Brian Peeling was a professor of urology at the University of Wales College of Medicine. He was born in Bengal on 12 November 1930 and was educated at Kingswood School near Bath. A very talented musician at school, he considered whether to study to become a professional pianist or a doctor. He opted to study medicine, and after a period in the Army, where he was commissioned in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, he read medicine at St John’s College, Cambridge and the London Hospital, qualifying in 1957. A keen hockey player, whilst at Cambridge, he got a blue for hockey three years running, and subsequently played hockey for the London Hospital, University of London and the County of Essex. From 1961 to 1962 he was a Hugh Robertson travelling fellow in Chicago and then returned to the London Hospital as the first senior registrar in urology; in this post he undertook a research project on how radiotherapy might benefit patients after nephrectomy for kidney cancer. Unexpectedly, this study showed that radiotherapy made things worse for all groups of patients. Brian then returned to general surgery and went to Cardiff as a senior registrar to Pat Forrest. He was appointed as a consultant general surgeon at St Woolos Hospital, Newport in 1969. In the 1970s, prostate cancer patients presented with late-stage disease for whom palliative care was the only treatment option. The research of Brian and others in the 1970s and 1980s initiated the revolution in our understanding and management of prostate cancer. As well as onerous general surgical duties, Brian pursued research in Newport into steroid chemistry and the natural history of prostatic disease, and subsequently started a research programme with radiologists Ken Evans and Glaslyn Griffiths on using ultrasound to image and guide biopsy of the prostate. These research programmes, supported by the Tenovus charity, made Brian internationally famous and his groundbreaking research led to him being awarded a personal chair in urology by the University of Wales College of Medicine in 1991. In the same period Brian developed a urology investigations unit at St Woolos, which in 1991 moved to a spacious dedicated urology facility at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, where Brian was based until his retirement in 1996. An excellent surgeon, Brian was one of the founders of the British Prostate Group, a past president of the urology section of the Royal Society of Medicine and authored many scientific papers and book chapters throughout his professional life. He encouraged and inspired a generation of urological trainees. In retirement he co-wrote a detailed history of Newport hospitals *The Royal Gwent and St Woolos Hospitals: a century of service in Newport* published in 2004 (Old Bakehouse Publications). Brian married Audrey Bloom in 1957. Audrey was a consultant anaesthetist in Newport, and many will remember Audrey and Brian as generous hosts in their family home in Newport. Brian tended their extensive and beautiful gardens, and would entertain guests, playing his Bösendorfer piano. Sadly, Audrey died in 2011. Music remained an important part of Brian’s life in retirement – playing chamber music and supporting the Newport International Competition for Young Pianists. In 2008, he was a co-founder of the St Woolos Sinfonia, which continues as a thriving orchestra in Newport, based at St Woolos Cathedral. Brian was awarded a CBE in 2002 for services to urology. I feel privileged to have known Brian as a colleague, friend and fellow musician.