Glastonbury tribute to John Peel

Peel was a regular visitor to Glastonbury

Glastonbury Festival's new bands tent will be renamed the John Peel Stage in tribute to the veteran BBC Radio 1 DJ, who died this week aged 65.

"It's very appropriate because it's all the sort of music that John would have chosen," Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis told BBC Somerset Sound.

Eavis recalled Peel's huge influence on the festival, attributing The Smiths' landmark 1984 performance to the DJ.

"He chose a band and he made it succeed," said Eavis.

Eavis recalled first meeting John Peel at the age of 18, and the friendship that developed over the years as Peel became the BBC's Glastonbury guru.

"He was the lad that always knew which band was going to make the grade," said Eavis.

In addition, the BBC News website received 30,000 e-mails from users paying tribute to Peel in the hours after his death was announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Tributes were also paid by Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Roxy Music's Brian Eno on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

'Energy'

"He put a huge amount of energy into listening to the sackloads of stuff he received with a curiosity and an appetite that never seemed to diminish," said Eno.

I don't think I've ever laughed so much as when I was with John Chris Berthoud BBC Radio 4's Home Truths Radio 4's Front Row pays tribute to John Peel

"He didn't deal in celebrities for their own sake. He found beauty and interest in ordinary people. He was a real democrat."

Thom Yorke said: "Whenever I was losing inspiration, I would listen to the show and I was back on track."

"He played one thing every show that changed how you thought about that style of music."

John Peel died from a massive heart attack whilst on holiday with his wife Sheila in Peru.

Personalities from across the music and broadcasting industries have paid tribute to his moral and musical influence.

'Pioneer'

Radio 4 producer Chris Berthoud, who led the team which set up Peel's Home Truths programme, said: "John was an exceptionally talented presenter, and one of the nicest men I've ever met.

"I don't think I've ever laughed so much as when I was with John - nor have I ever been so impressed by a person's handling of extremely sensitive interviews. "

Rock icon Ozzy Osbourne called his death "a terrible loss to the music industry".

"He was a pioneer in his own right," said Osbourne. "If it wasn't for John Peel, Black Sabbath would never have been played on the radio. He was a good guy."

Mercury Music Prize winners Franz Ferdinand paid tribute to the broadcaster by playing a version of Peel's favourite song, The Undertones' Teenage Kicks, at the end of their set at the Manchester Apollo on Tuesday.

And a user contacted the BBC News website to report that ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr joined Neil and Tim Finn on stage at the Liverpool Empire to play Teenage Kicks in Peel's honour.

Chris Watson, of Runcorn, called it "a brilliant and moving tribute".