Teenage Kicks

When John Peel died in 2004 a nation mourned. This maverick DJ, it seems, had no detractors, and everyone in the music industry seemed to agree that he was an all round good-egg, who had done as much as anyone to shape the history of the British popular music scene over nearly forty years.

In this world premier written and directed by Paul Hodson, the action is mostly confined to Room 318 at Broadcasting House, the office Peel shared with his producer John Waters for decades. Hodson allows Kieron Forsyth’s Peel to address the audience, and also uses the device of a narrator character, played by Daniel Curtis, as a young office boy nicknamed Susan by Peel and Waters (James Doherty). What follows is a pretty straightforward linear account of Peel’s life told in flash back, and, rather brilliantly at the end, pure fantasy. We are reminded just how Peel championed many musical forms, including reggae and punk, when no one else was playing them.

The acting from all three performers is strong, and some of the staging clever (particularly a scene where Peel demonstrates his “divining” sense for spotting great new bands – hilarious for anyone who isn’t a Dire Straits fan). The script, too, is knowing and post-modern. When Curtis stands there holding a large box Peel remarks “Susan, when you are a successful actor you will look back at this time when you played the part of some shelves at The Edinburgh Festival”.

Although that is undoubtedly a very funny line, it is also symptomatic of a weakness in the piece. It’s a very gentle stroll through Peel’s life – a pretty non-judgmental celebration rather than a real attempt to understand what made the man tick. His family life (which was tough) and teenage years are pretty much brushed over early on, and I didn’t feel I found out too much stuff that isn’t already out there in the public domain. We never meet his loyal wife Shelagh, or even find out much about her. But therein lies a further problem. Peel seems to be a man who courted some professional controversy, but his personal life and personality were blameless and blemish free. Which begs the question, can one write riveting drama about a person everyone liked and didn’t let people down?

All that said, this is a fun, nostalgic look back at a man who every new generation seemed to take to. As Susan says, “whoever said don’t meet your heroes never met John Peel”