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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

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Edward Heath Dec 18, 1988

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is a man who has, at times, endured a different isolation from that imposed by the mythical island. But along with his frequently turbulent political career, he has also enjoyed the close companionship of his fellow crew members when captaining his yacht to resounding victories, as well as conducting some of the greatest orchestras in the world. Former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Edward Heath will be discussing his many achievements - political, nautical and musical - as well as his plans for the future in Desert Island Discs.

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

Favourite track: Prisoners' Chorus by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Volume of the works of the Impressionist painters Luxury: Suntan lotion

Charles Dance Dec 11, 1988

Show notes

This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is actor Charles Dance. A man once termed "the thinking woman's crumpet", it's a description he doesn't take too seriously. But he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his matinee idol image, his early days as an aspiring actor and the role which turned him into an international star - the dashing Guy Perron in the widely-acclaimed TV series The Jewel in the Crown.

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

Favourite track: La Bottega Dei Miracoli by Nicola Poivanni Book: A Dream in the Luxembourg by Richard Aldington Luxury: Guitar

Lady Warnock Dec 04, 1988

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a philosopher, academic and mistress of Girton College, Cambridge; but Lady Mary Warnock is perhaps best known for her work in the public arena, on committees looking at a wide range of ethically-controversial subjects, including embryo research and animal experimentation.

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

She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about these difficult areas and also her early days as an academic when she was also bringing up five children. Throughout her life, music has also been a dominant theme and she'll be carrying out the difficult task of choosing eight records to accompany her to the desert island.

Favourite track: My Beloved Spake by Henry Purcell Book: The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope Luxury: Pen and paper

Stephen Fry Nov 27, 1988

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a man who prefers to shun any sort of label, but has already attracted quite a number of them - writer, actor, raconteur, wit - but it is as a so-called 'alternative comedian' that Stephen Fry has been most remarkable, and he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his somewhat chequered past and his highly successful present.

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

Favourite track: The Magic Fire Music (Die Walkure) by Richard Wagner Book: The Jeeves Omnibus by P G Wodehouse Luxury: Suicide pill

Bob Champion Nov 20, 1988

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is jockey Bob Champion - a man who, against all the odds, fought back after he was diagnosed as having cancer to win one of the most coveted prizes in his field - in 1981 he rode Aldaniti to a stunning victory in the Grand National. He'll be talking about his passion for riding, his fight against his illness and the two children who, contrary to all medical predictions, he has since fathered.

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

Favourite track: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel Book: Fraser's Horse Book by Alistair Fraser Luxury: A bronze statue of the racehorse Aldaniti

Bob Hoskins Nov 13, 1988

Show notes

The castaway on this week's Desert Island Discs is a man who has reached the top of his profession through a fantastically varied number of routes - steeplejack, trainee accountant, circus fire-eater and hotel porter are just a few of them. Now one of the hottest properties in the film business on both sides of the Atlantic, actor Bob Hoskins will be talking to Sue Lawley about his image as a tough cockney lad, which has been prompted by such films as Mona Lisa and The Long Good Friday, and the role that took him to fame: Arthur Parker in Dennis Potter's TV series Pennies From Heaven.

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

Favourite track: Adagio For Strings by Samuel Barber Book: Catch 22 by Joseph Heller Luxury: Telescope

Sir Claus Moser Nov 06, 1988

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a man of quite extraordinary diversity. Now Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, his other jobs have included chairing the Board of the Royal Opera House and leading the government's Central Statistical Office under three Prime Ministers. But it is his passionate love of music, however, which has dominated his life throughout his many careers, and he'll be undertaking the difficult task of selecting just eight records to accompany him to the desert island.

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

Favourite track: The Marriage Of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: A volume by James Thurber Luxury: Concert grand Steinway piano

Germaine Greer Oct 30, 1988

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a writer and academic who's most renowned for her views on women, sex and human relations. She's Germaine Greer - someone who's often described as the 'high priestess of feminism'. As she approaches her 50th birthday, she'll be discussing with Sue Lawley whether her views have mellowed over the years, and how her aspirations have changed since the publication of her book The Female Eunuch.

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

Favourite track: Piece De Clavecin by Francois Couperin Book: The Oxford English Dictionary Luxury: Hot spices

Rt. Hon. Michael Foot Oct 23, 1988

Show notes

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a man who has been described as "the nicest Prime Minister we never had". He may never have made it as Prime Minister, but Michael Foot has had a long and illustrious career, representing his Welsh constituency for many years, and becoming leader of the Labour Party in 1980. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his passion for politics, books and music.

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

Favourite track: The Barber Of Seville - Una Voce Poco Fa by Gioacchino Rossini Book: Don Juan by Lord Byron Luxury: Alarm clock encased in Welsh tinplate

Cilla Black Oct 16, 1988

Show notes

This week's castaway on Desert Island Discs reveals her three remaining burning ambitions in life: to make a number-one record, to become a grandmother and to be treated as a real sex symbol - all this with 25 years of singing and compering success behind her. She's matchmaker supreme Cilla Black, and she'll be talking about her legendary early days in Liverpool, her subsequent career and her family.

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

Favourite track: The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles Book: Fables by Aesop Luxury: Manicure set and nail varnish

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