, Ian Peel (born 1972) is a British music journalist. He is most well known as founder of the magazines ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

'' and ''Long Live Vinyl'' and as a writer with special interests in Eighties pop music,

ZTT Records ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by record producer Trevor Horn, Horn's wife and businesswoman Jill Sinclair, and ''New Musical Express'' (NME) journalist Paul Morley. The label's name was also stylised as ZANG TUMB TUUM and ...

, 12" remixes and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. He has written as a regular columnist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

'', ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'', ''

net Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

'' and ''Music Business International'' (sister publication of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

''). His work has also appeared in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', ''

BlackBook ''BlackBook'' is an arts and culture magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase ...

'' and ''

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, a ...

''.

12" Remixes

Peel is a longstanding commentator on, and curator of,

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

and remixes. He wrote ''Classic Pop''s ''Top 50 12"s of the Eighties'' special edition, and curated three volumes of the compilation series ''The Art of the 12"''. In 2016 he wrote the

Afterword An afterword is a literary device that is often found at the end of a piece of literature. It generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or of how the idea for the book was developed. An afterword may be written by someone other ...

of Rob Grillo's book, ''Is That The 12" Remix?''. Peel used 12" remixes and rare edits to curate the soundtrack to ''In The AM'', a film by

The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...

. It was released as ''In The AM (Ian Peel Mix)'' as the closing track on The The's compilation album, ''Stretched'', and as part of the group's box set, ''London Town 1983-1993''. According to the Penny Black music blog, "Most of the tracks on ''The Art of the 12”'' - which has been described by Peel on its cover as “150 minutes of blockbusters, rarities, vanities and mysteries” - have either never been released before on CD or sometimes at all."

ZTT Records, Trevor Horn and Sarm Studios

Peel has spent many years curating, archiving (and writing about) the work of ZTT Records,

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

and

Sarm Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isl ...

. His work was profiled by '' The Word'' in 2010: "What Ian inherited was a ton of rotting cardboard boxes and a cataloguing nightmare," reported Andrew Harrison. "What he found, though, is dazzling to anyone who loves the work of Trevor Horn and the profligate madness of ZTT. With its antiquated floppies and hard discs the size (and weight) of lorry tyres, this room crystallises a pause between the old world of Take 1 and Take 2 and the future in which everything would be infinitely malleable." Visiting Peel during the early stages of his work on the ZTT tape archive,

DJ Food DJ Food is an electronic music project currently headed by Kevin Foakes (also known as "Strictly Kev"). Originally conceived by the members of Coldcut on the Ninja Tune independent record label, the project started in 1990 on the premise of p ...

described the scene: "Nothing prepared me for the sight I saw upon stepping into the room. It was the whole downstairs floor of the building, the size of a small office or a very large living room. Boxes covered nearly every inch of floor space and were piled up to chest height, Ian had started to sort them into stacks relating to each artist and there was a small warren of footpaths between the piles. Half of the room was barely touched and the sheer volume of boxes was overwhelming." His work has in this field has led to the release of more than 50 CD/vinyl releases, compilations, box sets and gallery exhibitions. In a piece titled ''Ian Peel’s One-Man Campaign Takes Another Brilliant Twist'',

Kris Needs Kris Needs (born 3 July 1954) is a British journalist and author, known for writings on music from the 1970s onwards. He became editor of proto-punk and early punk rock ''ZigZag'' magazine in August 1977 at 23 and has since written biographies ...

wrote in ''

'': "Considering that everything which ZTT touched during their early 80s purple patch immediately seemed to swell to widescreen proportions, it’s fortuitous that Ian Peel, though only a teenage record-buyer at the time, shares their panoramic visions when it comes to the reissue programme he’s been lovingly masterminding since last year. It seems he won’t rest until every reel from production supremo Trevor Horn’s archives has been distilled into one of his lavish double-disc sets, his accompanying sleevenotes always an invaluable source of facts and memorabilia."

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Peel is a noted commentator on Paul McCartney's experimental oeuvre, as author of the 2002 biography ''The Unknown Paul McCartney, McCartney and the Avant-Garde'' and having participated in numerous TV and radio documentaries. ''The Unknown Paul McCartney, McCartney and the Avant-Garde'' was described by ''

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

'' as an "engrossing round-up of the numerous side projects which have distracted Paul McCartney's active imagination over the last 35 years" and as "an odd and interesting re-framing of McCartney as experimentalist". It is the only book to offer an in-depth history and analysis of McCartney's work in the field of experimental and avant-garde music, notably under the pseudonyms

Thrillington ''Thrillington'' is an album produced by English musician Paul McCartney, under the pseudonym Percy "Thrills" Thrillington. It was released in April 1977 in the UK and in May 1977 in the US. It is an instrumental covers album of Paul and Linda ...

and The Fireman, on projects such as ''

Liverpool Sound Collage ''Liverpool Sound Collage'' is an album by Paul McCartney released in 2000. The album is also credited to the Beatles, Super Furry Animals and Youth; but because McCartney was so heavily involved in its creation, in addition to his production cr ...

'' and ''

Carnival of Light "Carnival of Light" is an unreleased avant-garde recording by the English rock band the Beatles. It was commissioned for the Million Volt Light and Sound Rave, an event held at the Roundhouse in London on 28 January and 4 February 1967. Record ...

'' (with

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

), and as occasional collaborator with

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

. The foreword was written by

David Toop David Toop (born 5 May 1949) is an English musician, author, curator, and Emeritus Professor. From 2013 to 2021 he was professor of audio culture and improvisation at the London College of Communication. He was a regular contributor to British m ...

. One review commented that "Peel goes to lengths to put forward the argument that though the seemingly 'constantly cheerful one' may have been responsible for the

MOR Mor or MOR may refer to: Names and titles * Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor * Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór * Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac Radio and television * Middle of the road (music) genre * ...

apocalypse of

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

, experimentation in other genres was never far away." Another noted that "Although Peel spends much of the book setting stages, discussing Cage, Eno, IDM and so on, who else would even have dreamt up such a thesis?" While McCartney was not directly involved in the biography, ''

'' remarked in 2007 that "His implicit approval... suggested an attempt to correct a misperception."

Bibliography

As author: *''Music & The Internet'',

Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

, 1996 *''The Unknown Paul McCartney – McCartney and the Avant-garde'', with foreword by

, Reynolds & Hearn/

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

, 2002 *''The Rough Guide to eBay'',

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...

, 2006 *''Stiff Records - The Big Stiff Book'', Union Square Music, 2007 *''Zang Tuum Tumb - The ZTT Records Story'', with foreword by

Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley is an English music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983 and has since written for a wide range of publications as well as writing his own books. He was a co-founder of the record label ZTT Re ...

, Union Square Music, 2008 *''The Rough Guide to Saving & Selling Online'' (

, 2010) As contributor: *''Is That The 12" Remix?'' (afterword), Bank House, 2016 *''The Virgin Encyclopedia Of Popular Music'',

Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm ...

, 2002 *''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2001 *''The Rough Guide To Rock'',

, 1998 *''The Complete Introduction to Record Collecting'', Verulam Publishing, 1995 *''Microsoft Music Central'', Microsoft, 1995 *''Guinness Encyclopedia Of Popular Music'', Guinness Publishing, 1992

Discography (
Liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...
)

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

- ''The Best Of'' (2021) *

Art Of Noise Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and music ...

- ''Noise In The City (Live in Tokyo, 1986)'' (2021) *

- '' Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?'' (Record Store Day special edition) (2021) *

/Art & ACT - ''Daft as a Brush!'' (2019) *

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

- ''The Eight Testaments of Propaganda'' (2019) *

808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' New ...

- ''The Four States of 808'' (2019) *

- ''In No Sense? Nonsense! (Deluxe Edition)'' (2018) *

Frankie Goes To Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...

- ''The First 48 Inches of Frankie Goes To Hollywood'' (2018) *

- ''A Secret Wish (Art of the Album Edition)'' (2017) *

- ''Welcome To The Pleasuredome (Art of the Album Edition)'' (2017) *

- ''The Reflection'' (2017) *

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genre ...

- ''Anne Dudley Plays the Art of Noise'' (2017) *

- ''In Visible Silence (Deluxe Edition)'' (2017) *

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were a British Pop music, pop band formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the mid-1980s, scoring a string ...

- ''Hold Me Now, The Very Best of Thompson Twins'' (2016) *Various Artists - ''The Value Of Entertainment'' (2015) *

Anne Pigalle Anne Pigalle is a French singer and multimedia artist (writer, musician, art performer, poet, photographer and painter). Biography Early career Pigalle grew up in Montmartre, Paris. As a teenager, she played guitar in an all-female band, hangi ...

- ''Everything Could Be So Perfect, Édition Deluxe'' (2015) * Act - ''Love & Hate, A Compact Introduction To Act'' (2015) *

- ''At The End Of A Century'' (2015) *

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

- ''The Moment'' (2015) *Various Artists - ''Rewind, The 80s Album'' (2014) *

- ''Inside The Pleasuredome'' box set (2014) *Various Artists - ''The Art Of The 12", Volume Three: A Soundtrack For Living'' (2014) *Various Artists - ''The Re-Organization Of Pop'' box set (2014) *Various Artists - ''Zambient One'' (2013) *Various Artists - ''The Organization Of Pop (2013) *

- ''Frankie Said'' (2012) *

- ''Sex Mix, Archive Tapes And Studio Adventures'' (2012) *Various Artists - ''The Art Of The 12", Volume Two: A Promotion Of A Way Of Life'' (2012) *

- ''Noise And Girls Come Out To Play, A Compact Introduction To Propaganda'' (2012) *

- ''Wishful Thinking (Is Disturbdances Of Five Songs)'' (2012) *

- '' Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?'' (25th anniversary edition) (2011) *Various Artists - ''The Art Of The 12", Volume One: A Celebration Of The Extended Remix'' (2011) *

- ''

Into Battle with the Art of Noise ''Into Battle with the Art of Noise'' is a 1983 EP by the Art of Noise—its first release, and also the first release by ZTT Records. The record represented the first installment in ZTT's Incidental Series (catalogue number ZTIS 100). ''Int ...

'' (25th anniversary edition) (2011) * Paul Rutherford - ''Oh World'' (2011) *

Claudia Brücken Claudia Brücken (born 7 December 1963) is a German singer and songwriter. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the synth-pop band Propaganda. In 1996, Brücken started working with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark co-founder Paul Humphrey ...

- ''ComBined'' (2011) *

- ''Liverpool'' (2011) *

- ''Blueprint'' (2011) *

Shades of Rhythm Shades of Rhythm are an United Kingdom, English electronic dance music musical ensemble, group most active from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, still performing live today and hailing from Peterborough in 1988. They are best known for being a pa ...

- ''Shades Of Rhythm, Extacy Edition'' (2010) *

- ''Love: And A Million Other Things'' (2010) *

- ''Welcome To The Pleasuredome'' (2010) *

- ''Influence'' (2010) * Buggles - ''Adventures In Modern Recording, 2.0'' (2010) *

- ''A Secret Wish'' (2010) *

- ''Don Solaris, 808 Archives Vol. 4'' (2008) *

- ''Gorgeous, 808 Archives Vol. 3'' (2008) *

- ''ex:el, 808 Archives Vol. 2'' (ZTT, 2008) *

- ''808:90, 808 Archives Vol. 1'' (ZTT, 2008) *Various Artists - ''Zang Tumb Tuum, The ZTT Box Set (2008) *Various Artists - ''The Big Stiff Box Set'' (2007) *

- ''

And What Have You Done with My Body, God? ''And What Have You Done with My Body, God?'' is a 4 CD collection of unreleased tracks, demos and scrapped masters by Art of Noise. It also features the complete cassette versions of three EPs (''Into Battle with the Art of Noise'', '' That Was C ...

'' box set (2006) *

Andrew Poppy Andrew Poppy (born 29 May 1954, Kent) is an English composer, pianist, and record producer Discography *''Cadenza'' and ''Matters of Theory'' from the self-titled LP by The Lost Jockey (1982, Les Disques du Crepuscule) *''Crude Din'' from "Prof ...

- ''On Zang Tuum Tumb'' box set (2005) *Various Artists - ''The Abduction Of The Art Of Noise'' (2004)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peel, Ian British journalists 1972 births Living people

12" Remixes

ZTT Records, Trevor Horn and Sarm Studios

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Bibliography

Discography (Liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...)

References

Discography (
Liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...
)