Desert Island Discs

BBC Radio 4

4.4 (418)
PERSONAL JOURNALS
UPDATED FORTNIGHTLY

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

3 DAYS AGO

Classic Desert Island Discs - Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is the most successful director of his generation and the highest-grossing director of all time: his films have taken more than $10 billion worldwide. From Jaws to E.T. and Jurassic Park to Schindler’s List, his storytelling has captivated audiences around the world. Steven grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where he started making films as a young boy. In 1958 he made a short Western which won him a Boy Scout merit badge. He screened it to his entire Scout troop and their laughter and applause got him hooked on film making. In 1971 he directed a television movie called Duel about a motorist who is pursued by a murderous truck driver. The film attracted good reviews from critics, and before the age of 30, Steven had directed his first global hit: Jaws grossed $471 million worldwide and is credited as heralding the arrival of the blockbuster era. He now says Jaws was ‘a free pass into my future.’ He has won three Academy Awards, and has received eight nominations for best director. The Fabelmans, his most recent film, is a semi-fictionalised account of his own coming of age, drawing on his film-making experiences as a child. Steven is married to the actor Kate Capshaw, who starred in his film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and they have seven children. DISC ONE: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by Gene Pitney DISC TWO: Fugue in G minor, BMW 578 – “The Little” arranged by Leopold Stokowski, composed by J.S Bach, performed by Philadelphia Orchestra and conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin DISC THREE: Michelle by The Beatles DISC FOUR: What the World Needs Now Is Love by Jackie DeShannon DISC FIVE: Come Fly with Me by Frank Sinatra DISC SIX: The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen DISC SEVEN: Somewhere, composed by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, performed by Reri Grist DISC EIGHT: Coolhand by Buzzy Lee BOOK CHOICE: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck LUXURY ITEM: H-8 Bolex camera CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Coolhand by Buzzy Lee Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

36 min
10 NOV

Lesley Manville, actor

Lesley Manville made her debut on the West End stage as a teenager in 1972, and since then has taken on a wide range of roles on stage and screen, including an Oscar-nominated performance in the film Phantom Thread. She was born in Brighton and first enjoyed performing as a singer, winning competitions with her sister. When she was 15, she commuted daily to the Italia Conti stage school in London. Her first professional role was in a West End musical, and in 1974 she joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm. After two years she decided to leave, even though the work was well paid, and return to the stage. At the Royal Court in London she appeared in some of the most critically acclaimed new plays of the 1980s including Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, and Andrea Dunbar’s Rita, Sue and Bob Too. She has also enjoyed a long collaboration with the film director Mike Leigh, memorably playing the alcoholic Mary in Another Year. Her recent TV roles include starring as Cathy in the popular BBC Two sitcom Mum, for which she won a Royal Television Society Award in 2019. She has also played Princess Margaret in The Crown, including a scene in which Margaret shares her favourite records on a BBC radio progamme. She was appointed a CBE in 2021. DISC ONE: Over The Rainbow - Eva Cassidy DISC TWO: My Brother Jake - Free DISC THREE: O Soave Fanciulla, composed by Giacomo Puccini, performed by Jose Carreras, Richard Stilwell and Teresa Stratas and Metropolitan Opera Chorus, conducted by James Levine DISC FOUR: Sugar on the Floor - Etta James DISC FIVE: You Don't Have To Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield DISC SIX: Not While I’m Around - Barbra Streisand DISC SEVEN: Make You Feel My Love - Adele DISC EIGHT: Phantom Thread III - Jonny Greenwood BOOK CHOICE: A Botanical Encyclopedia LUXURY ITEM: A bed with linen, duvet and pillows CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Over The Rainbow - Eva Cassidy Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

37 min
3 NOV

Ronnie O'Sullivan - Extended Edit

This is an extended version of a programme first broadcast on Sunday 28 May 2023. Ronnie O’Sullivan OBE is currently ranked the number one snooker player in the world, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the history of the sport. He has won the Masters a record seven times and he jointly holds the record for winning the World Snooker Championship seven times. Since 1997 he has held the world record for the fastest 147 break, leading to his nickname 'the Rocket'. Ronnie grew up in Essex and his father gave him his first snooker cue when he was seven. He took to the game immediately: he was playing on a full size snooker table when he was just eight, and two years later he was beating adult players. By the age of 12, he was winning cash prizes in local tournaments, and was soon earning more than his teachers. Ronnie turned professional when he was 16, and quickly established himself as a star player and a fans' favourite - but he has also made headlines away from the snooker table, with accounts of his depression and struggles with alcohol and drugs. For many years he has kept his physical and mental health in check through his passion for running. He received an OBE in 2016 for services to snooker. DISC ONE: Lose Yourself - Eminem DISC TWO: Careless Whisper - Wham! DISC THREE: Step by Step - Whitney Houston DISC FOUR: Real Gone Kid - Deacon Blue DISC FIVE: You’re So Vain - Carly Simon DISC SIX: Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics DISC SEVEN: Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) - Train DISC EIGHT: That’s All - Genesis BOOK CHOICE: Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn LUXURY ITEM: A painting set CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: That’s All - Genesis Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

55 min
7 SEPT

Steven Knight, writer

Steven Knight CBE is a screenwriter, producer, and director for film and television. He is best known for creating the TV series Peaky Blinders but he has also turned his hand to feature films, novels, comedy and even gameshows. He co-created the global TV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. His first film, Dirty Pretty Things, was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards; Peaky Blinders won a BAFTA for Best Drama Series and his writing influences are eclectic. His subjects include chess, cooking, Dickens, Diana, Princess of Wales; the origins of the SAS and a Star Wars sequel. Steven was born in 1959, the youngest of seven children to George and Ida Knight. He grew up in Birmingham where his father hoped that his five sons would follow him into the blacksmith’s business. After studying English at University College London, Steven returned to Birmingham and began his career writing radio commercials. He was soon back down in London working at Capital Radio which then led to a career writing comedy for TV, then novels, and eventually screenplays. He is as respected in Hollywood as he is in the UK and more recently he has been instrumental in setting up a new TV and Film studio complex in Birmingham, Digbeth Loc. He is married with seven children and lives in Gloucestershire. DISC ONE: I Want You - Bob Dylan DISC TWO: Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald DISC THREE: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise. Performed by Worcester Cathedral Choir / Worcester Festival Choral Society, directed by Donald Hunt DISC FOUR: Redemption Song - Bob Marley & The Wailers DISC FIVE: A Different Corner - George Michael DISC SIX: Messetchinko Lio (You, Little Moon) - Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares DISC SEVEN: Red Right Hand - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds DISC EIGHT: Keep Right On Until the End of the Road - Harry Lauder BOOK CHOICE: The Greek Myths by Robert Graves LUXURY ITEM: A solar powered laptop CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Keep Right On Until the End of the Road - Harry Lauder Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

50 min
31 AUG

Mark Knopfler, musician

Mark Knopfler OBE is one of the UK’s most successful rock musicians and composers. He co-founded the band Dire Straits and their album Brothers in Arms is one of the bestselling albums of all time with 30 million copies sold. Alongside the many successes of Dire Straits, Mark has also composed hit songs for other artists like Private Dancer for Tina Turner and many soundtracks including Local Hero which features the perennial favourite Going Home. He first worked as a journalist on the Yorkshire Evening Post and was briefly an English lecturer in Essex before moving to a flat in Deptford with his brother and John Illsey. Dire Straits was born and became one of the UK’s most successful bands before Mark called time in 1995 and pursued his own solo career. In recent years, Mark invested some of his money to build one of the UK’s best recording studios to record his own music in alongside being a destination for other artists. He lives in London with his wife and still visits his studio most days to make music. DISC ONE: Ol’ Man River - Ray Charles DISC TWO: Red Sails in the Sunset – Dean Martin DISC THREE: Wonderful Land - The Shadows DISC FOUR: Write Me a Few Lines - Mississippi Fred MacDowell DISC FIVE: Duquesne Whistle - Bob Dylan DISC SIX: Deborah’s Theme - Ennio Morricone DISC SEVEN: Cleaning Windows - Van Morrison DISC EIGHT: Jessye ’Lisabeth - Bobbie Gentry BOOK CHOICE: The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald LUXURY ITEM: A guitar CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Duquesne Whistle - Bob Dylan Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

48 min
25 AUG

Sarah Raven, gardener and writer

Sarah Raven is one of Britain’s best known gardeners. Since her debut book, The Cutting Garden in 1996 she has written for national newspapers and magazines and shared her gardening knowledge as a broadcaster. Sarah’s love for gardening started with her family. Her father John was a Classics scholar at Cambridge and a keen amateur botanist and her mother Faith introduced Sarah to the joys of cutting and arranging flowers. Following her father’s death when she was just seventeen, Sarah read History at the University of Edinburgh before deciding to pursue a career as a doctor. It was whilst she was on maternity leave from her medical training that Sarah began to cultivate her own garden which led to her first book, The Cutting Garden. After the success of her first book, Sarah set up her eponymous business which has evolved from a kitchen table start-up to successful global brand. Sarah continues to write, her latest book, A Year Full of Pots was published earlier this year. Sarah lives in East Sussex with her husband, the writer Adam Nicholson. She has three stepsons and two daughters. DISC ONE: See My Baby Jive - Wizzard DISC TWO: Dashing White Sergeant - Jimmy Shand DISC THREE: Don’t You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds DISC FOUR: You Can Dance (If You Want To) - Go Go Lorenzo & The Davis Pinckney Project DISC FIVE: September - Earth, Wind and Fire DISC SIX: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You - Andy Williams DISC SEVEN: Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time) - Elton John DISC EIGHT: Spring 1. Composed by Antonio Vivaldi, recomposed by Max Richter and performed by Daniel Hope (violin) with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, conducted by André de Ridder Luxury: An ever-cleaning linen sheet bed with a hot (and cold) water bottle Book: The Flowers of Crete by John Fielding & Nicholas Turland Castaway’s Favourite: September - Earth, Wind and Fire Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Mugabi Turya

52 min
17 AUG

David Nicholls, writer

The writer David Nicholls is best known for his 2009 novel One Day which has sold 6 million copies, been made into a film and a Netflix series which reached the top 10 in 89 countries. He’s written six novels and his work as a screenwriter has won him a BAFTA and an Emmy nomination. He was born in 1966 and studied Drama and English Literature at Bristol University. This partly inspired his novel Starter for Ten. After university he spent one year in New York studying acting before returning to the UK to try and forge a career as an actor. He spent three years at the National Theatre but was mostly an understudy which inspired his novel Understudy. After a few years, David left acting and pursued a writing career and had success as a TV screen writer. Alongside his award-winning career as a TV writer he has won many prizes for his novels. David lives in London with his partner, Hannah and their two children. Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor DISC ONE: I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin DISC TWO: Cloudbusting - Kate Bush DISC THREE: Life on Mars? - David Bowie DISC FOUR: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria. Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Glenn Gould (piano) Coyote - Joni Mitchell DISC FIVE: Coyote - Joni Mitchell DISC SIX: We Belong Together - Rickie Lee Jones DISC SEVEN: Who Knows Where The Time Goes? - Fairport Convention DISC EIGHT: Protection - Massive Attack featuring Tracey Thorn BOOK CHOICE: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy LUXURY ITEM: A piano and sheet music CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin

50 min
11 AUG

Errollyn Wallen, composer

Errollyn Wallen is one of the world’s most performed living composers. Her work, which includes 22 operas, orchestral, chamber and vocal works, was played at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in 2012 and at Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. She was the first black woman to have a piece featured in the BBC Proms and the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello award for Classical Music for her body of work. Errollyn was born in Belize in Central America and was brought up in North London. The passion for music came early to her - as a baby she sang in her cot - and later she enjoyed free music lessons at her local primary school. She fell in love with the piano at five and went on to have formal lessons four years later. She studied music and dance at Goldsmith’s, University of London and took a Master’s in composition at King’s College London. After working as a session musician, Errollyn formed her own band Ensemble X whose motto is “we don’t break down barriers in music…we don’t see any”. In 1990 she composed a tribute to Nelson Mandela to mark his release from prison. In 2020 she was awarded a CBE for services to music in The Queen’s New Year’s Honours. Errollyn lives and works in a lighthouse at Strathy Point in the north of Scotland. DISC ONE: Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, 4th Movement: Allegro Con Brio. Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and performed by André Previn (piano) with the London Symphony Orchestra DISC TWO: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered - Ella Fitzgerald DISC THREE: L'Oiseau de Feu (The Firebird) (1910 Ballet Score) ('Fairy-tale Ballet In Two Tableaux For Orchestra') Introduction. Composed by Igor Stravinsky and performed by Bergen Philharmonic, conducted by Andrew Litton DISC FOUR: I Am Sitting In a Room - Alvin Lucier DISC FIVE: Bach, Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor BWV 1043 (II movement) Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman (violin) with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta DISC SIX: Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) - Stevie Wonder DISC SEVEN: What’s Up Doc? - Errollyn Wallen DISC EIGHT: Peter Grimes, Op. 33, Act III, Scene 7: Mister Swallow! Mister Swallow! (Mrs Sedley) Composed by Benjamin Britten and performed by Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Susan Bickley (Mezzo-soprano), Neal Davies (bass-baritone), Barnaby Rea (bass) and conducted by Edward Gardner BOOK CHOICE: A collection of Bach sheet music LUXURY ITEM: Wigmore Hall CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bach, Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor BWV 1043 (II movement) Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman (violin) with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

52 min

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4.4

out of 5

418 Ratings

My Go-To Podcasts

18/05/2022

Trishie-W

I love Desert Island Discs as my favourite of all podcasts- the interviews have a structure that provides an expectancy in each episode yet surprises and heartwarming stories every time. The interviewees are always interesting, mostly gracious and the songs have given me a chance to develop my own playlists based on what I’ve enjoyed hearing. Highly recommend.
Quality of interviews not as good

9 May

Mary from Kamo

Desert Island Discs aren’t as good as they used to be. The interviews are boring. The guest is left to speak about long winded family descriptions- instead of their own intriguing life/career.
Thank you for playing Helen McCrory again

24/04/2021

kiwi cloth

Listening to this after the shocking news of Ms McCrory’s early death. Very poignant and beautiful. What a terribly sad thing to lose this wonderful woman so early. Thank you
Disappointing when podcast unavailable

16/03/2020

buzbyNZ

This is my favourite programme and I listen to it every week here in New Zealand. It’s very disappointing when an episode is not available to us snd it doesn’t say why. Please can you rectify this. Thanks