

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

Dec 26, 2000 • 42min
Norman Painting
Sue Lawley's castaway for this special edition of Desert Island Discs is Norman Painting, who has played Phil Archer in The Archers ever since its first episode in January 1951. He chooses eight records to take with him to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: 2nd movement of Shubert's String Quintet in C by Shubert
Book: The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley
Luxury: An orrary - an electronic toy for looking at the sky

Dec 24, 2000 • 36min
Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the astrophysicist Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Jocelyn Bell Burnell was only twenty-four when she made the discovery of a lifetime: As she was mapping the universe for her PhD, she chanced upon the radio signal for a totally new kind of star, known as a 'pulsar'. Her find is seen as one of the most important contributions to astrophysics in the twentieth century. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves by Giuseppe Verdi
Book: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Luxury: Book on how to sketch and some paper and pens

Dec 17, 2000 • 33min
Richard Briers
Sue Lawley's castaway is actor Richard Briers.Favourite track: The Cuckoo and the Nightingale by George Frideric Handel
Book: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Luxury: A huge supply of Chardonnay

Dec 10, 2000 • 33min
Tim Smit
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is Tim Smit, the co-founder of the Eden Project in Cornwall. Before Tim Smit thought of building the largest greenhouse in the world, he had already attracted public attention by resurrecting The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Before that he'd enjoyed a successful music career, writing songs and working with - among others - Barry Manilow and the Nolan Sisters.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Dancing in the Street by David Bowie and Mick Jagger
Book: Book with plain pages
Luxury: Piano

Dec 3, 2000 • 36min
Tina Brown
This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the editor of Talk magazine, Tina Brown. Her reputation as a formidable magazine editor spans both sides of the Atlantic - with the revamp of Tatler, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, raising eyebrows as well as circulation figures. In conversation with Sue Lawley, she talks about her life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Chan Chan by The Buena Vista Social Club
Book: Middlemarch by George Eliot
Luxury: Rollercoaster

Nov 26, 2000 • 36min
Albie Sachs
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is judge Albie Sachs. The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, his account of being placed in solitary confinement by the South African authorities, highlighted the dangers of campaigning against apartheid in the 1960s. After a long exile in Britain, Albie Sachs returned to his homeland in the 1990s to help shape its new constitution and become one of its most senior judges.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: The Hammerklavier-Piano Sonata No.29 in B Flat by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Charterhouse of Palma by Stendhal
Luxury: Little bottle of aftershave

Nov 19, 2000 • 35min
Des Lynam
Sue Lawley's castaway is sports presenter Des Lynam.Favourite track: In Party mood by West End Celebrity Orchestra
Book: Encyclopaedia of Natural Medicine
Luxury: A drumkit

Nov 5, 2000 • 36min
J K Rowling
Sue Lawley's castaway is the writer and creator of Harry Potter J K Rowling.Favourite track: First movement-Violin Concerto in D Major by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Book: SAS Survival Guide
Luxury: Pen and unlimited paper

Aug 27, 2000 • 36min
Ronald Harwood
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the writer Ronald Harwood. At the age of 17 Ronald Harwood left his home in South Africa and set sail for England, determined to become an actor. When that failed he turned his hand successfully to writing. Some plays, like The Dresser, draw on his theatrical experiences, others, like Articles of Faith deal with the political dilemmas. He leaves behind his thought-provoking work to join Sue Lawley on the mythical island.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Emperor Concerto No 5 in E Flat, Opus 73 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Luxury: My bathroom

Aug 20, 2000 • 37min
Christopher Lloyd
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the gardener and writer Christopher Lloyd. Well known for his forthright opinions, Christopher Lloyd has tended his family garden at Great Dixter in Sussex for nearly 70 years. It's been the source of inspiration for his many books and his column in the magazine Country Life, which he's written without a break since 1963.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Letters by Gustave Flaubert
Luxury: Syndicate whisky


