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JOHN PEEL'S FOLKESTONE DAYS REMEMBERED

Almost 40 years since DJ John Peel signed off his final late-night Perfumed Garden show from the pirate ship Radio London moored off Folkestone, listeners will once again be able to experience the dying murmurs of his show when the BBC puts his last programme back on the airwaves later this month.  

Peel would spend two weeks of every three aboard the Galaxy, a former minesweeper moored off the coast of the town, presenting his midnight show. Because the boat was in international waters, it was beyond the reach of British broadcasting restrictions until offshore stations too were outlawed in August 1967.

He was forced off air leaving him high and dry, but luckily within days he was rescued from obscurity, signed as a presenter for Radio 1 and became one of Britain's best-loved and respected broadcasters. 

Peel's final broadcast saw him choosing some of the most popular tracks of his five marine-based months, including then little-known acts Pink Floyd and Captain Beefheart. 

As he told listeners: "Who can tell what's going to happen from now on? I have no job to go to. I'm not unduly concerned about it though, because something good is going to happen. Good things are happening, and a lot of people are realising what is going on and a lot of people are coming over to our side, so to speak - if there is a side to be taken." 

The recording, put together by an anonymous fan has now been squeezed into four half-hour shows to be broadcast by BBC6 Music from Monday 23 October, to mark the second anniversary of Peel's death. 

Producer Hermeet Chadha said yesterday: "We have cleaned up some of the sound but not too much. Listeners will once again be able to hear what it was like to listen to John Peel in 1967 as though he was speaking directly to you. It's incredibly idealistic and at his heart he was a real hippie."

Do you remember John Peel broadcasting from the Galaxy moored off the Folkestone coast? Let us know your memories. pirates@localrags.co.uk