Desert Island Discs

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John Cale Feb 22, 2004

Show notes

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is John Cale, a classically trained musician who went on to found one of the most influential bands of the 1960s, Velvet Underground. John Cale was brought up in a strict South Wales household. His maternal grandmother insisted that Welsh was the only language to be spoken in the house even though his father spoke only English. His childhood was solitary - he was an only child and his mother encouraged him to spend hours each day practising his piano playing, and he later took up the viola. He went on to have viola lessons at the Royal Academy of Music while also studying music at Goldsmiths' Teacher Training College in London.

He was talent-spotted by Aaron Copland and awarded a musical scholarship to study in America, where he was part of the contemporary avant-garde music scene there, working with John Cage and LaMonte Young, until he met Lou Reed and the two formed Velvet Underground. Their first album, The Velvet Underground and Nico, remains their best known. Andy Warhol is credited as producer, it features Nico on vocals and the cover is the famous Warhol banana. He went on to produce some of the most influential artists of the time and has made New York his home - although Wales continues to exert some draw over him. He continues to write music and tour.

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

Favourite track: She Belongs To Me by Bob Dylan Book: Repetition by Alain Robbe-Grillet Luxury: Express coffee machine with coffee beans

Sacha Distel Feb 15, 2004

Show notes

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is one of France's best known exports - the singer Sacha Distel.

Born into a loving family in 1930s Paris, his father was a Russian émigré who'd fled the Red Army in 1917 and walked to Paris where he eventually set up an electrical goods shop. His mother was a talented musician and she instilled a love of music in her son at a young age - especially the piano. The family was traumatised during the Second World War, when his mother, who was Jewish, was interred in a Nazi camp for 19 months. After the war they were reunited but Sacha has said the experience left him with a long lasting sense of insecurity. He continued playing the piano but was increasingly drawn to the guitar, encouraged by the uncle who was the successful jazz band leader Ray Ventura. He soon demonstrated enormous talent for the instrument and, after graduating from college, he was playing with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davies. However it was his affair and engagement to Brigitte Bardot which catapaulted him to international fame. The liaison failed but he was to go on to become a household name, both in here and in France, with his distinct vocal style and image as a sex symbol. Now about to turn 71, Sacha is still touring and has just released a new CD.

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

Favourite track: Come Rain or Come Shine by Frank Sinatra Book: The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho Luxury: Grand piano

Sister Frances Dominica Feb 08, 2004

Show notes

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is a nun and a pioneer of the hospice movement. Sister Frances Dominica says she had always felt she was born to be a nurse and as a child would line up her dolls and teddies in pretend hospital beds and tend to them. But a dramatic revelation during her early 20s diverted her and, to the horror of her family, she abandoned her career for a contemplative life. She took her life vows in 1972 and, in 1977, at the incredibly young age of 34, was elected to be the Mother Superior of her community. The following year she met a family with a sick child and offered to give her respite care. It was that relationship which gave Sister Frances the idea of starting a children's hospice and, in 1982, Helen House opened. It was the first children's hospice in the world.

For the past four years she has been fundraising for another hospice - which she calls a Respice, a mixture of respite and hospice – Douglas House, which is geared up for the needs of adolescents and young adults. Like Helen House, it is named after a patient who made a particular mark on Frances, although he did not survive to see it opened.

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

Favourite track: Skye Boat Song by Elinor Bennett Book: The Earth from the Air by Yann Arthus-Bertrand Luxury: Chaise longue with a mosquito net attached

Rt Hon Lord Sainsbury Feb 01, 2004

Show notes

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is David Sainsbury, now Lord Sainsbury of Turville.

David Sainsbury who is a grocer and a politician is also one of Britain's richest men and was a multi-millionaire by the time he was in his 20s. However, he says that along with his wealth he has inherited a strong sense of duty. He was the fourth generation of the family to take over the business and became only its sixth chairman in more than 120 years. Although his career at Sainsbury's spanned more than 30 years, he has combined it with following his passion for politics. In the 1980s he bankrolled the Social Democratic Party, and at the time there was talk of him being a future secretary of state for trade in David Owen's cabinet. But, when the SDP imploded in the late 1980s he was disillusioned, and his interest wasn't rekindled until Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party. After the Labour election win in 1997 he was made a lord, and shortly afterwards became a science minister.

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

Favourite track: Finale of Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Luxury: Large bath with a constant supply of hot water

Paul Dacre Jan 25, 2004

Show notes

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is one of Britain's most powerful newspaper men - Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail.

He was brought up in a household where news, and the coverage of it, was a daily topic of debate - his late father was a correspondent on the Daily Express - working variously as showbusiness editor, New York correspondent and foreign editor. His father's influence was tremendous and Paul Dacre says he can't remember a time when he didn't want to be a journalist and, in truth, an editor. He studied English at Leeds University but confesses to missing lectures in Anglo Saxon in favour of working on the student newspaper. Paul Dacre edited the student paper while Jack Straw was president of the students' union and, after graduating, he joined the Daily Express in Manchester. He became New York correspondent for the Express before being poached by the Daily Mail. He went on to edit the Evening Standard and turned down the editorship of The Times to take up the editorship of the Daily Mail. Away from the hectic world of newspapers, Paul Dacre spends his time at home, tending his garden and enjoying family life.

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

Favourite track: Theodora by George Frideric Handel Book: The RHS A-Z encyclopaedia of Garden Plants by Christopher Brickell Luxury: A subscription to the Guardian newspaper for one year

Stephen Frears Jan 18, 2004

Show notes

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the film director Stephen Frears. His film credits include My Beautiful Launderette, When Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity and, most recently, Dirty Pretty Things. He is one of Britain's most talented and well-known directors, achieving success with his Hollywood work as much as for low budget, British productions.

He was born in Leicester in 1941 and, despite studying law at Cambridge, was not tempted to train to be a lawyer, and instead sought employment at the ground-breaking Royal Court Theatre in London. He left the Royal Court in the 1960s to work with the highly acclaimed Czech film-maker Karel Reisz. His television work has included many collaborations with Alan Bennett, but it wasn't until the 1980s that he became famous with a film that was initially destined for television, which was so successful it was released to cinemas. It was 'My Beautiful Launderette' - starring a then unknown Daniel Day Lewis and examining the racial and sexual tensions of Thatcher's Britain.

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

Favourite track: I'm Against It by Grouch Marx Book: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon Luxury: A painting by his wife

Jimmy Tarbuck Jan 11, 2004

Show notes

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the entertainer Jimmy Tarbuck. Originally from Liverpool, he began his career as a redcoat at Butlins holiday camp. He went on to become a compere at the London Palladium and fronted numerous comedy and game shows including 'Winner Takes All'. In recent years he's returned to the stand up circuit and is a popular after-dinner speaker. He's also turned his passion for golf into a new venture with a series of videos on the world's best and worst courses.

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

Favourite track: Oh! My Beloved Father (O Mio Babbino Caro) by Giacomo Puccini Book: The Essential Henry Longhurst by Henry Longhurst Luxury: Own set of golf clubs and balls

Martha Lane Fox Jan 04, 2004

Show notes

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the dot-com millionaire and businesswoman Martha Lane Fox.

She says that as a child she was confident and bossy - tormenting her younger brother and, in games of teachers and pupils, always marking him lower than her line of teddy bears. Her drive and ambition were recognised at school and college - her brother claims her nickname was 'Fast Lane Foxy'. After studying modern and classical history at Oxford University she became a management consultant at a small company and met Brent Hoberman - who had the idea for lastminute.com. Initially, Lane Fox rubbished the idea, but eventually Brent convinced her and she joined him, appropriately enough, at the last minute. The pair launched lastminute.com in 1998 - it started out as an online bucket shop - selling the holidays that small travel agents couldn't get rid of - and branched out into entertainment and gifts. On March 14th, 2000, days before the markets peaked, lastminute.com was floated on the stock exchange - and over the following weeks prices collapsed. Martha Lane Fox became the face, the figurehead and eventually the fall-girl for the dot-com bubble. In November 2003, after lastminute.com announced a profit for the first time, Lane Fox announced she was resigning as managing director.

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

Favourite track: Get Happy by Judy Garland Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Luxury: A karaoke machine

Paul O'Grady Dec 28, 2003

Show notes

Sue Lawley's castaway is the entertainer Paul O'Grady. Best known as the 'Blonde Bombshell', Lily Savage, he's one of the most popular figures on television with his outrageous clothes and wigs. Originally from Tranmere in Birkenhead, Paul worked as a social worker for Camden Council as well as working part time in pubs around London in the 1980s. His talent as a drag artist was discovered at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in South London after he stood in for the compere who'd rung in sick.

He got his first big break on Channel 4's Big Breakfast replacing Paula Yates in 1995. Since then he's hosted Blankety Blank and his own Lily Savage Show as well as the sitcom Eyes Down, set in a bingo hall in Liverpool. He'll also be following in the footsteps of Bruce Forsyth, Larry Grayson and Jim Davidson by fronting a new series of the show the Generation Game. Paul's recently scaled down work commitments after suffering a heart attack last April. He was given angioplasty and has made a full recovery but he now says he's taking life easier and cutting down on drink and cigarettes.

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

Favourite track: Meditation from Thais. Act 11 by Jules Massenet Book: The Borrowers by Mary Norton Luxury: Skin so Soft - Avon

Emmylou Harris Dec 21, 2003

Show notes

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the country rock singer Emmylou Harris. Born in Alabama in 1947, her musical influences were folk rather than country. Initially, she wanted to be an actress, but, influenced by Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, she turned to singing folk instead and began performing in the bars of Greenwich Village. But, by the age of 24, it seemed as if her singing career was over - she was a single mother and had returned home to live with her mother, only singing in local bars.

It was a chance encounter that led to her being heard by Gram Parsons - formerly of The Byrds and later The Flying Burrito Brothers. They worked together on two albums and invented what has become country rock - a fusion of folk, country and rock music. To date she has won 11 Grammies and in 1992 was inducted into the Grand Old Opry. She now writes her own music. She is three-times divorced and now travels everywhere with her mother.

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

Favourite track: Talk To Me Of Mend by Kate and Anna McGarrigle Book: Blank book Luxury: A library

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