U.K disc jockey, radio presenter and journalist John Peel, left behind 25,000 LPs, 40,000 singles and many thousands of CDs when he died in 2004.
It is a mind boggling amount of music and thanks to The Space, a project funded by The Arts Council and the BBC, this mighty collection will hopefully be available online for all to enjoy in the future. Tom Barker, Director, John Peel Centre for Creative Arts has told NME "It is the first step in creating an interactive online museum with access to the entire collection, one of the most important archives in modern music history."
Frank Prendergast of Eye Film And Television added: "The idea is to digitally recreate John’s home studio and record collection, which users will be able to interact with and contribute to, while viewing Peel’s personal notes, archive performances and new filmed interviews with musicians."
It's a massive undertaking and will require more funding in order for the project to realise its full potential, Arts Council England is committing up to £3.5m, while the BBC is contributing to the partnership by providing ongoing support and developing the technological solutions.
The Space will run across various platforms includng PC's and Smartphones as well as a red button (is the branding used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the U.K) on demand service on Freeview HD. At this stage you will be able to view from May through to October.
Check out this tribute to John Peel in his time as host of Top of The Pops.
