Me and John. Zentraus Club, Barcelona, Spain. June 2004 (Photo by Daniela Nessmann)

Not that I'm any authority on John Peel at all. Who is? But, for some reason, I'd been asked (on more than one occasion) by print and online publications to come up with a small piece about John and the impact his death has had.

I never delivered. I always thought that anything I'd have to say about John, I'd say it here. And besides, what could I write? The impact his death had on what exactly. The music industry? Radio? No. The only thing I can write about is the impact it had on me.

Since my first contact with him via the radio as a teenager living somewhere in the Midlands. To calling him up and then via e-mail. To then strategically living near Maida Vale just so I could go to the Peel sessions. To then meeting up at the Sonar Festival in Barcelona. To then having him play a DJ set at a festival we organised. To attending his funeral. It had been an absolute privelege to have known him.

I got nothing but smiles, warmth and enthusiasm. That's what I'll miss the most. Of course there are lots of other things to discuss about how his passing has left this massive void. The current state of UK commercial radio. Rock's decline into corporate functionalism. British TV networks capable of producing umpteen celebrity reality show variants, yet have difficulty coming up with one decent music programme.

But simply put, my reasons for missing him is just one of friendship.

John's longtime producer John Walters (who died before Peel in 2001) once remarked "If he ever hits puberty, we'll be in trouble." Thankfully, he never did.