© Fotos & Words by Steve Drury

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Home / News. The Start. Interviews 1. Main Releases. Reviews (Live). John Peel. And Now. Contact.

Only a matter of time. The momentum was gaining; More noticeable gig dates for the band were on the horizon (including London), a feature or two in the weeklies were in the offing, agents were ringing back. So things were going well . . . but events moved on; I left in Sept ‘84 and Martin became unwell and eventually left the band a few months later. The band needed to re-organise.-

Funnily enough, here’s a familiar story from years earlier, Peel was the first to play the Def Leppard EP nationally (1979) which began the stampede to their recognition, but they didn't fit the 'Session' criteria, and therefore probably didn't need one. I knew Joe at the time, and had he been asked to do a Peel Session, he would have sold all the band's mothers without hesitation to do it. Peel was that vital to numerous generations and genres. Long Live Peel. Forever missed.

Peel Radio Shows - Wow, more recently I’ve managed to unearth even more material from the web and friends. Now were up to four of Peel’s Radio 1 show playlists; the first one featured ‘Rabbit Pie’ on 6 March 84 (the only track to interest him from the ‘Giraffe in Flames’ comp LP) and so far, I now have lists for ‘The Spider’. The test copy was played 3 April 84, and the actual single on 15 May 84, 18 May 84 and 2 July 84.

Many thanks to Kris W and The Perfumed Garden. I’m still searching for more! Where are the listings for ‘Row The Boat Ashore’ (…19 July 83?) and ‘Athena’?

John Peel

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That elusive Radio One Session for John Peel was the recognition that bands desired, and then sometimes collapsed like a black hole afterwards. This seal of approval from The Master was essential, not only did it give you credibility, it also served as a trampoline to greater things (if you were lucky).

So what happened? Why no session? Even though Peel was enthusiastic about the band and even played the test pressing of ‘The Spider’ single on his

Show a week before its release, we just didn’t get that final . . . ‘nod’. With hindsight it's still guess work worthy of Sherlock, but I believe it was a combination of several factors;

Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Reshape Modern Life’ (Publications Page), PD gets a name check.

"But I see someone much more charming"