John Peels Vinyl Record Collection Goes Online Via The Space

The legend that was John Peel who sadly died in 2004 is having highlights from his 25,000 + vinyl records, 40,000 singles and countless CDs made available online via a project call The Space.

John Peel was a well loved and much respected champion of new music during nearly 40 years as a DJ on BBC Radio 1. So much so that Glastonbury Festival even named a stage after him. The Space aims to recreate the late broadcasters home studio and library. The John Peel Centre, in stowmarket are the driving force behind the venture.

Today, May 1st 2012 marks the launch of what will become a rare insight into his vast collection of music and aims to do what John always did best. Helping people find out about great music. John kept an index of all his music on hand typed cards which have all been scanned with some including Johns own written notes.

The Space is a new on-demand digital arts channel, available free of charge via the internet, mobile phones, tablets and smart TVs. It is a joint initiative by the Arts Council England in partnership with the BBC. Its mission is to transform the way people connect with and experience arts, music and film and give artists space to innovate and experiment. Running between May and October The Space will coincide with and complement the wealth of arts activity in 2012, including the London 2012 Festival and wider Cultural Olympiad.

Each week the names of 100 will be added in alphabetical order and there should be around 2600 online by October, when the Arts Council funding runs out. You wont be able to listen to any of the music for obvious reasons but you'll find links to sites where you can.

Each release will feature a mini documentary video of one of the artists. The artists featuring in the documentaries have been lovingly chosen by Sheila, Johns wife, and their children so they are all artists that meant something special to John and his family.

With today being day one it was only fitting to feature an interview with Mike Absalom, a singer, songwriter, poet and painter who album "Save The Last Gherkin For Me" was card number 001 in the catalogue.

So, what are you waiting for ?

Take a look for yourself and bookmark the page as there are bound to be some real gems unearthed as the project unfolds.