John Peel 's private record collection has hit the web. The Bbc and the Arts Council have joined forces to create The Space - a new digital service which will allow the public to access John Peel's gargantuan collection. The site is launched today (May 1, 2012) and, according to a press release, will run from May to October "across PCs, smartphones, tablets, internet connected TVs and will also be available as a red button, video on demand service via Freeview HD."
The first 100 albums, filed under the letter A have been launched today and the late broadcaster's home (known as Peel Acres) has also been recreated online, so that users of the site can browse through his record collection, view his own personal notes and watch exclusive home footage. Every week, another 100 titles, under each letter of the alphabet, will be released and available for the public to access. Today's press release states that "The virtual studio features artefacts as Peel left them - the mixing desk, the touching family photos on the wall and the Liverpool Football shirt. The public will be able to watch exclusive footage of John Peel on holiday, an interview with his widow Sheila Ravenscroft explaining why she decided to do this now, and never before screened personal footage from John Peel's 50th birthday."
Sheila Ravenscroft is a Patron of the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts. She says, of the project, "We're very happy that we've finally found a way to make John's amazing collection available to his fans, as he would have wanted. This project is only the beginning of something very exciting." John Peel passed away in October 2004, aged 65.