Featured Image Credit: Glastonbury/Alamy
Topics: BBC, Glastonbury, Music, Crime
Emily Brown
Members of the public have shown their support for a petition calling to rename Glastonbury's John Peel stage following allegations of abuse by the DJ.
Peel passed away in 2004, 34 years after he first attended Glastonbury's first-ever festival, named at the time The Pilton Festival.
The DJ subsequently attended the festival a number of times, with many of the artists who played on his BBC Radio 1 show becoming part of the lineup. Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis described Peel as a 'master at choosing the bands that were going to make it', and following the DJ's death Eavis renamed the New Bands Stage in his honour.
Almost two decades on, however, a member of the public has launched a Change.org petition calling for the John Peel stage to be renamed, saying its current title is a 'slap in the face to sexual abuse survivors, women, children and decent people'.
The petition cites accusations of sexual abuse by Peel and comments he made himself throughout his career, including a comment to The Sunday Correspondent in 1989 when he described having a relationship with a teenager.
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At the time, he said: "Girls used to queue up outside [...] I remember one of my regular customers, as it were, turned out to be 13, though she looked older.”
In 2012, Peel was accused of having unprotected sex with a 15-year-old named Jane Nevin, who then became pregnant. The teenager is said to have had an abortion and wrote to the DJ years later to discuss the situation, after which he allegedly responded to express relief she had not revealed a secret child.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Nevin said she had chosen to come forward after hearing stories of alleged abuse by Jimmy Savile.
The organiser of the petition, named Jack, argued the stage is 'long overdue being renamed', adding: "Please rename it for the next years festival [sic]. He's been put up on pedestal for too long."
The petition has a goal of 200 signatures and has received more than 150 at the time of writing (4 July). In an update shared last week, Jack thanked the public for their support and said he had contacted Glastonbury 'letting them know how we feel'.
"I won't stop spreading this campaign and contacting all bands who played at this year's Glasto until they change the name to someone who deserves it (or just call it the stripy tent)," he added.
UNILAD has reached out to Glastonbury for comment.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org