GLASTONBURY is renaming its iconic John Peel Stage amid sex allegations made against the late DJ.
The stage, which has hosted Primal Scream, Dua Lipa and Years & Years in recent years, was named after the broadcaster, who famously championed emerging acts on BBC radio, following Peel’s death in 2004.
3
3
But festival bosses have decided to quietly remove his name due to increasing outrage over comments he made while he was alive and allegations which have emerged since.
Confirming the renaming, Emily said: “We’ve had 20 years of John Peel and it’s been an honour to use his name.”
In an interview published in 2004, he admitted to sexual contact with “an awful lot” of underage girls.
The DJ was 25 when he married his first wife Shirley Anne Milburn in Texas in 1965, when she was just 15, although it was legal at the time.
In 1989 he also bragged about one of his “regular” sexual partners being 13.
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.” Peel added that he “didn’t ask for ID”.
Read Related Also: John Travolta pays tribute to ‘special’ Kirstie Alley after death: ‘I love you’
In 2012, a woman named Jane Nevin said she had a three-month affair with him in 1969 when he was 30 and she was 15, which she said resulted in a “traumatic” abortion.
She said: “Looking back, it was terribly wrong and I was perhaps manipulated.”
A petition to rename the stage was launched last July, which 1,820 people have signed.
A festival source said: “Glastonbury bosses are feeling the pressure – it looks horrendous for an event which is all about peace and love to be celebrating someone who claimed to have sex with underage girls.”
John passed away aged 65 in 2004 following a heart attack on holiday in Peru.
The New Bands Stage was originally renamed as the John Peel Stage by festival organiser Michael Eavis.
He said at the time: “It’s very appropriate because it’s all the sort of music that John would have chosen. He was a master at choosing the bands that were going to make it.”
A total of 210,000 people are expected to attend this year’s festival on Worthy Farm in Somerset from June 21 to 25.
Sir Elton John, Guns N’ Roses and Arctic Monkeys have been confirmed as headliners for the event.
3
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, ‘752905198150451’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);
