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THE broadcaster John Peel left more than £1.8m to his family in an
estate that includes one of Britain’s largest and most diverse album collections.
The Liverpool-born DJ’s legacy to his widow Sheila Ravenscroft
includes 25,000 vinyl records and thousands of CDs, mainly stored in outbuildings at his house in Great Finborough, Suffolk.
Peel died suddenly at
the age of 65 from a heart attack in October 2004 while on a trekking holiday in Peru.
His four children share £263,000 of the £1,825,386, reduced to
£1,752,633 after liabilities were cleared. The rest of the estate was left to Ravenscroft.
Peel’s album collection has yet to be catalogued but the
broadcaster was famous for his interest in unknown and unusual musical acts from a broad range of backgrounds and for unusual recordings by famous artists.
He was at the forefront of developing trends and fostering new talent during his 40-year career and was among the first to recognise bands such as
Pink Floyd, Tim Buckley, Joy Division, Blur, Jimi Hendrix and Pulp among others.
Peel, who was Radio 1’s longest serving DJ, did not leave any
instructions in his will as to what should be done with the albums.
The clause in his will dealing with the collection simply states with respect to
his wife: “I ask her (but without imposing any binding obligation) to give effect to any wishes of mine which may come to her attention as to their
disposal.”
The will did say that it was his wish to be buried in the churchyard at Great Finborough, a wish his family carried out.
The will
did not say what he wanted on his gravestone, but in 2001 he said he wanted it engraved with his name and the words: “Teenage dreams, so hard to beat”, a
lyric from his favourite track, Teenage Kicks, by the Undertones.
Source:
The
Sunday Times
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