Desert Island Discs

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Nina Campbell Mar 16, 1997

Show notes

When designing the interior of Sunninghill for the Duke and Duchess of York, this week's castaway on Desert Island Discs rummaged through the cellars at Buckingham Palace in search of just the right treasure. She's also coloured Ringo Starr's library cranberry red, and suggested tasselled tie-backs for Rod Stewart. Nina Campbell is one of Britain's top interior designers and a devotee of the English country house style, although, as she admits to Sue Lawley this week, she never goes near the country - it's too wet and windy.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Design For Living by Flanders & Swann Book: A photograph album Luxury: A bed

Redmond O'Hanlon Mar 09, 1997

Show notes

This week's castaway is an adventurer - the travel writer Redmond O'Hanlon. He's trekked to deserted mountain tops for a glimpse of the rare Borneo rhinoceros, paddled through river swamps to find the Congo's mythical monster, and, deep in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, he stayed with the most violent people on Earth, the Yanomari Indians.

Along the way, he's encountered scorpions, vipers and a giant catfish "which can take your foot off at the ankle", all in search of a story. As he tells Sue Lawley, although his long-suffering companions survive the journey, they vow never to travel with him again - not even to High Wycombe. He's planning a trip to New Guinea - so will Sue agree to accompany him?

Some aspects of this programme may upset some listeners.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Clarinet Quintet in A: 2nd Movement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Luxury: A pair of green, insulated Leica binoculars 8 X 20

Dr Susan Greenfield Mar 02, 1997

Show notes

It was while studying for a degree in psychology that this week's castaway decided to change the direction of her life and become a neuroscientist. As she dissected a slice of pickled brain, she found herself wondering whether this was the part that generated a love of Beethoven, or held the memory of a sunny, summer day. From that moment, she determined to try to discover how our personalities and thoughts derive from this slurry of soggy tissue. Twenty years later, Professor Susan Greenfield is now one of the foremost thinkers on the question of consciousness, and a leading researcher into the causes of Parkinson's disease.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Ode To Joy (Symphony No 9) by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa Luxury: An endless supply of curry

Nico Ladenis Feb 23, 1997

Show notes

The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is a chef. His food is the culinary equivalent of haute couture, but in the 1980s Nico Ladenis was known as much for his temper tantrums as his truffle sauce. His refusal to offer his customers salt and pepper, and his insistence as to how they should eat their meal, caught the headlines more frequently than his fine cooking. But, as he tells Sue Lawley, these days he has come out of the kitchen and become a cooler and much calmer man.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Onward Christian Soldiers by Sullivan/Baring-Gould Book: Beau Jeste by P C Wren Luxury: Cantona's Manchester United football shirt

Mary Benson Feb 16, 1997

Show notes

This week's castaway on Desert Island Discs grew up in a conventional white South African family. Shielded from the true history of her country under apartheid, she played in the shadow of a Pretoria prison where many hundreds of black men and women were hanged, and never questioned what went on there. Then Mary Benson read the book Cry the Beloved Country. From that moment on, she became a ceaseless campaigner for the rights of black South Africans and dedicated her life to documenting their struggle. This week she talks to Sue Lawley about her search for a purpose to her life and chooses the music which has meant most to her.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Eroica Variations Opus 35 Fourth Bagatelles, Opus 126 by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Unpublished Notes by Athol Fugard Luxury: Telescope

Terry Pratchett Feb 09, 1997

Show notes

He's created a world full of wizards and witches, and his most popular character is Death. The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is one of Britain's best-selling authors. Terry Pratchett has written over 30 books, and sells more than one million copies each year. But as he tells Sue Lawley this week, he will never win the Booker Prize because, in this country, fantasy fiction is frowned upon.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Thomas The Rhymer by Steeleye Span Book: Edible Plants of the South Seas by Emile Massal Luxury: The Chrysler Building

Gene Wilder Feb 02, 1997

Show notes

When this week's castaway was a child his mother had a heart attack. Her doctor gave him two pieces of advice. "Never", he said, "get angry with her. And always try to make her laugh". This was to have a profound effect on his life; affecting both his career and his personal relationships.

Gene Wilder talks to Sue Lawley and remembers his starring roles in films like Blazing Saddles and The Producers.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Don't Explain by Nina Simone Book: The Notebooks of Captain Georges by Jean Renoir Luxury: Earl Grey tea

Irene Thomas Jan 26, 1997

Show notes

She's an expert on sauce bottles, remembers the small print on British Rail timetables, and for 30 years she was a regular contestant on Radio 4's Round Britain Quiz. This week on Desert Island Discs, Irene Thomas tells Sue Lawley what she will do with her phenomenal memory now the programme is no longer broadcast. She recalls how she moved from opera singer, to the Black and White Minstrels, before becoming queen of the quiz shows at the age of 41.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Cosi fan Tutte Soave Sia Il Vento by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Complete score of Fidelio by Mozart Luxury: Teddy bear stuffed with tea and lily of the valley

John Cleese Jan 05, 1997

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway is comedian and actor John Cleese.

Favourite track: Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni Book: Stand By Your Man by Tammy Wynette Luxury: Michael Palin - stuffed

Martin Amis Dec 29, 1996

Show notes

Sue Lawley's guest on Desert Island Discs today is the writer Martin Amis. He describes his books as comedies, but, like London Fields and Other People, they are frequently dark and disturbing.

He says that he has no choice as to the subjects of his books. "They come from nowhere and feel like a little gulp in your digestive system". Although he admits that he's sometimes appalled by the characters he creates, writing itself is something he loves.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Yesterdays by Buddy Rich Book: Complete Works by John Milton Luxury: Cable Television

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