John Peel’s record collection starts to go online

Music fans can rifle through the contents of John Peel’s record collection after the late DJ’s huge archive began to be opened to the public yesterday.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd May 2012, 07:00 BST

The Radio 1 presenter – who died in 2004 – amassed a colossal treasure trove of vinyl during his four decades as a champion of new music.

His collection is now being placed online, with details of 100 albums being added in alphabetical order each week over the coming months.

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The move is part of a digital arts project The Space, which is being launched by Arts Council England and the BBC.

The first batch of albums – with artists beginning with the letter A, starting with Mike Absalom – was placed online yesterday.

Creators of the site say it will allow visitors to browse through the records and the DJ’s index cards as well as letting them view personal notes, home movies – including footage from his 50th birthday – and archive performances.

Peel amassed more than 25,000 vinyl albums and 100 will be added weekly until October.

His widow, Sheila Ravenscroft, said: “This project is only the beginning of something very exciting.”

The collection can be seen at thespace.org

Related topics:Radio 1Arts Council EnglandBBC