In the late eighties I met Viktor, a musician from Lenningrad, who was in Köln briefly as part of a project which brought Russian musicains over to this city. He told me about his band, who in their pre Gorbachev days were considered to be "criminal". They were arrested by the KGB after every gig, which he accepted as an occupational hazard! Viktor knew of John Peel, because he played their home made tapes on the air.
John Peel was the true champion of the outsiders - of the musicians who do not have the powerful media and financial pull to get them past the the ring fenced barriers, which effectively bar the way of most musicians to any form of airplay. He made mistakes, but he was quite entitled to. That was part of his integrity. I'll take John Peel any day against the spineless, sanitised salesmen of mainstream radio.
Rest in peace John. You will be sadly missed.