been with us long enough to finish his own autobiog and then we could've had two books -- Peel's and Pig's. Hope there's some decent music up there mate.

A very revealing insight into a rather peculiar person (7/9 people found this helpful)

How frank should an autobiography be? John Peel clearly thought "pretty frank" because quite a lot of the material in this book is far from flattering and seemed to me, in places, downright disturbing.

Peel comes across as a rather odd sort of person, inclined to fantasy (and, in his younger years, a degree of untruth) and seems always somewhat at odds with the world around him. This alienation from the mainstream appears to have originated in his early family life before running through his schooldays, his period of National Service, and then into his years in America as a clerk, insurance salesman and DJ. His return to the UK in 1967 and his associated rebirth (at close to 30 years of age) as a sort of self-appointed 'princeling of the Underground scene' gave him the popularity that he had missed during his younger years. But despite this, he then formed strong, and apparently rather irrational, dislikes of certain well-liked colleagues in the media.

His alienation perhaps explains why he favoured artists who were themselves struggling, or operating on the fringes of the music business. His initial 'Underground' image was associated with psychedelic music, but having read this fascinating book, I now have doubts as to whether such music was really much more than a kind of raw material which he was able to use to further his DJ career. For as psychedelia withered as the Summer of Love passed into winter, Peel adopted new enthusiasms for such very different musical styles as reggae, punk and hip-hop.

The formative years of British rock were between 1961 and 1967, seeing the birth of bands such as the Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Incredible String Band, Pink Floyd, John Mayall, Graham Bond, Cream and so on. Peel seems, to me, to have presided over a period of relative decline, compared to those heights. So much for influence! But whether or not you agree with me, I do recommend this book.

Witty, informative, sad and in places hilariously funny (7/7 people found this helpful)

I remember John Peel from my adolescent years in the late seventies when listening to his show on Radio 1 gave me an appreciation for a huge variety of music. The man was a complete master in promoting bands and music that would otherwise have never got the airing they richly deserved. I regrettably drifted away from listening to him as I grew up and only in the last few years am I rediscovering the music I used to listen to then. I remember the day it was announced on the radio that he had died and I must admit I was really surprised by my reaction to the news. It really did feel that someone who was close to me or a part of me had died that day and I felt very, very sad. I chose to read this book as I began to realise there was so much more to John Peel than the few years I was a regular listener to his show.

I have to say this is a superb piece of work. It's witty, informative, sad and in places hilariously funny. The first half was written by John himself and takes us to the time when he started DJing in the US in the early to mid sixties. It is excellently written and conveys, in the same way as he always did on the radio, that John was really just an ordinary bloke, what you saw (heard) was the real man.

The second half of the book was written by his wife, Sheila with help from their kids and it perfectly blends and complements John's writing in the first half. It really is an excellent read and at the end so very, very sad.

I would recommend anybody to read this.

John Peel, Sheila Ravenscroft

Reader Reviews:

What a book! (0/0 people found this helpful)

A lesson to anyone who wants to write an autobiography (16/16 people found this helpful)

A wonderful book (7/7 people found this helpful)

A very revealing insight into a rather peculiar person (7/9 people found this helpful)

Witty, informative, sad and in places hilariously funny (7/7 people found this helpful)

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