Peel: a lifetime of teenage kicks: John Peel's legacy will be the generations of musicians and label founders which he broadcast, supported and inspired.(Radio)

John Peel did not pretend to be anything more than a DJ, but unlike most of his record-spinning colleagues his legacy extends far beyond a set of turntables and into the heart of the music business and British culture.

Peel--whose death last week aged 65 following a heart attack has shocked friends and fans around the world--was the BBC's champion of new music, often the only DJ in the country performing that function. His seat-of-the-pants, no-playlist style encouraged bands to form. His enthusiasm helped labels spring up. He was an A&R source (and briefly, with his long-time manager Clive Selwood, a label boss). He helped promoters fix gigs. He nurtured whole genres of music, ignored by the rest of the business. His Radio One show was--and will probably remain--the only programme to follow a Finnish grindcore metal tune with an unknown drum combo from Tanzania. In short, the music business owes Peel a huge debt of gratitude.

"None of us would be in the industry without John Peel--my father [Clive Selwood], who has been his best friend and manager for 40 years and my brother Chet and I, who first worked on the Peel Sessions releases for Strange Fruit," says Bee Storey. "His inspiration goes without saying, most particularly it's the fact that he was completely diverse in his choice of music, which is what is so important. He had pretenders behind him but they all moved into specialising, while he never did that which was the secret of new music. It's a tragedy because we're living in a very homogenised world"

Daniel Miller's single Warm Leatherette/TVOD, by his alter ego The Normal, was played by Peel in 1978. The experience encouraged Miller to ditch his band, form Mute and sign Peel show staple acts such as Moby and Nick Cave. "He was such a huge inspiration and influence," says Miller. "He inspired people to form bands and make records, including me, so they could hear themselves on the Peel show." Like many label heads, Miller often found that Peel was the only DJ who would play his bands' records. "We really cared about what he thought. There was respect. It would be a shame if he didn't play something, but we knew he would have listened to it and respected that."

Similarly, Alan McGee was spurred on to forge a career in the industry after Peel played a single by his own group the Laughing Apples. "He had more focus about new ideas and music than most people 30 or 40 years younger" says McGee. "He gave me my first play on radio, he played Creation's first record and the first record we put out on ...