300 episodes

Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

Great Lives BBC Radio 4

    • Gesellschaft und Kultur
    • 4.4 • 16 Ratings

Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

    Alan Freeman picked by Simon Mayo

    Alan Freeman picked by Simon Mayo

    In 1961 Alan 'Fluff' Freeman took over as the host of the BBC Radio's 'Pick of the Pops' and changed music broadcasting forever. From the opening "Greetings pop pickers" Alan would count down the hottest records of the week punctuating the end of each track with minimal detail before introducing the next. It was exhilarating radio and his staccato delivery and catchphrases of "Right, all right, stay bright" and "Not 'Arf" he influenced a generation of broadcasters.
    Simon Mayo was a DJ at Radio 1 at the same time as 'Fluff' and says his broadcasting hero coming came into his studio and said "Simon, darling" before kissing the back of his own hand that he'd placed over Simon's mouth. Simon remembers the end of Fluff's time at Radio 1 and speaks openly about his own departure from the BBC in 2018. He tells Matthew Parris that it was Fluff's economy of words that impressed him when sometimes he'd simply say "and" to link two records, and how Freeman gave once gave him a notebook full of opera and classical music recommendations.
    Behind-the-scenes Alan was generous, kind and encouraging, but he was also a deeply private man who few got to know well. But one person who did was producer Phil Swern who worked with Alan for many years.
    Presenter: Matthew Parris
    Guest: Simon Mayo
    Guest: Phil Swern
    Producer: Toby Field for BBC Audio Bristol

    • 27 min
    Actor Niamh Cusack on the life of poet Mary Oliver

    Actor Niamh Cusack on the life of poet Mary Oliver

    The Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mary Oliver died in 2019. She was best known for her poetry that reflected her love of the natural world and her famous poem 'Wild Geese' is said to have literally saved people's lives with its message of hope and redemption. An abusive childhood led the young Mary to escape into the woods near her home in Ohio where she discovered a love of nature that was to sustain her throughout her life. She found love with the photographer Molly Malone Cook and they lived happily for many years in Provincetown Massachusetts. Her life and work are greatly admired by many including this week's guest the actor Niamh Cusack and Mary's friend Baroness Helena Kennedy.
    Producer: Maggie Ayre
    Extracts of Mary Oliver from The Onbeing Project with Krista Tippett and from a conversation with Coleman Barks for the Lannan Foundation

    • 28 min
    Mr Motivator picks Harry Belafonte

    Mr Motivator picks Harry Belafonte

    Harry Belafonte became the King of Calypso with hits like 'Day-O' and 'Jump in the Line' but he would later describe himself as an activist who became a musician and an actor.
    Fitness guru Derrick Evans MBE AKA 'Mr Motivator' spent much of the 90s on TV wearing brightly-coloured spandex and encouraging people to be more active. He stresses the political messages that underpin Calypso music and celebrates the stand Belafonte took in the campaign for civil rights in America in the 1960s. Derrick moved from Jamaica to the UK when he was a boy and remembers the impact of the Belafonte film 'Carmen Jones'.
    Presenter: Matthew Parris
    Guest: Derrick Evans AKA 'Mr Motivator'
    Producer: Toby Field for BBC Audio Bristol

    • 28 min
    Jimmy Wales on Thomas Jefferson

    Jimmy Wales on Thomas Jefferson

    In 1776 Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, kick-starting the movement against British rule and putting in place the foundations for democracy in what became the United States of America. But he was a man of contradictions. He argued passionately against slavery but was a slave-owner. He had a relationship with an enslaved woman, Sally Hemings which may have started in France when she was just fourteen. He became the third President of the United States, and he loved philosophy, nature and wine.
    Jimmy Wales first-learned of Jefferson and the founding fathers when he was in school. The founder of Wikipedia fell in love with Encyclopaedias when his Mother bought a set from a travelling salesman. Jimmy's fascinated by Jefferson's political principles and intrigued by his many contradictions, and with the help of Kathleen Burk they discuss Jefferson's political legacy and how his attitudes to slavery are impacting on how he's seen today.
    Presenter: Matthew Parris
    Guest: Jimmy Wales
    Guest expert: Kathleen Burk, Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London
    Producer: Toby Field for BBC Audio Bristol

    • 27 min
    Eartha Kitt proposed by Faye Tozer

    Eartha Kitt proposed by Faye Tozer

    Eartha Kitt was born in South Carolina in 1927. She had a tough upbringing but found her talent whilst in theatre school in New York. She became a star of stage and then screen, most notably as Catwoman in the series 'Batman'. She upset President Johnson's wife with her comments about the Vietnam War. Her sultry cabaret performances and trademark growl were celebrated. She would play-up to her image as a lover of men but lived much of her life alone, and she worked tirelessly until the end. Her best-known songs are 'Old Fashioned Girl', 'C'est si bon', 'Uska Dara' and the Christmas standard 'Santa Baby'.
    Singer, dancer and actor Faye Tozer met Eartha Kitt on the set of a TV show. Kitt wrapped her leg around the door frame of the dressing room and purred "Hello darlings" to Faye and her Steps bandmates. It was Faye's Mum who introduced her to Eartha's music and together they listened to hits like 'Old Fashioned Girl' and 'The Day That the Circus Left Town' with Faye soon learning how to do Eartha's trademark growl.
    Presenter: Matthew Parris
    Guest: Faye Tozer
    Expert: John L. Williams, author of 'America's Mistress: Eartha Kitt, Her Life and Times'
    Producer: Toby Field for BBC Audio in Bristol.

    • 28 min
    John Gray on JG Ballard

    John Gray on JG Ballard

    Philosopher John Gray chooses as his great life the iconic British writer of dystopian and speculative fiction, J.G. Ballard, in conversation with the author's daughter Bea Ballard.
    Presented by Matthew Parris
    Produced in Bristol by Beth Sagar-Fenton

    • 28 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
16 Ratings

16 Ratings

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