The Collection: Peel Acres - 10. Adam Buxton

THE COLLECTION: PEEL ACRES - 10. ADAM BUXTON (320kbs-m4a/137mb/60mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 4th April 2022

Comedian and podcaster Adam Buxton joins Tom Ravenscroft to explore the legendary record collection of his dad, BBC DJ John Peel - tens of thousands of albums and singles collected over a lifetime. And among the music memorabilia, Tom has a surprise for Adam, in the form of a handwritten letter from David Bowie.

Presented by Tom Ravenscroft
Produced by Kevin Core and Becca Bryers

Track 1: Yoko Ono - Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over The City (from Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band)
Adam gets off to a flying start with his first pick of the day - the debut album from Japanese artist Yoko Ono. Released in 1970, it was recorded and released at the same time as her husband's album - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - which shared very similar cover artwork. At the time of release Yoko was still widely blamed for breaking up The Beatles. The title and lyrics of this particular track were derived from her 1964 book Grapefruit.

Track 2: National Lampoon - Old Maid (Southern California Brings Me Down) (from Good-Bye Pop 1952-1976)
Adam's intrigued by an album from American humour magazine National Lampoon, which reached its peak popularity in the 70s and helped launch the careers of many big comedy names, including John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray. Paul Jacobs is the guitarist on this Neil Young spoof, who went on to work with Meat Loaf and to write songs for Sesame Street.

Track 3: Fania All Stars - Foofer Soofer (from Delicate and Jumpy)
Fania All Stars were a showcase of musicians signed to the salsa label Fania Records - and so had a constantly revolving line up of members. This was their second studio album, released in 1976.

Track 4: Racing Cars - Downtown Tonight (from Downtown Tonight)
Next, Adam picks out the debut album from Racing Cars, based on the surprising number of copies in the collection. The Welsh pop rock band recorded five sessions for John Peel's show.

Track 5: UB40 - One In Ten
Breaking the usual podcast format, Adam has brought along his first ever record, to hide among John Peel's collection. His favourite track from the compilation is from Birmingham reggae pop band, UB40 - a Top 10 hit which refers to the percentage of the West Midlands workforce claiming unemployment benefits at the time.

Track 6: Pixies - Brick Is Red (from Surfer Rosa)
Adam is a huge fan of the Pixies, synonymous with the 1990s alt rock scene in America. This was their first full length album, released in 1988 - and once bought and then promptly returned to the shop by a teenage Adam Buxton.

Track 7: Ween - Big Jilm (from Pure Guava)
Gene and Dean Ween (not their real names) are the core members of American experimental rock band Ween, whose USP is humour and absurdity.

David Bowie - Sound And Vision [EMI]
National Lampoon - A History Of Neil Young [Epic]
National Lampoon - Old Maid (Southern California Brings Me Down) [Epic]
Fania All-Stars - Foofer Soofer [Island]
Yoko Ono - Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over The City [Apple]
David Bowie - Space Oddity [EMI]
Racing Cars - Downtown Tonight [Chrysalis]
UB40 - One In Ten [K-Tel]
David Bowie - Space Oddity [EMI]
Pixies - Brick Is Red [4AD]
Ween - Big Jilm [August]
David Bowie - Sound And Vision [EMI]
Pixies - Brick Is Red [4AD]