In the book, Kiss My Arse: The Story of the Pogues, Stan Brennan, who worked for the Pogues as their representative described Peel's connection with their first single Dark Streets Of London that was released in 1984:
"It started selling quite well. John Peel picked it up. He liked the fact that it was so minimally designed. He'd got one of the white labels. He played it on the radio." [1]
Brennan later mentioned on the book that the BBC quietly refused to play the Pogues records because the band's original name Pogue Mahone in the Irish language meant "kiss my arse". The only exception Brennan mentioned was Peel's show, who played the record despite the BBC's reluctance.
The BBC's reluctance forced the band to drop Mahone from their name renaming themselves as the Pogues. When the band were still known as 'Pogue Mahone', their debut Peel session contained a song named 'The Boys From County Hell' that initally didn't made it to air due to the amount of bad language. The track was eventually broadcast along with the rest of the session on 03 December 1985.
Peel continued championing the band through out the 80's, but by the 90's, he rarely played any of their material.
In the late 70s, JP had played tracks by The Nips, Shane MacGowan's band before the Pogues.
https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/Pogues?so=search
PEEL ALPHABETISCH
MUSICIANS TITLE TAPE DATE
POCKET FISHERMEN (USA) The Leader Is Burning 385A01 05.08.1989
POGUE MAHONE Dark Streets Of London 235A30 18.04.1984
POGUES Streams Of Whisky 258A17 14.10.1984
POGUES The Boys From The County Hell 258B01 21.10.1984
POGUES Sally Maclennane L 01.07.1985
POGUES The Gentleman Soldier 280A57 19.08.1985
POGUES Navigator 279A58 05.08.1985
POGUES I`m A Man You Don`t Meet Every Day 270B28 12.08.1985
POGUES Boys From The County Hell 271B18 21.04.1985
POGUES Billy`s Bone 279A01 05.08.1985
POGUES Dingwall Regatta 262A35 09.12.1984
POGUES South Australia (CD) 343A10 07.02.1988
POGUES Muirshin Durkin (A Pair Of Brown Eyes 291B22 08.02.1986
POGUES Planxty Noel Hill 316B58 30.01.1987
POGUES Rake The Gates Of Hell 327A44 26.06.1987
POGUES The Body Of An American 293A63 01.03.1986
POGUES & THE DUBLINERS The Irish Rover 320B32 22.03.1987
POH STICKS Teenage High (Another Version) 407B60 06.01.1990