The late John Pell is returning to the airwaves, as the BBC’s 6 Music broadcasts some of the DJ’s finest moments in championing scores of bands over his four decades on air.

Fifteen-minute segments of Peel’s Radio 1 Night Ride shows are to be broadcast from today during DJ Marc Riley’s morning show which begins at 10am; they will also be available as a podcast.

Peel gave Riley an early break thanks to his devotion to The Fall, for whom Riley originally played bass .The audio features him playing tracks by bands such as Flying Lizards, Echo And The Bunnymen, Joy Division and The Fall.

Riley said: “Listening to various clips of John in preparation for these programmes it all came flooding back. John’s warmth, his bone-dry humour, his passion for the eclectic mix of music he played not to mention his wonderful sense of mischief.”

Peel began his Radio 1 career in 1967 after a stint on air in the US,and then after starting with The Perfumed Garden on pirate radio. He died in 2004 following a heart attack while holidaying in Peru.

Riley added: “I doubt any music broadcaster will ever get close to the love and respect shown to John by listeners and indebted bands alike. Having been a member of both those groups I know this to be true. In short – the 6 Music listeners are in for a treat.”

BBC 6 Music controller Bob Shennan said: “To be able to keep the spirit of John Peel alive and to take the famously technophobic DJ into the digital age is an absolute privilege for 6 Music.”

The podcast will also feature an interview with Jack White of The White Stripes. It will be released on 3 January, which the station is dubbing the “Joy Of 6 Day”, a celebration of the best of 6 Music.

Earlier this year the station had been earmarked for closure but the BBC Trust rejected the proposal, which had also prompted a backlash from listeners, musicians and politicians.

(guardian.co.uk)