The exhibition features 50 artists/fans including Turner Prise nominee Phil Collins, world renown cartoonist Gerald Scarfe and “big head” Frank Sidebottom.

Luke who runs the gallery told me, “Harry knows loads of artists and generally his shows are between 50 and 100 pieces, like 100 Mothers.” As you’d expect, the subject matter is a right mixed bag. There’s a shrine tribute to Lee Perry/Reggae, a Bob Marley portrait plus Elvis Costello, Cobain, Roots Manuva, Mark E. Smith, Sonic Youth, White Stripes, Syd Barratt, The Undertones, Festive 50 and many more of his favourites. There’s a large portait of Peel with his son in a Liverpool shirt at the entrance but my favourites were the painting of post-punk band Magazine and mad-cap poet Ivor Culter in a fetching party hat.

Harry interviewed Peel in November 1995 for his fanzine Frank which is reproduced in the free fanzine. He told Pye that of the Radio 1 DJs, “I’m really fond of Alan Freeman” and it’s sad to note his passing last week.

In true punk tradition, Pye has produced a free fanzine for the show featuring contributions by Arthur Smith, Pete Wylie, Andrew Collins, Billy Bragg and many more. There’s also a twelve track CD with a couple of his big favourites, Corner Shop and PJ Harvey. Unfortunately, the improvisation ‘for Peel’ by Lol Coxhill didn’t make the CD but hopefully, it’ll turn up on MySpace.

If you’re looking for an unique Christmas present, Martin Jutes ‘The Fall’ will be the most expensive painting (at about £2,000) but there are no prices quoted for the artworks as apparently a legal problem has arisen on some image copyright; not particularly in the spirit of all things Peel. By comparison, I passed another gallery on my way home that was selling far more commercial images of stars of the sixties (Jimi, Lennon, “Pirate” Keith Richards, etc) and you just know which one John would have preferred to have been involved with.

To cover the Home Truths side of things, I asked a visitor why she had come. “I picked up a flyer in the bookshop on Rivington Street,” she told me. “It wasn’t any band in particularly that he played, it was the variety of the music, along with bands that you’d never heard of. He was always pushing the boundaries as a DJ.” I think this was true for most listeners and as one of the contributors to the fanzine pointed out, “he was extremely important for discovering old and new music, I don’t think that was the case with Noel Edmunds.”

for PEEL as always.

Note: Open Thursday — Sunday 1pm to 6pm

John Peel on Fly:
John Peel remembered for John Peel Day — 12th October 2006 (with Julie Dyble, Glyn ‘Bigga’ Bush, Madtone and Dr. Rubberfunk)
Mixmaster Morris Talks about John Peel
John Peel Day — Portsmouth
John Peel Remembered

Links:
www.nomoregrey.co.uk Redchurch Street, London E2 7DJ (5 mins walk from Liverpool Street Stations)
www.myspace.com/forpeel
www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel
Monday 17.00 -18:30 Artrocker with Paul & Tom Artrocker
www.artrocker.com
http://www.artrockermagazine.com
www.franksidebottom.co.uk
www.billybragg.co.uk
www.commentart.com
Artwords Bookshop, 65A Rivington Street, EC2A 3QQ
Artisan Fine Art, 71 Queen Street, EC1 tel: 0207 332 0966 www.artisangalleries.com
Obituary: Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman (1927- Nov 2006)
[Also worth a mention that Freeman’s wasn’t only the “pop-picker” of the Top Twenty countdown but also pioneered the Saturday afternoon request show (he played my request for ‘White Riot’ by the Clash!) and the Friday night rock show].