When I reviewed Peel’s show from the previous evening, I raved about what a joyous broadcast it had been. Curiously, Peel opened this evening’s programme with an apology for how he had come across on 12/6/92, “I had rather over-estimated my capacity for self-repair...and I wasn’t my usual fascinating self”. To me, he had sounded in fine form with the adrenalin from his week at the Isle of Man TT Races carrying him through the show and further invigorated by a new Fall single. By contrast, the comedown seemed to hit him tonight with regular slips of the tongue and word mashing. He also felt moved to comment that he felt that Datblygu’s session had dragged on rather un-necessarily in places. One legacy from the TT Races was that Peel had managed to snaffle a leaf from the winner’s victory garland, claimed in 1992 by Steve Hislop. As far as Peel was concerned, this was a prized possession on a par with the pen he had lent to Diblo Dibala when they had met up, a week earlier so that the great man could sign autographs.
The mailbag brought a letter from Reggie in Mainz, Germany, who wanted to thank whichever technician had omitted to switch off the medium wave transmitter a few weeks previously, meaning that Reggie had been able to hear a whole 3 hour Peel show for a change. Peel quickly checked the status of the MW transmitter, but unfortunately it had been turned off, meaning that Reggie wouldn’t have heard his letter being read out and leaving Peel to ponder the sense of having done so.
He was concerned to hear about reports of English football hooliganism in Malmo, especially as he was due to go out to Sweden to see the Euro ‘92 final, with a competition winner. “It’s pathetic.The Scots grew out of it years ago. People just look at you and go, ‘Oh dear, oh dear.’” Anyone not heading to Sweden with Radio 1 that summer could have been going to either Barbados or Corsica as a result of competitions being run by Simon Bates and Simon Mayo. However, you needed to buy a copy of the Radio Times in order to have the keywords required to enter. It was still another world, even in 1992. Radio 1 was also holding an American music festival on July 2 at the Hanover Grand at which Mercury Rev would be headlining.
The news contained updates about Tyler Davidson, who had been born the previous day and was officially recognised as the world’s smallest ever baby, measuring a mere 6 inches. Happily, he had made it through his first night and his condition was improving.
The selections from this programme came from a full 3 hour show. The only track I wanted to include, but couldn’t remained Don’t Slip Away by The Werefrogs, which in chronological terms, I’d been left wishing for a month earlier.
Anyone reading this blog in the last month or so will have seen that several selections were posted here almost begrudgingly by me because they lacked a Wow! factor, but scraped in on the grounds of them having a brief moment/sound which justified their inclusion. So it’s with a slightly heavy heart that I present for your derision the only initial selection I made from this programme, which ultimately didn’t make the cut. All I can say is, it could have been part of a much longer list:
M’bilia Bel, Tabu Ley Rocherau and L’Afrisa International - Ba Jeu De Coin - taken from the 1984 album Ba Gerants Ya Mabala this slice of horn-led Afro beat could have made it on to the mixtape in most circumstances. What cost it a place though was that I really didn’t like M’Bilia Bel’s vocals compared to other female African singers that Peel had played in recent shows such as M’Pongo Love. Neither did the arrangement and playing elevate the track as was the case with Vonga Aye the previous night. Also, while listening to Peel’s shows over late 1992 and early 1993, I’ve been exposed to some sparkling examples of African music through the likes of Wawali Bonane, The Bhundu Boys and Pierre Moutouari that made this track seem rather pedestrian in comparison.
The full list of gems, gritty wheat and chaff
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