john peel's festive 50 for '76

Strawberry Fields over Visions of Johanna

"and you and i" over "stairway to heaven"

Far as I recall from his biography Peel discovered the Misunderstood when he was in the US, was instrumental in bringing them to the UK, let them live in his house etc and was generally their #1 fan for a while.

xp Never mind. I just discovered there's a whole website devoted to the WWWS, that states that it first broadcast in January 77, so after this Festive 50.

Around the same time period, Kenny Everett had started doing his popular "World's Worst Wireless Show" on Capital Radio, where he played what he considered the worst records ever made and listeners would vote and make their own suggestions. "Paralysed" got played virtually every week. I don't ever remember Peel playing it back then (though I'm sure he did, perhaps he met the Ledge during his time in Texas?) but I figure that may be more the reason why it made #15 in this poll.

Capitol Radio was only broadcast in London, so it's not very likely that's the reason - I reckon it's another one Peel and John Walters slipped in hoping no-one would notice.

He probably got one when he lived over there, it was a bit of a hit at the time.

he wasn't the world's most professional dj!

No, but a long way from the least. In any case, the show was pre 1977 and his daytime stint was in the nineties I think. I think it was only one Chris Isaak track that got the works but hey. Oh, and Gary Davies got the needle with him on the "handover", but also hey.

Cortez is one of the best songs of all-time. I discovered it quite late, I guess around 1986 but it immediately left a very strong impression. There is a mounting tension in that song that still leaves me speechless. The lyrics may be a little trite but I have always loved them. It took me some time to realize that Neil Young is Canadian and not from the US. I did not make the difference at the time.

cortez lyrics aren't trite imo. a little simplistic, but it's a big song with big emotions--no nuance required

"he came dancing cross the water with his galleons and guns" is an A+ first line, immediately sets a scene and prepares you for the beauty and violence to come

Absolutely.

Far as I recall from his biography Peel discovered the Misunderstood when he was in the US, was instrumental in bringing them to the UK, let them live in his house etc and was generally their #1 fan for a while.

― everything, Saturday, November 10, 2018 11:06 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

mother's house and they had to hang around for a couple of days or something before they could get in. Been a while since i read the story but it's something about them being dropped off with all their equipment they were travelling with and nobody being home but them being forced to wait. Mother who doesn't know they're coming is off elsewhere.

listening to one of peel's mid '70s shows is a wonderful experience - i wish there were more of them about! there's one from late 1973 where he opens up with "jet" by paul mccartney and wings, and immediately thereafter plays the entirety of "the heavenly music corporation". backwards! i don't know who his audience were, if he was just playing bridget st. john to amuse himself, if some of the audience may have liked some of the stuff he liked just because he liked it. anyway there's a breadth to his djing that makes it worth listening to today. there's one twelve minute span where he plays bridget st. john and some '70s jazz-rock, i don't know isotope or something, bridged by a jump blues from an lp dodgy enough that he apologizes in advance if it skips (it doesn't).

(by the way after "the heavenly music corporation" is over he plays "maybe i'm amazed")

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Went with the Stones

yeah yeah yeah

Roadrunner
Echos
Whole Lotta Love
And You And I

would round out my top 5

I still love All Along the Watchtower.

^^ my vote

Huh. Do you know what's odd about this list? No Velvet Underground.

J. Richman is there I presume because people were turned on by the Pistols but no VU is notable imo.

Oh, as was mentioned above.

So many great songs here

What a weird Captain Beefheart pick, there’s at least 3 better CB songs in that album alone (too much time, low yo yo stuff, her eyes are a million miles, sun zoom spark) but it’s still an awesome song so voted for that one. Little Feat could have been a second choice.

Uh, that really is not a weird Captain Beefheart pick!

Yeah you’re right, it’s one of the best on the album and it’s the one that most resembles trout mask... I guess it always felt odd for me inside clear spot. I still love it though and voted for it.

I think it's his best known and most celebrated song - apart from, probably, "Electricity"? Or maybe that's John Peel's influence on me.

On spotify it’s not in the top 20... “her eyes”, “too much time”, “my head is my only house”, “low yo yo stuff” from clear spot are there. Spotify is missing a couple of albums, but clear spot is in there.

In last.fm it’s also not in the top 20, barely makes the top 50.

https://www.last.fm/music/Captain+Beefheart+&+His+Magic+Band/+tracks?date_preset=ALL

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Voted Cortez

What is it with the no VU on this list? And no Bowie? Is it the people voting in 76? I guess this was fairly prime time Radio 1 - didn't Peel go out between 7 and 9 pm at this time?

Is it homophobia? I know there's a thing people say about the VU being relatively unknown in their time, but this is overstated by 76, isn't it? Bowie played WLWH live in 71 or 72. The image of Lou Reed in these people's minds was, I guess, him in make-up on the cover of Transformer - which was a big seller in the UK - what going on? Was this list voted for by a bunch of Clarksons?

http://peel.wikia.com/wiki/1976_Festive_Fifty

The available recordings shed instructive light on the demography of the list. For instance, one recurring feature was the ability of bands who had made only a few recordings to be more likely to be higher placed than artists with a wealth of back catalogue. John remarks that votes for the Who were spread over a wide number of tracks.

could be a factor?

What is it with the no VU on this list? And no Bowie? Is it the people voting in 76? I guess this was fairly prime time Radio 1 - didn't Peel go out between 7 and 9 pm at this time?

I think his show was always from 10 to midnight? Re: Bowie/VU, I would imagine his audience at the time was mainly older 'serious music' fans and hippies, who had little time for glam rock or anything connected with glam - no Roxy on the list either. Their younger siblings, or even children, were probably Bowie fans, about to embrace punk rock.

was the Jonathan Richman version of Roadrunner more popular than the Modern Lovers version in 1976? I'd've gone with the Modern Lovers myself

According to Wiki the Modern Lovers version was released in August 1976, don't know whether that means including the UK, the Jonathan Richman version was released in 1975.

... on "Beserkley Chartbusters Vol. 1".

I think the Modern Lovers LP did come out in the UK then as well

I suppose when they released both versions as a single in 1977 they put the Jonathan Richman version on the A side, so maybe that was the better known version at the time, I get the sense people know the Modern Lovers better nowadays though

Modern Lovers version for the punk rockers, J. Richman version for Bob Harris clones.