Buzzcocks' Steve Diggle Recalls John Peel's Punk Spirit

BBC DJ John Peel became as much a rock legend as the bands he broke on his legendary late-night radio show. His 'Peel Sessions' became benchmarks in experimental performances, loaded with rare takes of often-obscure songs. Right until his untimely death in 2004, Peel championed non-commercial bands, just as he had since the late '70s when punk changed his life.

"One day he was playing two sides of an album by Tangerine Dream, which went on forever," remembers Buzzcocks singer/guitarist Steve Diggle. "The next day, when punk came out, he went all punk. He switched overnight. Changed his whole outlook and his record collection."

The Buzzcocks performed many Peel Sessions, some of which are captured on the double-CD reissues of the Mancunian band's first three albums: 'Another Music in a Different Kitchen,' 'Love Bites' and 'A Different Kind of Tension,' which were re-released Feb. 9.

"He really lived and breathed and loved music, probably more than anyone," recalls Diggle. "You got that feeling doing the show, the variety of weird and wonderful things he had. It showed that everything was possible, anything was possible, even the worst things were great -- bad things, out-of-tune things. It may not be commercial. It was a very inspiring show."

It was Peel's objectivity -- "I heard him say that he played stuff he hated, but he saw the validity of it," says Diggle -- and his lack of censorship that allowed artists to be themselves. "Some of the songs that we did for the John weren't finished. They were just kind of ideas. We'd always throw in songs that we'd never played. We did 'Moving Away From the Pulsebeat' once and I hadn't sorted out my guitar solo, which goes on quite a bit. I can hear myself figuring out the solo; I can hear my hands finding the right notes. It was in the spirit of the program. There isn't a show like that now."