What was it about music in Northern Ireland back then?

Well, I suppose wherever you’re talking about, whether its Bury St Edmunds or Belfast, it just takes one or two people to take an interest, start a venue or a record label - it acts as a catalyst, and of course the political situation in Northern Ireland at the time gave the whole scene a particular edge.

It was all quite thrilling really. I can’t remember the order of the releases, but there was a lot of good music. There were The Undertones of course, and Stiff Little Fingers. I know SLF were seen by some as capitalising on the political situation, but the end of Suspect Device still remains one of my favourite endings. It sort of blows up indoor face, very explosive, very emphatic!

I was a bit nervous visiting the North then. All the news in the media that we got was very negative, but it was different actually being there. I went over a couple of times, once to the Harp Bar…don’t remember a to about it, The Xydreamysts played there. They were a bit hippyfied I think.

I remember another time being at a Battle of the Bands at the Ulster Hall. I was a sort of Compere on the night (see below). It was a crazy night, with a very rowdy audience. The Outcasts played, and Ruefrex. They stopped the gig and everyone cheered for me. There was the audience chanting ,y name, it was like I was a football player or something. But I was flattered by it. Strange maybe, but very moving.

There was so much coming out of Derry and Belfast, it had an openness to it. It seemed untainted, with a kind of naturalness. I suppose the nearest comparison in England was doing sessions with the likes of The Lurkers and The Damned, because unlike bands like, say, The Clash, they didn’t have attitude, it wasn’t like ‘we’ve done all this before’. Hey enjoyed the music, and got on with it. I suppose it was because the scene in the North was more self contained it had more freshness. This was so evident in The Undertones when I heard them first, like the music was being made for its own sake. I really wanted to do more with the band, none of them had any money, and couldn’t raise the money to come to London. I don’t think I ever said this to anyone before, but I wanted the session with The Undertones so much that I decided to pay for it myself. I’ve still got the tapes somewhere.

In recent years I was in the bog side with The Undertones for the Vinny Cunningham film, and wondering if it was okay to speak with my English accent, but people were great. It was an extraordinary experience really. I love the unselfconscious attitude, the naturalness of the place. There was a nice piece in the NME years ago about when NME went to Derry to interview The Undertones in the early days, and there were about 40 people in the living room of the house, all family, friends and cousins, so the journalist, not being able to identify the band members, asked if they could step outside for a photograph, and a whole bunch of people went outside. I loved that. The way there was no separation between the band and the people around them, the way all the locals felt they were all part of the band!

It was good to be able to help, but I certainly never claimed credit for doing a lot ; it’s like being editor of a newspaper. You don’t make news, you just report it. But while it’s good to be able to help, being influential actually troubled me enormously in many ways. There was always a slight guilt that in celebrating the music I could also be corrupting it. Destroying it in some way. Some bands weren’t able to handle any sort of fame or pressure, and you don’t know if you were helping or not by bringing their music to a wider audience. It’s a guilt I’ve always had to live with…..

Quote © It Makes You Want To Spit! Book 2003.

RIP John Peel 1939 - 2004