Peel's birthday party

John Peel: From alternative music guru to Radio 4 personality

The BBC is marking broadcaster John Peel's 60th birthday with two theme nights dedicated to his career.

BBC Two will be showing an evening of programmes on 29 August while Radio 1 will be offering its own tribute two days later.

Peel, who is 60 on 30 August, was one of Radio 1's first DJs when the station launched in 1967.

Over the years he has cemented his reputation as the champion of alternative rock and pop music by playing bands such as The Smiths, The Fall and the Undertones when no other DJ or radio station would touch them.

Jarvis Cocker: Pulp played a session for Peel a decade before they were famous

He is still inviting new bands to record sessions for his show. Pulp were a prime example. They recorded a session in the early eighties - a decade before they hit mainstream success in 1995.

More recently, his Radio 4 series Home Truths - which invites listeners to discuss their family and lifestyle experiences - has won a clutch of awards, including three prestigious Sony Radio Awards. He can also be heard on the BBC World Service.

Last year Peel received an OBE, while in 1997 Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "John Peel is truly a radio legend."

The BBC Two night - presented by Radio 1 colleague Jo Whiley - includes a profile of his long career, which has seen him work in the US and on offshore pirate stations in the UK before he was signed up by the BBC.

Peel was dubbed a "radio legend" by Tony Blair

Other programmes include Fatherhood, which was shot at his Peel Acres home in Suffolk - from where he now presents many of his shows - in which he talks about his own family life.

Meanwhile, Peel's Sounds of the 60s and 70s, together with Peel's Sounds of the 80s and 90s, will feature bands he has championed over the years.

Another programme, John Peel: TV Personality, documents his career on the small screen - including his comic appearances on Top of The Pops alongside David Jensen.

One memorable incident saw him threaten to "come round and break wind" in viewers' homes if they did not buy one of the records featured on the show.

Radio 1's celebrations on 31 August will feature a six-hour party from the Maida Vale studios in London, where most of his sessions have been recorded.

Surprise performances from his favourite bands are promised, while his favourite records from the 1940s to the 1990s will also be played.