The Collection: Peel Acres - 1. Damon Albarn

THE COLLECTION: PEEL ACRES - 0. WELCOME TO PEEL ACRES (320kbs-m4a/9mb/4mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 30th January 2022

6 Music's Tom Ravenscroft invites a different guest each week to Peel Acres: the home of his dad, former BBC radio DJ John Peel, and his legendary music collection.

Tom's musical guests will lend a hand (and two ears) in making sense of this vast record archive, which comprises tens of thousands of albums and singles, built over a lifetime and meticulously catalogued.

John's broadcasting career spanned five decades, until his death in 2004. He's known for the thousands of Peel Sessions broadcast on his BBC Radio 1 show, and for playing an instrumental role in the early careers of many bands; including Pulp, The Smiths, The Undertones and The White Stripes.

THE COLLECTION: PEEL ACRES - 1. DAMON ALBARN (320kbs-m4a/76mb/33mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 30th January 2022

Blur frontman and Gorillaz founder, Damon Albarn is Tom Ravenscroft's first guest to Peel Acres; lending a hand (and two ears) in making sense of his dad's vast record collection - tens of thousands of albums and singles collected over a lifetime. Damon first visited John Peel's home back in the late 90s, when Blur recorded a session for his Radio 1 show.

Presented by Tom Ravenscroft
Produced by Kevin Core

Episode Sleeve Notes:

Track 1: The Fall - Kurious Oranj (from I Am Kurious Oranj)
Damon instantly hones in on I Am Kurious Oranj; a 1988 album by The Fall which was written to soundtrack a ballet, in collaboration with Scottish dancer Michael Clark. Credited as John Peel's favourite band, the post-punk outfit was led by Mark E Smith - the only constant band member in an ever changing line up.

Track 2: The Idle Race - Please No More Sad Songs (from Idle Race)
Taking "a complete punt", Damon next pulls out a 1969 album by the Birmingham band The Idle Race - who he's surprised to discover is the first record produced by Jeff Lynne, who also provides lead vocals. After this album failed to chart, he made the move to… The Move, who later become Electric Light Orchestra (best known for the track Mr Blue Sky).

Track 3: Kevin Ayers - Lady Rachel (from Joy of a Toy)
Damon's next pick is another 1969 record, and one he remembers from his own parents' (much more limited) collection. Joy of a Toy was the debut solo album of Kevin Ayres, a founding member of rock band Soft Machine. He compares the "classic English whimsy" of Ayers's voice to that of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's original frontman and lyricist.

Track 4: Blah Blah Blah - Why Diddle
The next pick is the B side to a 7" single by Blah Blah Blah, a band from Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, which Damon introduces à la Peel. Tom compares their sound to the avant-garde music of Captain Beefheart.

Track 5: Soft Machine - Save Yourself (from The Soft Machine)
Fun fact: Damon's dad, Keith Albarn briefly managed the Soft Machine. This debut album is the only one to feature previous pick, Kevin Ayers - alongside lead vocals from Robert Wyatt. Tom reveals that Wyatt was a regular visitor to Peel Acres and still occasionally calls now (he's known to leave wonderfully long answerphone messages).

Track 6: Mahalia Jackson - We Shall Overcome
The next pick is "The Queen of Gospel", Mahalia Jackson - who is considered one of the greatest voices of the 20th century and one Damon has known since a child. With a singing career spanning over 40 years, she also took an active role in the American civil rights movement and sang just before Martin Luther King Jr delivered his famous "I Have a Dream speech".

Damon is a fan of early gospel vocal quartets, and says his favourite classical piece is A Child of Our Time, by British composer Michael Tippett - which includes sections of spirituals. Which leads on to talking about polyphony - that is, combining a number of parts, which each form an individual melody and harmonise with each other. He references composer Pérotin, who developed early polophonic work in Notre Dame, Paris in the 12th century.

Track 7: J. R. R. Tolkien - From Poems and Songs of Middle Earth
The A side of this 1967 album features writer J. R. R. Tolkien reading poems from his The Lord of the Rings and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil books. Side B features songs from Middle Earth, with music composed by Donald Swann - who features on piano, accompanying the fittingly named singer William Elvin.

Track 8: Love - Alone Again Or
Damon's final choice, by the LA psychedelic rock band Love, was apparently a tour bus favourite for Blur. This track appears on their third album Forever Changes which, despite only moderate success in the 1967 charts, is regularly named among the greatest albums of all time.

Damon Albarn - Royal Morning Blue
The Idle Race - Please No More Sad Songs
The Fall - Kurious Oranj
Blah Blah Blah - Why Diddle
Kevin Ayers - The Lady Rachel
Soft Machine - Save Yourself
Mahalia Jackson - We Shall Overcome
Love - Alone Again Or
Donald Swann & William Elvin - I Sit Beside The Fire / Refrain: A Elbereth Githoniel
Damon Albarn - Royal Morning Blue