Desert Island Discs

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Penelope Lively Sep 17, 1989

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is one of Britain's leading writers, Penelope Lively. Author of eight novels, two of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize and one which won her the prize in 1987, Moon Tiger, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her early childhood in Egypt, her philistine English boarding school and the sources of inspiration for her characters and books.

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

Favourite track: Ruhe Sanft, Mein Holdes Leben (from Zaide) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Moby Dick by Herman Melville Luxury: Binoculars

Eric Clapton Sep 10, 1989

Show notes

The castaway on this week's Desert Island Discs is one of the legendary figures of the British rock music scene - guitarist Eric Clapton. Once known, blasphemously, as 'God', with prolific graffiti announcing 'Eric Clapton is God', he played with, among others, the Yardbirds, Cream and Blind Faith. Dealing successfully with years of alcohol and drug-related problems, he's still one of rock's superstars, and he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his passion for music and his life of turmoil.

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

Favourite track: Purple Rain by Prince Book: Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens Luxury: Guitar

Dame Vera Lynn Sep 03, 1989

Show notes

As part of Radio 4's commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, the castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs will be Dame Vera Lynn.

She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her own wartime experiences - as the now-legendary 'forces sweetheart' she performed in front of servicemen as far away as Burma, and as close to home as London's Regent's Park, and since then she has been constantly in demand all over the world for her singing and her songs, reviving as they do wartime memories both happy and sad.

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

Favourite track: Room 504 by Vera Lynn Book: A book of edible fruits and vegetables Luxury: Watercolour paints, brushes and paper

Sir Thomas Armstrong Jul 16, 1989

Show notes

This week's castaway is Sir Thomas Armstrong, formerly Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, and now 91 years old. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his many years of teaching and performing music, judging music competitions and carrying out the almost impossible task of choosing just eight records to take to the mythical island from a lifetime filled with music from an early age.

Favourite track: Brigg Fair by Frederick Delius Luxury: Clavichord

Ned Sherrin Jul 09, 1989

Show notes

This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is something of a show business all-rounder - the moving spirit behind BBC TV's That Was the Week That Was, director of the musical Side by Side by Sondheim and currently presenter of Radio 4's Loose Ends. He is, of course, Ned Sherrin, and he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his idyllic childhood as a Somerset farmer's son, and the many different turns his life has subsequently taken.

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

Favourite track: As Time Goes By by Elisabeth Welch Book: No Bed For Bacon by Caryl Brahms Luxury: Seed potatoes

Mark McCormack Jul 02, 1989

Show notes

This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is the man who, as well as transforming Wimbledon into a multi-million pound industry, manages the professional lives of some of the biggest Wimbledon names - Ivan Lendl and Martina Navratilova, for example. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his formidable business and management skills and how he is now applying them to the world of classical music, taking on clients like Kiri Te Kanawa and Itzhak Perlman.

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

Favourite track: Drive All Night by Bruce Springsteen Book: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo Luxury: Suntan lotion

Joan Collins Jun 25, 1989

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is someone who, over the last seven years, has become a superstar of the small screen, playing the venomous Alexis Carrington in the television soap opera Dynasty. She is, of course, Joan Collins, and she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about Alexis, as well as her many other roles, working with such great names as Jack Hawkins, Bette Davis, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. That's Joan Collins, discussing Hollywood, husbands and the pursuit of happiness.

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

Favourite track: Intermezzo (from Manon Lescaut) by Giacomo Puccini Book: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Luxury: Large bottle of sun tan oil and moisturiser

Maria Aitken Jun 18, 1989

Show notes

This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is actress Maria Aitken, who will be talking to Sue Lawley about her current reputation as the finest exponent of Noel Coward's leading ladies and her film roles; among them John Cleese's wife in A Fish Called Wanda. She'll also be discussing her many other careers as writer, chatshow hostess and journalist.

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

Favourite track: Duet (from La Traviata) by Giuseppe Verdi Book: Fun in a Chinese Laundry by Josef von Sternberg Luxury: Amazonian rain maker

Jonathon Porritt Jun 11, 1989

Show notes

This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is Director of Friends of the Earth Jonathon Porritt. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his passionate commitment to the preservation of the planet, and also confessing that, even though he is seen by many as the guru of self-sufficiency and all things green, he would be totally at a loss when it came to surviving island life.

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

Favourite track: Humpback Whale Music by Humpback Whales Book: Bleak House by Charles Dickens Luxury: Fountain pen

Richard Branson Jun 04, 1989

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is ideally suited to speculate on the pleasures and perils of island life, owning, as he does, his own island. He's Richard Branson, tycoon and entrepreneur, who made his first million while still in his teens, having left school at 15. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his family, his business philosophy and also his daredevil exploits with power boats and hot air balloons.

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

Favourite track: In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins Book: Teach yourself Japanese phrase book Luxury: Notebooks and pens

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