Desert Island Discs

BBC Radio 4
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Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

  1. HACE 3 DÍAS

    William Boyd, writer

    William Boyd is the author of eighteen novels, five short story collections and numerous screenplays. His first published novel, A Good Man in Africa, was inspired by his childhood in West Africa. He is well known for writing ‘whole life’ novels including Any Human Heart which he adapted as a BAFTA-winning television series. He was born in Accra in Ghana where his Scottish father worked as a doctor, specialising in tropical medicine. In 1964 the family moved to Ibadan, Nigeria where he witnessed the Nigerian Civil War – the Biafran War – which had a profound effect on him both personally and professionally. He read English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Glasgow and became a lecturer in English at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. During this period he wrote novels and short stories on the side until his breakthrough novel, A Good Man in Africa, was published in 1981. In 2005 he was appointed CBE for services to literature. William lives in London with his wife Susan and over 10,000 books. DISC ONE: Sunday - Mandy Patinkin (George), Sunday in the Park with George Original Broadway Cast Ensemble and Orchestra DISC TWO: Sorry Sorry - Femi Kuti DISC THREE: Away Down the River - Alison Krauss DISC FOUR: Que reste-t-il de nos amours - Charles Trenet DISC FIVE: Daniel - Elton John DISC SIX: Britten: Violin Concerto, Op. 15: 1. Moderato con moto. Performed by Janine Jansen (violin) London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paavo Järvi DISC SEVEN: Brahms: Horn Trio In E Flat, Op. 40 - 1. Andante - Poco più animato. Performed by György Sebök (piano) Arthur Grumiaux (violin), Francis Orval (horn) DISC EIGHT: Al Otro Lado del Río - Jorge Drexler BOOK CHOICE: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov LUXURY ITEM: A piano CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Daniel - Elton John Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

    51 min

  2. 23 MAR

    Sir Jony Ive, designer

    Sir Jony Ive is a designer who is best known for his pioneering work at Apple alongside his friend and colleague, the late Steve Jobs. Jony’s creative vision is behind some of the company’s seminal products which have transformed the way we live today including phones, music players and watches. He was born in Chingford in east London and loved drawing and spending time in his father’s workshop where the two of them made the young Jony’s Christmas presents including a go-kart, a treehouse and a toboggan. He studied Industrial Design at Newcastle Polytechnic and moved to San Francisco to work for Apple in 1992. In 1997 Steve Jobs returned to the company, having been ousted several years earlier, and the two of them set about revolutionising the landscape for home computers with the creation of the iMac. In 2019 Jony set up his own company LoveFrom with the industrial designer Marc Newson. In 2023 Jony and his team designed a foldable Red Nose for Comic Relief and in the same year the company launched a scholarship programme aimed at increasing representation in the design industry. In 2012 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to design and enterprise. DISC ONE: Really Saying Something (US Extended Version) - Bananarama, Fun Boy Three DISC TWO: De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da - The Police DISC THREE: Main Theme - Carter Takes a Train - Roy Budd DISC FOUR: Singin’ in the Rain - Harry Ive DISC FIVE: Don’t You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds DISC SIX: Define Dancing - Thomas Newman DISC SEVEN: Debussy: Suite bergamasque, L.75: 3. Clair de lune. Composed by Claude Debussy and performed by Claudio Arrau (piano) DISC EIGHT: "40" - U2 BOOK CHOICE: The complete set of Jeeves & Wooster novels by P G Wodehouse LUXURY ITEM: A bed CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: "40" - U2 Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

    52 min

  3. 16 MAR

    Mina Smallman, activist

    Wilhelmina – Mina – Smallman is an activist who campaigns for the safety of women and girls and police reform. She is a former teacher and priest who was the first woman of colour to be an archdeacon in the Church of England. In 2020 her daughters Bibaa and Nicole were murdered as they celebrated Bibaa’s 46th birthday in Fryent Country Park. It later came to light that two policemen, who were guarding the crime scene, had posed for and posted selfies with Bibaa and Nicole’s bodies in the background. They were later jailed for misconduct. When friends first reported her daughters missing the police didn’t launch an official search for them and it was their loved ones who eventually found Bibaa and Nicole. Mina’s anger at the failings of the Metropolitan Police, led her to start her fight for justice. In 2021 an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) report, highlighted the Met’s failings and advised the force to apologise to Mina and her family. Mina was brought up in London. She was a drama teacher for over 20 years before training for the priesthood. She was ordained in 2006 and took up her first job as vicar at Christ Church on the Thames View estate in Barking. In 2013 she was appointed the first woman archdeacon of Southend in the Diocese of Chelmsford. She retired as an archdeacon in 2016. DISC ONE: Silly Games – Janet Kay DISC TWO: Handel: Messiah, HWV 56 / Pt. 3 - 43. Air: I know that my Redeemer liveth Performed by Dame Joan Sutherland (Soprano), London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult DISC THREE: Easy Terms - Barbara Dickson DISC FOUR: Amazing Grace - The Pipes And Drums Of The Military Band Of The Royal Scots Dragoon DISC FIVE: We Are The World - USA for Africa DISC SIX: Miss Independent - Ne-Yo DISC SEVEN: Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury and the Blockheads DISC EIGHT: I Look To You - Whitney Houston BOOK CHOICE: Woman in White by Wilkie Collins LUXURY ITEM: Hair moisturiser CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Look To You - Whitney Houston Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

    51 min

  4. 9 MAR

    Stephen Mangan, actor

    Stephen Mangan is an award winning actor who is also a presenter and writer. His prolific career includes comedic roles in TV hits Green Wing; Episodes and Adrian Mole. He also plays the much loved Nathan in BBC drama The Split and has appeared in many award winning theatre productions in the UK and on Broadway. Born in London to Irish immigrant parents, Stephen studied Law at Cambridge University. His passion though was for acting and after taking time out to care for his mother, he spent three years at RADA before pursuing a successful career on stage, screen and film. Stephen lives in London with his wife and three sons. DISC ONE: King of the Road - Roger Miller DISC TWO: I Recall A Gypsy Woman - Don Williams DISC THREE: Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) - John Lennon DISC FOUR: Who Knows Where the Time Goes - Fairport Convention DISC FIVE: Stayin Alive - Bee Gees DISC SIX: Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83: II. Adagio assai. Composed by Maurice Ravel and performed by Martha Argerich (piano) and Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Claudio Abbado DISC SEVEN: Rhapsody in Blue. Composed by George Gershwin and performed by New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta DISC EIGHT: (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher - Jackie Wilson BOOK CHOICE: Collected Works of Seamus Heaney LUXURY ITEM: A piano CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Stayin Alive - Bee Gees Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

    51 min

  5. 2 MAR

    Nemone Lethbridge, lawyer and writer

    Nemone Lethbridge is a barrister who was called to the bar in 1956. One of very few female barristers working at the time, she encountered misogyny and was one of the trailblazers for women working in the legal profession who followed behind her. At her first Chambers, she wasn’t allowed to share a toilet with her male colleagues and had to use the facilities in a nearby café. It was hard for her to find work and for some time she represented the Kray twins. After her marriage to a writer, and former convicted criminal was revealed, she was forced to leave the legal profession and they moved to Greece for a number of years where both of them had careers as writers having their work filmed for the BBC. Nemone returned to the Bar in 1981 and continues to do pro bono work at 92 years old. She lives in London. DISC ONE: Go Down, Moses - Paul Robeson DISC TWO: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - The Choir of King’s College Cambridge DISC THREE: Scarborough Fair – Simon & Garfunkel DISC FOUR: I Wanna Go Back to Dixie - Tom Lehrer DISC FIVE: Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 / Act 3: "Sull’aria ... Che soave zeffiretto" Performed by Edith Mathis (soprano), Gundula Janowitz (soprano), Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin and conducted by Karl Böhm DISC SIX: Strose to Stroma sou – Mikis Theodorakis DISC SEVEN: September Song - Gracie Fields DISC EIGHT: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147: Chorale. Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Arr. for Piano) (Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring) Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Lang Lang BOOK CHOICE: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam LUXURY ITEM: A doll CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 / Act 3: "Sull’aria ... Che soave zeffiretto". Performed by Edith Mathis (soprano), Gundula Janowitz (soprano), Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin and conducted by Karl Böhm Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

    51 min

  6. 23 FEB

    Nick Cave, singer and writer

    Nick Cave is a singer and writer who, with his band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, has released emotionally intense and provocative music since the mid-Eighties. He is also a novelist, composer and has written film scripts and soundtracks along with his writing partner and Bad Seed Warren Ellis. Nick grew up in Wangaratta, Australia the third of four children. He formed his first band, the Boys Next Door, in 1973 while he was at school. He studied fine art at the Caulfield Institute of Technology in Melbourne but left to pursue music. In 1980 the band relocated to London, renaming themselves the Birthday Party on the flight over. In 1984 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ released their debut album, From Her to Eternity, and they have gone on to put out a further 17 albums. In 2015 Nick lost his son Arthur who died after accidentally falling off a cliff and seven years later his eldest son Jethro died. In 2018 Nick started the Red Hand Files, an online blog in which he answers questions posed by his fans, to try and articulate his feelings about grief. He has described it as a “strange exercise in communal vulnerability and transparency.” In 2017 he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia. DISC ONE: Metal Guru - T. Rex DISC TWO: My Father - Nina Simone DISC THREE: (I’m) Stranded - The Saints DISC FOUR: It Serves You Right to Suffer - John Lee Hooker DISC FIVE: Something on Your Mind - Karen Dalton DISC SIX: Girl from the North Country - Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash West DISC SEVEN: I Am a God – Kanye West DISC EIGHT: Morning Dew - Tim Rose BOOK CHOICE: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi LUXURY ITEM: A suit CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Am a God – Kanye West Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

    49 min

  7. 16 FEB

    Harriet Wistrich, lawyer

    Harriet Wistrich is one of the country’s most prominent human rights lawyers. In 2016 she founded the Centre for Women’s Justice and over the course of her career, she has won landmark victories in very difficult legal cases. She has helped women imprisoned after killing their abusers regain their freedom. She’s also represented women seeking justice from the Metropolitan Police over their deployment of undercover police officers who have had relationships and children with female activists. After studying PPE at Oxford, Harriet moved to Liverpool and began her career working in film and documentaries. She retrained as a lawyer in her early thirties and in 1990 co-founded the pressure group Justice for Women. Harriet lives in London with her partner, the journalist Julie Bindel. DISC ONE: I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor DISC TWO: No Woman, No Cry (Live At The Rainbow Theatre, London / June 1, 1977) - Bob Marley and the Wailers DISC THREE: Puff the Magic Dragon - Gregory Isaacs DISC FOUR: Rumanian Freilach - Daniel Ahaviel DISC FIVE: Back to Black - Amy Winehouse DISC SIX: Ain’t Nobody - Chaka Khan DISC SEVEN: Police And Thieves - Junior Murvin DISC EIGHT: Shame Shame Shame - Shirley & Company BOOK CHOICE: Middlemarch by George Eliot LUXURY ITEM: A fridge with an endless supply of white wine CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

    51 min

  8. 9 FEB

    Laurie Anderson, artist

    Laurie Anderson is an artist and performer who came to fame in the UK with her 1981 hit O Superman. Her work spans music, film and multimedia projects which interrogate our relationship with technology and tell stories about the world we live in. She was born in Chicago in 1947, the second-oldest of eight children, and started learning the violin when she was five. She studied Art History at Barnard College in New York and took a Masters in Sculpture at Columbia University. In the 1970s she was part of the downtown New York art scene and her friends and contemporaries included Philip Glass, Gordon Matta-Clark and the choreographer and dancer Trisha Brown. One of Laurie’s first performance art pieces featured a symphony played by car horns. In 1992 she met Lou Reed, the singer and songwriter who fronted the Velvet Underground. They were together for 21 years until his death in 2013. Laurie is the head of Lou’s archive which is at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and open to anyone who wants to learn more about his musical adventures. In 2024 Laurie was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award at the Grammys and a Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication. DISC ONE: Pony Time - Chubby Checker DISC TWO: Gracias a la vida - Violetta Parra DISC THREE: Tusen Tankar - Triakel DISC FOUR: Part 1 - Philip Glass Ensemble, conducted by Michael Riesman DISC FIVE: Flibberty Jib - Ken Nordine with the Fred Katz Group DISC SIX: Doin' the Things That We Want To - Lou Reed DISC SEVEN: Washington, D.C - The Magnetic Fields DISC EIGHT: Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago – Soul Coughing BOOK CHOICE: Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov LUXURY ITEM: A dog collar CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Gracias a la vida - Violetta Parra Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

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

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    • Creador
      BBC Radio 4
    • Años de actividad
      2009 - 2025
    • Episodios
      2 k
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    • Copyright
      © (C) BBC 2025
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