Peel was an avid supporter of Steve Barker's On The Wire show and would praise him, especially in 1987, when he played tracks from Steve Barker's compilation album of his favourite current artists called Bugs On The Wire. In 1991, during a review of output, a new radio manager decided to take On The Wire off air. After a public uprising the BBC decided to keep the show when pressure from various people including John Peel and former radio DJ Martin Kelner, who had written a piece for The Independent in support of On the Wire forced the station to put it back on.