Possibly the first time I’ve ever really cared about someone famous dying. I never knew the man or heard many of his broadcasts, but he was perhaps the best radio DJ because he continued to play what he liked on his show, full stop. His famous series of sessions, where he invited artists to Maida Vale to play live sets on the BBC, gave him worldwide attention, and the years of experience on the air gave him the wherewithal by the end to do whatever he wanted.

John Peel would have been run out of business long ago if he were an American; the kind of maverick spirit and enthusiasm he exhibited for the music he played is considered anathema where Clear Channel and its ilk are concerned. Indeed, for a DJ to play a song to a national audience because he liked it—and then to be able to convince that same audience he was right—is unheard of anywhere. There will never be another like John Peel, and the world is sorrier for it. Godspeed.

“Twist The Knife” was Peel’s top song on 2000’s Festive 50 list, but he’s put everyone from Saloon and Cinerama to the White Stripes and Elastica to Orbital and Broadcast on his lists—and that’s just from the last five years. The number of bands he’s brought in for Peel Sessions, I cannot count.