Desert Island Discs - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Desert Island Discs — Personal Journals
Desert Island Discs

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Copyright: © (C) BBC 2023

Latest Episodes:

Dame Josephine Barnes Mar 05, 1989

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is Dame Josephine Barnes, who, ten years ago, was the first woman to become President of the British Medical Association. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her long and brilliant career in a traditionally male-dominated world, and her battles to improve the care of women in pregnancy and childbirth, both before and after the advent of the National Health Service.

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

Favourite track: I Was Glad by Hubert Parry Book: The scores of all music chosen in a bound volume Luxury: Solar-powered word processer

David Hare Feb 26, 1989

Show notes

This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is the playwright and theatre director David Hare - a man who has made his name with plays like Pravda, Plenty, Lickin' Hitler and, most recently, The Secret Rapture. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the impact of the theatre on post-war Britain and his own role as one of the leading writers of left-wing intellectual drama.

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

Favourite track: Young and Foolish by Mabel Mercer Book: Larousse Gastronomique Luxury: Cricket bat & bowling machine

Enoch Powell Feb 19, 1989

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is the Rt Hon Enoch Powell - politician, poet and classical scholar. He'll be looking back on some of the incidents and issues which have made him one of the most controversial politicians in post-war Britain - among them, his so-called Rivers of Blood speech on immigration policy, and his exhortation to the electorate to vote Labour after his resignation over Britain's entry into the EEC.

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

Favourite track: The Renunciation of Siegfried (from Götterdämmerung) by Richard Wagner Book: Old Testament In Hebrew & Greek Luxury: Smoking device to smoke fish

Jeffrey Tate Feb 12, 1989

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is Jeffrey Tate, principal conductor of the English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Opera House, and chief guest conductor of the Geneva Opera. Until the age of 27, his chosen profession was medicine, but once a fully-qualified doctor, he switched his career to become one of the most sought-after conductors of his time - both in Britain and abroad. This is an achievement impressive enough in itself, but doubly so given that since childhood he has suffered from a condition which has resulted in curvature of the spine and a paralysed left leg, which means that, for the most part, he conducts sitting on a high stool.

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

Sue Lawley will be talking to Jeffrey Tate about his transition from medicine to a stunning musical career and the problems he has overcome to achieve such extraordinary success.

Favourite track: I'll Be Seeing You by Billie Holiday Book: The collected works by Jane Austen Luxury: Nativity painting from the National Gallery

Rocco Forte Feb 05, 1989

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the chief executive of Britain's largest hotel and catering chain, an empire which extends from motorway cafes to the grandest hotels in London and Paris. He is Rocco Forte, and he'll be talking about the famed Forte dynasty, his renown as a one-time playboy and his company's continuing battle for ownership of the elusive Savoy hotel.

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

Favourite track: Dies Irae by Giuseppe Verdi Book: Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri Luxury: Snooker table

Joan Armatrading Jan 29, 1989

Show notes

This week's castaway on the mythical desert island is someone who welcomes the isolation her exile can offer - she is singer and songwriter Joan Armatrading. An intensely shy and private person, renowned for her powerfully emotional songs, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her first impressions of England when she arrived here as a small girl 31 years ago from the Caribbean. She'll also be discussing her music, and the fame which it has brought - something she still finds surprising, and often quite overwhelming.

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

Favourite track: Madame George by Van Morrison Book: Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie Luxury: Guitar

Boy George Jan 22, 1989

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is someone who has experienced the delights of international stardom and acclaim, and the misery of failure when his fame turned sour and his popularity plummeted. The flamboyant Boy George will be talking to Sue Lawley about the ups and downs of his professional and private life.

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

Favourite track: It Must Be Love by Madness Book: Photograph album Luxury: Radio receiver

Tony Benn Jan 15, 1989

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is the Rt Hon Tony Benn MP.

He'll be discussing his long and turbulent career as one of this country's most eloquent socialists - he served in every Labour government of the 1960s and 1970s. He'll also be talking about the many stories that have always surrounded him: is it true, for example, that he is 'wired for sound' and records every conversation he has? And has he really drunk enough cups of tea in his lifetime to displace the QE2?

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

Favourite track: Madrigal by Stephen Benn Book: Das Kapital by Karl Marx Luxury: Kettle and teabags

Twiggy Jan 08, 1989

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is someone who's face graced the covers of fashion magazines the world over more than 20 years ago when she was still a teenager.

The name 'Twiggy' was synonymous with *the* look of the 1960s - waif-like and doe-eyed. Today, she has matured into a successful actress, singer and dancer, and she'll be talking about those early, heady days, and how she managed to survive the media hype that surrounded her wherever she went.

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

Favourite track: Yesterday by The Beatles Book: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy Luxury: Cold cream

Most Rev Robert Runcie Jan 01, 1989

Show notes

The first castaway of 1989 in this week's Desert Island Discs is one of Britain's most senior church leaders - the Most Reverend Robert Runcie, the 102nd Archbishop of Canterbury. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his Liverpool childhood and his war years when, as a tank commander, he won the military cross.

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

Favourite track: The Sanctus Book: The Odyssey by Homer Luxury: Rocking chair

Related Podcasts