Dialect and dialectic: John Peel's Stylised Scouseness and contested contexts of Englishness in Broadcast Radio

This article is concerned to evaluate notions of Englishness in John Peel's affective imprint on radio programming in the Unites States and the United Kingdom. Drawing from various theorisations of Englishness, Britishness and local identity, I form the basis for the use of the term Stylised Scouseness how Liverpudlian entertainers and broadcasters understood, manipulated, and ultimately re-presented the local Scouse accent and vernacular cultural stereotypes to effect commercial success. Building on the mode of Stylised Scouseness established by the Beatles, John Peel, already working in US radio, adapted his natural, Received Pronunciation (RP) accent to more closely mimic the Beatles' obvious (yet deliberately cultivated) Liverpudlian accent in his radio broadcasts. In so doing, Peel established a practice of performative discourse that would carry on throughout his career. Simply by varying his accent, dialect and vocabulary, Peel earned simultaneous acceptance from discrete and varied groups of the listening public. I argue that the lasting effect of this practice on both John Peel's career and the UK broadcast industry is that it established a contextual link between accent, authenticity and Englishness that redrafted the spatial and cultural boundaries of radio and audience reception.