Teenage Kicks
So I went to John Peel’s funeral. I felt quite privileged, since there were at least 1000 people standing outside. I sat next to Ed Vulliamy from the Guardian and a woman from BBC News 24. There were loads of famous people there, almost none of whom I would have recognised without other people pointing them out to me.
I reckon it must be the only time You’ll Never Walk Alone and Teenage Kicks have been played in a cathedral. I still can’t quite square a song about masturbation with church, but there you go. They didn’t put it on the order of service (which featured Roy Orbison and Howling Wolf) so when I heard the first chords of Teenage Kicks as they began to carry the coffin out, I couldn’t help but smile.