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Music lovers will be able to explore the late DJ’s vast archive as part of an expanding virtual museum as his record collection goes online for the first time ever today.
The John Peel Centre for Creative Arts will begin uploading details of the his cherished vinyl, about which he kept meticulous files and keynote cards.
The first step in the journey begins with the first 100 albums filed under ‘A’ and total of 2,600 albums will be unveiled over the next six months.
The project is part of The Space – a new experimental digital service developed by the Arts Council in partnership with the BBC.
The late broadcaster’s home studio has been recreated online offering the public the chance to navigate and interact with the studio, browse through his archive of vinyl LPs and view his personal notes, archive performances and never before seen home footage.
Each week 100 more titles under each letter of the alphabet will be revealed.
Wirral-born Peel, who died in 2004, was a champion of new music during nearly four decades as a DJ on BBC Radio 1.
Peel amassed over 25,000 vinyl LPs and 100 of them will be unveiled online each week between May and October. Mike Absalom is the artist behind the first album in the archive and once described Peel as “the musical maypole around which we all danced”.
The virtual studio features artefacts as Peel left them – the mixing desk, the touching family photos on the wall and the Liverpool Football shirt.
The public will be able to watch exclusive footage of John Peel on holiday, an interview with his widow Sheila Ravenscroft explaining why she decided to do this now, and never before screened personal footage from John Peel’s 50th birthday.
Some of his personal notes, contributors’ stories and filmed interviews with family and musicians will be available and there will be access to the archive of the legendary Peel Sessions.
John meticulously catalogued his 25,000 vinyl LPs and the public will also have the chance to view these hand-typed index cards for each record.
Sheila Ravenscroft, Patron of the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts said: “We’re very happy that we’ve finally found a way to make John’s amazing collection available to his fans, as he would have wanted. This project is only the beginning of something very exciting”.
The Space will run from May to October across PCs, smartphones, tablets, internet connected TVs and will also be available as a red button, video on demand service via Freeview HD.
thespace.org
@thespacearts