John Peel's record collection online

I was really sorry to read that John Peel was a child abuser. Sadly Saville looked like one but I like John Peel and find it hard to accept. Just goes to show that you don't have to look like a nonce to be one.

Peel was abused as a child himself.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1500254/In-his-own-words-the-teenage-rape-of-John-Peel.html

Will all those who have tried to wipe Saville and Glitter off the face of history do the same with Peel or does the perception that he was "cool" make a difference?

This is a difficult one because I was friends with Peel for a very long time. I won't defend his having had sexual contact with young girls because, for one thing, neither would he have.
However, I think to compare him to Savile is both unfair and crude. Savile was an abuser of children his whole life, he sought out vulnerable girls who were unwilling and used force. He exploited every opportunity and situation he could. He was a predatory abuser.
Peel was unusually honest in talking about his past. But it was his past. It's very hard to discuss this subject, or establish a context, because very few men will be honest about it. I wonder, how many men, at that time, or even now, if they had young teenage girls throwing themselves at them and wanting casual sex would say no? We will all pretend most men would do the right thing. We all know that is a lie. I doubt, when I was an immature 20 yr old, that I would have said no to a 15 yr old girl. And if she was 13 and looked and said she was 16? Would I have asked or would I have let my dick do all the thinking?
Nowadays I would act differently and I am glad I was never in that situation.
So, yes, John behaved in away that is uncomfortable for his friends to think about and was uncomfortable for him to remember. If everyone who ever behaved liked that, or knows they would have done so given the chance (and how often do we confuse lack of opportunity with good behavior?) were honest then Peel would not be seen as all that unusual, certainly not nearly 50 years ago. Whereas at any time Savile would be seen as a grotesque and evil man.