A FESTIVAL-GOER has created a petition to have the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury renamed because of historical sexual abuse claims made against the former DJ.
Jack said the stage is “long overdue” a change and is hoping organisers will remove the former BBC presenter’s name from the tent ahead of next year’s festival.
The petition comes after a woman, Jane Nevin, claimed in 2012 she became pregnant by Peel during a three-month affair when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl in 1969.
Peel, who died of a heart attack in 2004, is alleged to have met Nevin at a Black Sabbath concert when he was 30.
She claims he had sex with her in the BBC studio and backstage at concerts.
In an interview with The Sunday Correspondent in 1989, Peel said: “Girls used to queue up outside. By and large not usually for shagging.
“Oral sex they were particularly keen on, I remember. […] One of my, er, regular customers, as it were, turned out to be 13, though she looked older.”
An interview originally published in The Herald in April 2004 stated that Peel admitted to sexual contact with “an awful lot” of underage girls.
In an interview with The Guardian in 1975 while discussing women, Peel said: “All they wanted me to do was abuse them, sexually, which, of course, I was only too happy to do”.
Jack, 26, from Manchester, is now hoping that Glastonbury organisers will re-brand their Peel tent in light of the comments and historical accusations.
His petition read: “The John Peel stage at Glastonbury is long overdue being renamed, considering the serious sexual abuse he has been accused of and even admitted, against women and children.
“It’s a slap in the face to sexual abuse survivors, women, children and decent people to have to stand in a stage with his name on it, which has the sick words “teenage dreams so hard to beat” written on the side.
“Please rename it for the next years festival. He’s been put up on pedestal for too long.”
Peel, born John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, worked as a DJ for the BBC from 1967 till 2004 when he died of a sudden heart attack while in Peru.
In 1965, Peel married a 15-year-old American girl called Shirley Anne Milburn when he was 26.
He later claimed she and her family had lied about her age.
They divorced in 1973 and years later she reportedly took her own life.
In 2012, eight years after Peel’s death, Nevin came forward with claims of an affair with the highly respected DJ.
She said the affair resulted in her falling pregnant and having a “traumatic” abortion in Ealing.
A postcard, allegedly sent to Nevin from Peel after she contacted him about their relationship 30 years later, read: “Jane, Well, you’ve scared the daylights out of me. For years I’ve been expecting a letter starting, ‘In the 70s we had a brief affair – and your now son/daughter, aged 27, wants to meet you’.
“What exactly do you want me to do. I live near Ipswich so Croydon is pretty inaccessible.
“I’ll wait to hear from you again. John.”
Jack set the Change.org page up on Friday (1 JUL) where it has so far gained around 150 signatures, however Jack is hoping to hit 150,000.
Speaking today (MON), Jack said: “I knew about John Peel’s sexual abuse allegations and admissions after researching him once, about six months prior.
“It was when I was in the tent for the first time the recollection of it hit me, and I felt really uneasy about it.
“I’ve been tweeting Glastonbury and Emily Eavis, the director, daily. I’ve also sent emails to the festival itself, through their various emails.
“I’ve had no contact from the festival.
“I’m going to keep spreading the word until we hit 150,000 because I think it’s the right thing to do.”
The petition has received a mixed reaction from music fans.
One person wrote: “He doesn’t deserve to be remembered.”
Another said: “This is abominable. This man is disgusting and does not deserve to be lauded with an important stage named after him.”
A third commented: “Accused not found guilty.”
While another person said: “What? Never heard of that, and I’m certainly not going to sign anything that looks like CRAP.”
