

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

Nov 22, 1998 • 37min
Bill Morris
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' union, Bill Morris. As a small boy growing up in Jamacia, he bunked off school to play his favourite sport - cricket. His ultimate dream was to become one of the West Indies team. So how did he become leader of one of the biggest unions in the country?[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler
Book: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
Luxury: Cricket bat signed by 'the three Ws' - Sir Frank Warrel, Everton Weeks and Clive Walcot

Nov 15, 1998 • 36min
Nicole Kidman
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the actress Nicole Kidman. Fresh from her West End triumph in The Blue Room, she traces her life from her suburban Australian upbringing to the heart of Hollywood and beyond. She 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: What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
Book: Collection of Poems by Emily Dickinson
Luxury: Sun block

Nov 8, 1998 • 43min
Joseph Rotblat
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the nuclear physicist and Nobel Peace Laureate, Professor Sir Joseph Rotblat. During World War II he quit the notorious Manhattan Project to develop the atom bomb when he realised that 'nothing good can come out of evil'. Fifty years later he is still committed to multilateral disarmament and the pursuit of peace.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: A Rill will be a Stream, a Stream will be a Flood by Swedish Physicians in Concert for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Book: Encyclopaedia Britannica on CD-Rom
Luxury: Solar-powered laptop

Nov 1, 1998 • 38min
Paul Daniel
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the conductor Paul Daniel. Within weeks of becoming Music Director of the English National Opera his boss had resigned and there was talk of its merging with Covent Garden. He recalls how he won the war for the ENO's survival and the musical experiences which led him there.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Irrlicht from Winterreise. by Franz Schubert
Book: Beautifully bound blank book
Luxury: Cello and music for Bach's cello suites

Aug 30, 1998 • 35min
Lucy Gannon
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the television script writer Lucy Gannon. Her life informs much of her work. When she created Soldier Soldier she used her experience of the military police. In The Gift she drew on her grief when her mother died. And Trip Trap reflected the violence of her first marriage.
She started writing by chance when she entered a competition and won first prize - writer in residence at the RSC.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: The Best by Tina Turner
Book: The Faber Book of Reportage by John Carey
Luxury: Jaguar XK8

Aug 23, 1998 • 37min
Ralph Koltai
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the stage designer Ralph Koltai. He says his work is not about art, but about ideas. His stage sets are a metaphor for the whole play. Thus he thrilled Ken Russell by building him four stages each resembling different parts of a woman's body. His aim? To represent the degradation of women in the 18th century.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor by Max Bruch
Book: French dictionary
Luxury: Cigars

Aug 16, 1998 • 38min
Les Murray
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the Australian poet Les Murray. He began writing when he realised that poetry didn't have to be about daffodils in a far off English field but could reflect the world around him; from the sheep and cows on the family farm, to the wallabies in the outback. His most powerful subject though, is his own depression which has dogged him for more than 50 years. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: La Valse a Mille Temps by Jacques Brel
Book: Blank, lined book
Luxury: Marble four-poster bed

Aug 9, 1998 • 35min
David Hempleman Adams
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the explorer David Hempleman Adams. This year he completed the Adventurer's Grand Slam. It took 18 years. When he reached the North Pole this April he had conquered the four main poles, and climbed the highest peaks in each of the seven continents. He was quite literally on top of the world.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Manha de Carnaval by Stan Getz
Book: Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach
Luxury: Saxophone

Aug 2, 1998 • 36min
Ralph Steadman
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the political cartoonist Ralph Steadman. His career was launched in 1961 with a five-pound cheque from the satirical magazine Private Eye. Later he collaborated with Hunter S Thompson and illustrated his Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. More recently he's begun to write and illustrate his own books - on Freud, Leonardo da Vinci and God.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Wish You Were Here by Theo Steadman
Book: (The New) La Rousse Encyclopaedia of Mythology
Luxury: Chisels

Jul 26, 1998 • 36min
Chris De Burgh
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the singer-songwriter Chris de Burgh. Best known for his ballad Lady in Red, he began his career playing to guests in the crumbling Irish castle which his family ran as a hotel. He 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: Kyrie from the Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez
Book: Moonfleet by J Meade Falkner
Luxury: Snorkel


