JOHN COOPER CLARKE Sits In (5)

John Cooper Clarke sits in while Jarvis is away, presenting a show jam-packed with rockabilly, pysch, crooners and more. In his new feature Cockney Corner, there's Low era David Bowie, Anthony Newley and Chas 'n' Dave. Frankie Avalon makes John consider level-headed hairdressing: "you don't want a 'wacky' barber, you want a man with a steady hand and a sober world view!" His Sabbath Special track comes from the star-studded Million Dollar Quartet. And in the A-Z of Peel slot, John rewinds to P and plays Pulp's very first Peel Session. Birthdays: Plastic Bertrand. Valete: Johnnie Ray and Buddy Holly.

Let's Go Tripping

To escape the miserable weather, we go on an aural holiday — with a first class flight, a touch of holiday romance, and the sound of surf on the sand. John McGregor reads his story about a meeting in a lost property office. We have a cocktail (today in 1933 Prohibition was repealed), spy mermaids on the rocks and go for a dip in the pool. The Peel T is for June Tabor, and On This Day back in dreary London, the congestion charge scheme began. As Jarvis sails off into the sunset, he suggests we think of this show as his holiday postcard. Birthdays: (Larry Adler last week), Ron Goodwin, David McComb, Alan Bates (being begged to tell a story in Whistle Down the Wind), Paris Hilton (on her love of pound shops), Gene Pitney, Rebecca Adlington and Ed Sheeran. Valete: Paul Tanner. 

The Sound of the Underground

Celebrating 150 years of the London Underground, Jarvis takes us on an exuberant ride through the subway systems of London, Paris and beyond. There are Tube facts and a recording of Jarvis's Metro ride today. Emma Clarke explains how she became one of the voices of the Underground network. We travel further: today is the beginning of Chinese New Year, we glimpse Russia, then we reach the deepest realm there is. Back to reality with the rubbish morning commute; it's time to spice up the journey with Poems on the Underground and some naughtiness on the NY Subway. The Peel S is for The Sabres of Paradise. We take a detour into the world of chess, as On This Day Garry Kasparov was beaten by Deep Blue. We alight and our magical Tube train hurtles away. Birthdays: Bertolt Brecht, Boris Pasternak, Roberta Flack, Jerry Goldsmith, Jimmy Durante. Valete: Reg Presley.

Sunday Drive

Jarvis sings his intro over some soothing Spiritualized pure phase drones. This week, London skyscraper The Shard opened despite the recession — and today in 1637, the financial bubble of Tulip Mania burst. Walter Donohue reads for us Sunday Drive by Bob Ayers, from a story anthology edited by Paul Auster. Jarvis plays a song that may have been designed to catch out unwary DJs! Gertrude Stein reads the tale of a young butterfly collector. Today, as on the first Sunday of every February, Trinity Church in Dalston held the Joseph Grimaldi service for clowns. The Peel R is for Racing Cars. We mark Setsubun, the Japanese bean-throwing festival; and the listeners are asked for our favourite cover versions. Birthdays: Melanie Safka, Paul Auster, Kenneth Anger, Lol Tolhurst, Gertrude Stein, Dave Davies (who asked tricky questions in RE class) and Yasuharu Konishi.