John Peel's online record collection re-launched

John Peel pictured next to his record collection as it was in 1970

John Peel's virtual record collection is being re-launched by volunteers after the first stage of funding ended.

About a tenth of the broadcaster's 25,000 vinyl albums, which he kept at his home near Stowmarket, were put on arts website The Space.

Funding for project ran out, but staff from the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket have started adding more titles to a new site.

The team is aiming to get more funding to put all the DJ's records online.

Last year, a £100,000 Arts Council grant was used by the John Peel Centre to develop the record collection at The Space.

The centre's team got as far as uploading the first 100 records for every letter of the alphabet from Peel's collection.

The virtual online archive allows you to browse along shelves of vinyl record sleeves

Staff volunteering their time have now added 100 albums to the existing collection and uploaded them to a new website called John Peel's Record Archive.

The new albums are from acts whose names begin with numerals, such as 10cc and 2 Live Crew.

'Enthusiasm and expectation'

Tom Barker, a director of the John Peel Centre venue, said: "It's an important part of our national heritage and making the whole collection available, although it will take some time, is important to show what was there.

"We don't want to leave people wondering if a certain artist was in John's collection or not and there has been such enthusiasm and expectation for the project.

"We hope to try and attract new funding and develop the idea of record boxes which tell the story of John's influence on the development of musical genres."

Wirral-born Peel, who died in 2004, was a champion of new music during nearly four decades as a DJ on BBC Radio 1.

His collection also included 40,000 vinyl singles as well as CDs.