Desert Island Discs

Latest Episodes:

Joan Baez Jun 20, 1993

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway is musician and campaigner Joan Baez.

Favourite track: Salut! Demeure Chaste Et Pure by Charles Gounod Book: Diary by Anne Frank Luxury: Personal pouch with a silver lion in it

Rt Hon Betty Boothroyd MP Jun 13, 1993

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Speaker of the House of Commons, Betty Boothroyd. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her Yorkshire childhood, her venture south to join a dance troupe, and her much-vaunted but nevertheless fleeting appearance as a Tiller Girl. She'll also be discussing how she made history last year when she became the first woman to be elected Speaker, and also the first to be elected from the opposition benches since 1835.

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

Favourite track: Rock-A-Bye by Judy Garland Book: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth Luxury: Mace of the House of Commons

Frank Bruno Jun 06, 1993

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the boxer Frank Bruno.

He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he got into trouble as a young boy for fighting with his contemporaries and ultimately with one of his sports teachers, after which he was sent to a special school where boxing was to become his salvation. He'll also be discussing the vicious nature of the sport and the rigorous training programme he undergoes before every fight.

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

Favourite track: When The Going Gets Tough The Tough Get Going by Billy Ocean Book: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Luxury: Picture of the family

Kaye Webb May 30, 1993

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a publisher.

Kaye Webb was made editor of Puffin Books in the 1960s, and held the job for nearly 20 years. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about those years and also about the crowded professional life which preceded them. As an assistant editor for the pocket magazine Lilliput in the 1930s, she commissioned contributions from distinguished authors such as Evelyn Waugh, George Bernard Shaw and Dylan Thomas.

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

Favourite track: Sea Pictures - Where Corals Lie by Edward Elgar Book: Messages - poetry by Naomi Lewis Luxury: Very big photograph album on a wheeling table

Lord Weinstock May 23, 1993

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a businessman.

Born into a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants, he was orphaned at the age of nine and brought up by his older brothers. He studied at the London School of Economics and married the daughter of a manufacturer - the owner of a small electrical company. By the age of 34, he was its Managing Director. Today that company is a huge institution - GEC - which its Managing Director Lord Weinstock has steered safely through the choppy waters of nine changes of government and six Prime Ministers. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his life and work and about his passionate love of music.

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

Favourite track: Requiem - Recordare by Giuseppe Verdi Book: If This Be A Man by Primo Levi Luxury: Photograph album - family, friends, colleagues

Eva Burrows May 16, 1993

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway is General of the Salvation Army Eva Burrows.

Favourite track: St Matthew Passion Konnen Tranen Meiner Wangen by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: Faber Book of Religious Verse Luxury: Game of Scrabble with paper and pencil

John Cole May 09, 1993

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway is journalist and broadcaster John Cole.

Favourite track: The Ode To Joy (Symphony No 9) by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust Luxury: Typewriter

John Boorman May 02, 1993

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway is film director John Boorman.

Favourite track: Symphony No 7 Second Movement by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Memories, Dreams and Reflections by Karl Jung Luxury: Telescope

Baroness Blackstone Apr 25, 1993

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Baroness Blackstone.

She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her political radicalisation at the London School of Economics in the 1960s, the difficulties of working motherhood and the different demands of her varied professional life encompassing the academic, political and public worlds.

[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: Middlemarch by George Eliot Luxury: Tennis wall, balls and racket

Anton Edelmann Apr 18, 1993

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway is chef Anton Edelmann.

Favourite track: Clarinet Concerto in A by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Rinpoche Luxury: Wok