What are your Desert Island Discs?
That wonderful BBC Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this month.
The first programme was aired on January 27, 1942, with the incomparable Roy Plomley interviewing his first castaway Vic Oliver, the Viennese comedian, actor and musician. Since then there have been more than 2,000 editions of the programme, with castaways chosing more than 22,000 pieces of music to keep them company on their island.
Books and luxuries were added to the mix in the 1950s.
For those who don’t know the format, castaways are asked to choose eight pieces of music, a book and a luxury that they would take to a desert island.
Have you thought of yours? It’s very difficult to choose, but here are mine:
Music:
Guiseppe Verdi – Requiem (my favourite piece of classical music. I’m not an aficionado of the classical genre, but I’ve listened to it for more than 20 years and adore it).
Harry Connick Jr – It Had To Be You (the first dance with my husband. I prefer it to the Sinatra one).
The Prodigy – Breathe (it could be one of a dozen Prodigy tracks, to be honest. I reserve the right to change my mind on this one. It could be Voodoo People … they are the best band I’ve ever seen live).
All About Eve – Gold and Silver (one of my favourite bands from the 1980s).
Echo and the Bunnymen – Over the Wall (hmmm, actually. This was too close to call with Lips Like Sugar. And All I Want).
The Sisters of Mercy – Marian (or anything off the First and Last and Always album. Fabulous school/college memories).
Florence and the Machine – Rabbit Heart .
Spear of Destiny – Don’t Turn Away.
Book
Entire 20 volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary (all bound up as one book *cough*).
Luxury
Endless cases of good, white wine (to drink in moderation, of course).
What would be your choices?
[...] was reading a blog post written by Jayne Howarth this afternoon, where she thought about what her choices would be, and it got me thinking – [...]
My Desert Island Discs « stelliansstories
28 Jan 12 at 2:03 pm
I love many kinds of music. As a 50′s teenager, I could have filled this with the earliest rock classics, but as the years go by one’s mood changes. I had a long Jazz phase during my early 20s (Monk, Coltrane etc) from listening to the VOA Jazz hour. First heard Streisand in ’64 and saw her on stage in Funny Girl (still got the program somewhere). Always been a Dylan fan. I won’t go on about the rest … here’s the list, which could change before I’m stranded.
Evelyn Glennie – Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso Op 28 (Saint-Saens
1) Dave Grusin – Mountain Dance
2) Modest Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition (quite long at 32 minutes)
3) Bob Dylan – Mr Tambourine Man
4) Barbra Streisand – Have I stayed too long at the Fair?
5) Weather Report – Birdland
6) Lucinda Williams – Can’t let go
7) Don Williams – She’s in love with a rodeo man
As for books … always a hard choice, but I guess it has to be Walt Whitman’s collected works which would include his magnificent “Leaves of Grass” which I first heard Orson Wells read on the BBC back in the late 50s (and recently found an mp3 copy.
My luxury item …. a telescope of course … those dark skies … Wow!
Roger Jones
29 Jan 12 at 11:27 am
Books – what I meant to say was Orson Wells read excerpts from “Song of Myself”, Whitman’s best known poem which contains one of my favourite quotes “To glance with an eye or show a bean in its pod confounds the learning of all times”.
PS Don’t know how the smiley got there … should be 8 )
Roger Jones
29 Jan 12 at 2:18 pm
thank you for commenting – an apologies for the tardy response. I don’t know some of the music you chose, so will have to investigate!
Jayne
31 Jan 12 at 10:42 pm
I would choose Mozart for the music. Books by Charles Dickens. I think my MP3 player would make a good luxury item or I couldn’t listen to the music!
Mike Maynard
3 Feb 12 at 2:07 pm