October `79: John Peel Discovers Killing Joke

While his name looms forever large in the annals of furtive music-nerd lore, we American record geeks and sniveling punk archivists suffered the unfortunate indignity of having to come of age without ever properly hearing the broadcasts of Jonn Peel, the legendary British disc jockey, radio presenter and incalculably influential tastemaker whose stamp of approval put more names on the map than can be quantified. It was Peel, who sadly left us in 2004, that first dropped the needle on debut singles and played demo recordings by theretofore unknown bands, introducing them to a devoted listenership of bug-eyed Peel zealots around the UK. Without Peel’s initial endorsements, the world writ large might never have heard of bands like the Sex Pistols, The Smiths, The Fall, The Undertones (a particular favorite of his), Joy Division and – oh yes, do please wait for it – my beloved Killing Joke.

A regular reader of mine just hipped me to the below YouTube clip of Peel’s radio show from October 10, 1979. I would have been just about to turn 12 years old on the night this episode aired. This show is significant to me, of course, because it was the first time Peel ever played Killing Joke, specifically the 10” maxi-ep of “Turn to Red,” released on Malicious Damage records (which I’d later track down from the racks of Bleecker Bob’s). Ten days after this show, Killing Joke would actually enter the BBC Radio 1 studios and record their first of four “Peel Sessions” with the great man, showcasing their live chops. Those sessions were available as bootlegs for years before EG records officially compiled them onto a single CD in 2008 that is well worth tracking down.

So, while hearing the three tracks off the “Turn to Red” single isn’t anything new, for a Killing Joke acolyte like me, it’s intriguing hearing Peel mention and discuss his admiration for them. It’s also interesting to hear what else he was playing and promoting at the time, a compelling glimpse of what was brewing in England in 1979. One wonders whatever became of bands like the Purple Hipsters, the Reluctant Stereotypes and Pink Military.

Check it out and enjoy….