John Peel's Record Box

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John Peel's Record Box
John Peel's Record Box.png
Genre Documentary
Directed byElaine Shepherd
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerChris Wilson
ProducerAnita Brown
Original release
Network Channel 4
Release14 November 2005 (2005-11-14)

John Peel's Record Box is a documentary film made by Elaine Shepherd, released on 14 November 2005 on Channel 4. It was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Contents

Contents

The box contains a small private collection of the British radio DJ John Peel who died in 2004 at the age of 65. Peel's main archive contained more than 100,000 vinyl records and CDs. This smaller collection is 143 singles, some of them doublettes, stored in a wooden box representing some of his favourites. According to the documentary, there are no singles by Peel's favourite group, The Fall, because he kept them in a separate box.

The film features interviews with John's wife Sheila Ravenscroft, radio DJs and artists including Mary Anne Hobbs, Sir Elton John, Ronnie Wood, Roger Daltrey, Feargal Sharkey, Jack White, Michael Palin and Miki Berenyi.

Inside John Peel's Record Box

No.ArtistTitleLabelYearComments
1 Al Casey "Surfin' Hootenanny"
"Easy Pickin"
Pye International 1963Dance-Craze Surf Instrumental with female group vocal excerpts
2 Al Ferrier "I'm Not Drinking More"
"Don't Play Blue Eyes'"
Master Trak 1974Rockabilly
3 Alan Price Set "I Put a Spell on You"
"Iechyd-Da"
Decca Records 1966A UK Chart hit - John Walters, Peel's long-time producer, was a member of The Alan Price Set, and played on this
4 Andy Capp
Reco
"Popatop"
"The Lion Speaks"
Treasure Island 1969Reggae Skinhead single
5 The Anemic Boyfriends "Guys Are Not Proud"
"Bad Girls in Love"
Red Sweater Records 1980
6 Ann Peebles "I can't stand the rain"
"I've been there before"
London Records 197270s Soul track
7 Anti-Social "Traffic lights"
"Teacher, teacher"
Dynamite Records 1977
8 Arthur K Adams "Wildwood flower"
"It's a wild, wild, wild, wild wildwood flower"
Jetstar 1966R&B/Soul artist
9 Big Stick "Drag racing"
"Hell on earth"
Recess Records 1985
10 Bill Oddie "On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at"
"Harry Krishna"
Dandelion Records 1970The A side was a version of a traditional Yorkshire dialect folk song, rendered in the style of Joe Cocker's version of The Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends"
11 Boards of Canada "Aquarius"
"Chinook"
Skam Records 1998
12 Bobby Lee Trammell "If you ever get it once"
"Don't you know I love you"
Alley Records 1964White R&B-Rock & Roll artist
13 Cat Power "Headlights"
"Darling Said Sir"
The Making of Americans 1994
14 Charlie Feathers "Nobody's darling'"
"Deep elm blues"
Holiday Inn Records 1962Rockabilly
15Charlie Feathers"Nobody's woman"
"When you decide"
King Records 1957
16Charlie Feathers"Wild wild party'"
"Today and tomorrow"
Memphis Recordings 1961Rockabilly
17Charlie Feathers"Tongue-tied Jill"
"Get with it'"
Meteor Records 1956repressing again
18Charlie Feathers"Too much alike'"
"When you come around"
King Records 1957repressing
19Cheeze"Dancin with the Dead - Dancin queen"
"Direwolf"
Bob Records 1989Produced by Steve Albini
20Clague"The stride"
"I wonder where"
Dandelion Records1969
21 Clefs of Lavender Hill "Stop! - Get a ticket"
"First tell me why"
Date1966Minor garage-pop hit, also released on UK CBS
22 Cleveland Crochet "Sugar bee"
"Drunkards dream"
Goldband1960
23 Don Covay "It's better to have"
"Leave him"
Mercury1973Soul
24 Don French "Lonely Saturday night"
"Goldilocks"
Quality1959Canadian issue
25 Dreamland Express "Groovy"
"u.f.o"
EMI 1980
26 Eazy Teeth "Car noise"
"Her blade"
Dental Records1980Artwork for 7-inch front cover by Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart
27 Eddie & Ernie "I believe she will"
"We try harder"
Chess1964Soul artist
28Eddie & Ernie"Outcast"
"I'm gonna always love you"
Eastern1965Northern Soul
29Eddie & Ernie"Time waits for no one"
"That's the way it is"
Eastern1964Soul artist
30 Electro Hippies "Sheep" / "Starve The City (To Feed The Poor)" / "Meltdown" / "Escape" / "Deadend" / "Thought" / "Chickens" / "Mother" / "Mega-Armageddon Death" Strange Fruit 1987
31 Elmore James "The sky is crying"
"Standing at the crossroads"
Flashback Records 19591970s re-release of 1960 hit
32Firemen"Old Smokie"
"Louie's Theme"
Le Cam1964
33 Freshmen "You never heard anything like it"
"Bombing run"
Release Records1979
34 G. L. Crockett "It's a man down there"
"Every hour, every day"
4 Brothers 1965R&B-Blues
35G. L. Crockett"Look out Mabel"
"Did you ever love somebody"
Checker1965re-release of alternate version
36 Geater Davis "For your precious love"
"Wrapped up in you"
House of Orange1971
37 Gene Dozier & The United Front "Give the women what they want"
"The best girl I ever had"
Mercury1974B-side is popular in Northern-Modern Soul
38 Golinski Brothers "Bloody"
"Toy"
Badge Records 1980
39 The Greenhornes "Shadow of grief"
"Stayed up last night"
Italy Records 2000
40 Hooton 3 Car "Danny"
"Numena"
Rumblestrip Records1995
41 Idle Race "Here we go round the lemon tree"
"My father's son"
Liberty1967Issued in the US and Europe but not in UK. In the UK the song was issued by a Roy Wood related group The Move.
42 Izzy Royal "Coronation St"
"Coronation Dub"
WEA 1983Reggaefied version of the TV theme
43Jane Bond and The Undercover Men"Hot rod Lincoln"
"Come on up"
Ear Movies Records1982
44 Jerry Byrd "Memories of Maria"
"Invitation"
Monument1961
45 Jody Reynolds "Endless sleep"
"Western movies"
Liberty1958the B-side is an Olympics 1958 track, perhaps a 1970s reissue
46 Johnnie Taylor "I've been born again"
"At night time"
Stax1974Classic Soul artist
47 Johnny Adams "You're a lady"
"I wish it would rain"
Atlantic1972Classic Soul artist
48 Johnny Fortune "Dragster"
"Soul surfer"
Sonet1964
49 Ken Colyer's Jazzmen "If I ever cease to love" / "Bucket's got a hole in it"
"Wildcat blues" / "Wabash blues"
Tempo Records 1953UK jazz group, on UK mid 50s EP
50 La peste "Black"
"Better off dead"
Black Records 1978
51 Larry Bright "Mojo workout"
"I'll change my ways"
Tide1960
52 Laurie Anderson "O Superman"
"Walk the dog"
One Ten Records 1981No. 2 UK hit, a very long hypnotic synth-pop track
53 Lee Perry "Bafflin' smoke signal"
"Black smoke signal"
Black Arc1978Reggae
54 Lightnin' Hopkins "Mojo hand"
"Glory be"
Flashback Records19601970s reissue
55 Marc Bolan Marc Bolan talking to Stevie Dixon
"Jennifer Sharp, Steve"
Ube/Pye Records1973
56 Mary Monday and her Bitches "I gave my punk jacket to Richie"
"Popgun"
Malicious Productions1977
57 Max Romeo "Sipple out deh' Lee Perry"
"Revelation"
Upsetter1976Reggae artist
58 MC5 "Looking at you"
"Borderline"
A-Square Records19682 copies. "Kick Out The Jams" was their known hit with the spoken intro
59 Medicine Head "Coast to coast"
"All for tomorrow"
Dandelion Records1970
60Medicine Head"His guiding hand"
"This love of old"
Dandelion Records1969
61 Mel and Tim "Starting all over again"
"It hurts to want it so bad"
Stax1972Big USA Soul hit, Best known in UK for "Backfield in Motion" song from 1969.
62 Maow featuring Neko Case "Kat nip" / "One night stand" / "Anthem" / "Kill kill kill" / "Catastrophe" / "Boy groupies"Twist Like This Records1992
63 Mickey Lee Lane "Tutti Frutti"
"With your love"
Mala1968White R&B-rock artist best known for his 1965 "Hey Sah-Lo-Ney" and "Shaggy Dog" 45s
64 Mike Spenser and The Cannibals "Good guys"
"Nothing takes the place of you"
Big Cock Records 1978B-side (cover of Toussaint McCall) preferred.
65 The Nice "The thoughts of Emerlist Davjack"
"Azrial (Angel of Death)"
Immediate1967UK prog art rock pop
66 Nilsson "Without You"
"Gotta Get Up"
RCA 1971The big ballad UK No 1 hit
67 Nilsson "Everybody's Talkin'"
"Don't Leave Me"
RCA 1968 Midnight Cowboy film song
68 Nilsson "Kojak Columbo"
"Turn Out The Light"
RCA 1975
69 O. V. Wright "That's how strong my love is"
"There goes my used to be"
Goldwax1964USA R&B-Soul artist
70 Paul Blake & The Blood Fire Posse "Every posse get flat"
"Flat out"
Studio Work1984Early Reggae Dancehall hit
71 Paul Revere & The Raiders "Him or Me – What's It Gonna Be?"
"Legend of Paul Revere"
CBS1967USA Garage-pop group
72 Pavement "Demolition Plot J-7: Forklift" / "Spizzle trunk" / "Recorder grot" / "Internal K-Dart" / "Perfect depth" / "Recorder grot"Drag City1990
73 Pocket Fishrmen "Yr story"
"The leader is burning"
Noiseville1989
74 The Quads "There must be thousands"
"You've gotta jive"
Big Bear Records 1979Sometimes mistakenly listed with A and B sides reversed
75 Ray Martin "Blue tango"
"Belle of the ball"
Columbia Records 1952One of the first 45rpm records issued in UK in early 1953. Also the first record that Peel bought
76 Revelino "Step on high"
"Memoreason"
Musicdisc1996
77 Rod Bernard "This should go on forever"
"Pardon Mr. Gordon"
Jin Records or Argo Records 1958USA Rock & Roll-Pop artist
78 Roshell Anderson "The Grapevine Will Lie Sometimes"
"Such A Beautiful Thing"
Contempo1974USA Soul artist
79 Roy Head "Treat her right"
"So long, my love"
Vocalion1965USA white R&B-rock artist
80 Sam & Dave "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down"
"Soothe me (live)"
Stax1966Original version of Elvis Costello's 1980 hit record
81 Sasha Caro "Grade 3 section 2"
"Little maid's song"
Decca Records1967Obscure UK artist who also released '"Molotov Molotov"/"Never Play a B Side"'
82 Scrugg "Will the real Geraldine please stand up and be countered"
"Only George'"
Pye1969 John T Kongos psychedelic-pop act, last of 3 singles
83 Sheena Easton "9 to 5"
"Moody"
EMI1980UK Scottish female artist who got her break on a BBC TV show
84 Sipho Bhengu & His Alto Sax "Tickey dopies"
"I saluti"
Inkonkoni1971South African Music
85 Soledad Brothers "Sugar & spice"
"Johnny's death letter"
Italy Records1998with Jack White
86Some Chicken"New Religion"
"Blood on the Wall"
Raw Records1977
87 Spit Out "O from I"
"Tan"
"Rot'n'roll'"
Ma Frog Records1996
88 Stanley Winston "No more ghettos in America"
"It's alright"
Jewel1970
89 Status Quo "Down Down"
"Night Ride"
Vertigo1974UK No 1 hit
90 Supersister "No tree will grow"
"She was naked"
Dandelion Records1971
91 The Beatles "Come Together"
"Octopus's Garden"
"Something"
Melodiya 1969Likely an East European issue of semi-legal status
92 The Big Three "You've Gotta Keep Her Under Hand"
"If You Ever Change Your Mind"
Decca Records1964Early Merseybeat group
93 Buzzcocks "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"
"Just Lust"
United Artists1978UK chart hit
94 The Factory "Path through the forest"
"Gone"
MGM1968UK Psychedelic
95The Galactic Symposium"Y.M.C.A"
"Money "
Vague Records1978
96 The Legion of Super-Heroes "The great name dropper part 1"
"The great name dropper part 2"
Amy Records2000
97 The Mark Four "Hurt Me If You Will"
"I'm Leaving"
Decca Records1965Mod Beat UK group, later named The Creation, who had hits with "Making Time" and "Painter Man"
98 The Mighty Avengers "So Much in Love"
"Sometime They Say"
Decca Records1964UK beat group, A side is a Rolling Stones song
99 The Misunderstood "I Can Take You To The Sun"
"Who do you love?"
Fontana1966USA Garage-Psych group
100 The Move "I Can Hear the Grass Grow"
"Wave the flag and stop the train"
Deram1967UK 1967 big chart hit, related to 'Idle Race' record above
101 The Negatives "Love is not real"
"Stakeout"
Look1979
102 The Nightcaps "Wine wine wine"
"Nightcap rock"
Musicor 1959USA Rock & Roll group
103 The Ramrods "Riders in the sky"
"Zig zag"
London American1960Big hit in USA & UK. Song also known as "Ghost Riders in the Sky"
104 The Smoke "My Friend Jack"
"We can take it"
Columbia Records 1966Banned UK mod psych track 'My friend Jack eats sugarlumps...'
105 The Squirrels "Oz on 45"
"Alone again"
PopLlama 1988
106 The Undertones "Teenage Kicks" / "True Confessions"
"Smarter Than U" / "Emergency Cases"
Good Vibrations 1978The first issue of this classic track in a custom fold-around sleeve, before the 'Sire' hit issue
107 The Upholsterers "Makers of high grade suites"
"I ain't superstitious" / "Pain"
Sympathy for the Record Industry 2000
108 The Upsetters "Bucky skank"
"Yucky skank"
Down Town1973Reggae Roots by Lee Perry
109 The Upsetters "Key card"
"Domino game"
DL International1975Reggae Roots by Lee Perry
110 The Users "Sick of you"
"I'm in love with today"
Raw Records 1977UK Punk group
111 The Versalites "Cutting rasor"
"Black belt Jones"
DL International 1974Reggae Roots
112 The White Stripes "Lafayette Blues"
"Sugar never tasted so good"
Italy Records1998
113The White Stripes"Party of Special Things to Do"
"China Pig"
"Ashtray Heart"
Sub Pop2000
114The White StripesMerry Christmas From The White Stripes: "Candy Cane Children" / "The reading of the story of the Magi, the singing of Silent Night" XL Recordings 2002
115The White Stripes"It takes two, baby"
"Fell in Love With a Girl"
Sympathy for the Record Industry2001
116The White Stripes"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground"
"Stop Breaking Down"
XL Recordings2002
117The White Stripes
The Dirtbombs
"Hand Springs"
"Cedar Point '76"
Extra-Ball Records1999For Multiball Magazine
118The White Stripes"Hotel Yorba (Live at the Hotel Yorba)"
"Rated X"
XL Recordings2001
119The White Stripes"Lord, Send Me an Angel"
"You're pretty good looking (Trendy American Remix)"
Sympathy for the Record Industry2002
120The White Stripes"Hello operator"
"Jolene"
Sympathy for the Record Industry2000
121The White Stripes"The Big Three Killed My Baby"
"Red Rolling Ball Ruth"
Sympathy for the Record Industry19992 copies.
122The Henchmen featuring Jack White "Some other guy"
"Psycho Daisies"
Italy Records1997
123 2 Star Tabernacle featuring Andre Williams "Lily White Mama and Jet Black Daddy"
"Ramblin man'"
Bloodshot Records1998Cover photo by Jack White. "Ramblin' man" is cover of Hank Williams.
124 The Wildbunch "Danger (High Voltage)"
"Neurocameraman" / "She's Guatemala"
Flying Bomb Records 2001
125 The White Stripes
Rocket 455
The Blowtops
"Candy Cane Children"
"Santa Ain't Coming For Christmas"
"Sidewalk Santa"
Flying Bomb Records1998
126 The Dirtbombs
MHz
The Real Pills
"My Last Xmas"
"Secret Santa"
"It's Almost December"
Flying Bomb Records2000
127 Travis Wammack "Fire fly"
"Scratchy"
ARA1964B-Side preferred. "Scratchy" a quirky R&B instrumental, was issued as an A-side on UK Atlantic records in 1964
128 XL Capris "My city of Sydney"
"Dead budgies"
Axle1980On a broadcast for BFBS (the British Forces Broadcasting Service) John stated that the record had been sent to him by "someone actually from Sydney, Australia". On his Radio One show on 1 August 2000 a listener requested this song ahead of the upcoming Sydney Olympics. John noted that it had been consistently the most requested song on the shows he recorded for broadcast in Germany.
129 Yami Bolo "Richer than Cory"
"Richard Version"
Jamaica International 1998Reggae Dancehall. John claimed to have "about 50 Yami Bolo 7" singles, and a lot of really good ones in there"
130 Yardbirds "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"
"Psycho Daisies"
Columbia Records 1966UK classic 60s psych/mod group