Each
week a celebrity, or a lesser-known person of some significant accomplishment,
is invited to be the guest ("castaway") on the BBC Radio 4
programme - to reveal their list of recordings and to talk to the host about
their life and achievements. Part of the fascination with the programme is the
candid conversation - often delving into rather controversial topics - and part
of it is the track-by-track revelation of the guest's musical taste, which is
sometimes impressive, but can also be rather dreadful. Let's face it, the music
people choose can be very revealing! And you never know which way it will go:
you hear the profile of that week's guest, and you fear the worst, only to be
pleasantly surprised; other times you are disappointed by the drab choices of a
figure you really admire. You never can tell. Of all the eight or nine BBC
Radio 4 podcasts that I listen to regularly now on my commute to and from work
(thanks to the iPod patched into my car's audio system), Desert Island Discs is my favourite. And I'm in good company. In a
survey done in the UK in 2006, the programme was chosen as Britain's
second-best radio show, behind I'm Sorry
I Haven't a Clue, and ahead of Woman's
Hour, The Archers and Just a Minute.
 |
Roy Plomley devised the concept for
Desert Island Discs and hosted the show from 1942-1985
|
It
was freelance radio producer Roy Plomley who came up with the idea for Desert Island Discs. He had begun his radio
career in 1936 working for IBC in France - first for Radio Normandy, and then
Poste Parisien in Paris. After the fall of France in the summer of 1940,
Plomley moved back to England, and was living in a cottage in Bushey,
Hertfordshire. It was there one evening in November 1941 that he dreamt up the
concept for the programme. As Mitchell Symons points out in his book, just asking
people to nominate a set of their favourite records was not a new idea; it was
the desert island concept that made his programme-idea unique. He wrote to
Leslie Perowne, who was in charge of popular record programmes at the BBC.
Perowne liked the idea, and gave him the go-ahead. The very first edition of Desert Island Discs was recorded on 27
January 1942 in a Maida Vale studio that had recently been damaged in a bombing
raid. The show was broadcast two nights later. The guest - they would soon be
dubbed "castaways" - was the comedian Vic Oliver.
That
debut episode was the first of eight weekly programmes. The run was successful;
Plomley was a skillful interviewer and he backed up his work with meticulous
research. The BBC renewed his contract and another 15 programmes were produced.
Over the next 43 years Roy Plomley presented an incredible 1,791 editions of Desert Island Discs! When his run finally
came to an end in 1985, Michael Parkinson took over briefly (1986-1988); he was
followed by Sue Lawley (1988-2006), and then by Kirsty Young, who was been
hosting the show since 2006.
 |
Kirsty Young has been the presenter
of Desert Island Discs since 2006
|
Desert Island Discs is now the second
longest-running radio show in the world - outdone only by The Grand Ole Opry. When
the programme was approaching its 70th. anniversary - in January 2012 - the BBC
commissioned the broadcaster and journalist Mitchell Symons to mark the
auspicious occasion by compiling a comprehensive book of facts, figures and
trivia about the long-lasting series. The result of his extensive research -
based on the BBC's own rich archive - is the book that is here under review: Desert
Island Books Flotsam and Jetsam: Facts, figures and miscellany from one of BBC
Radio 4's best-loved programmes (2012).
The
fun of a book like this is that you can dip into it at any point and find lists
that capture your interest. It's not a linear or sequential approach: flip backwards
and forwards, from one page to the next. So let's dip now fairly randomly into
the contents of this book and pull out some interesting facts and pieces of
trivia.
Castaways
The
four main sections of Desert Island Discs Flotsam and Jetsam are called
Castaways, Music, Luxuries, and Books. "Castaways" refers to the guests
who have been on the programme. I tried to find out how many people altogether have
been on the show - I looked in the book and also on their own website. Haven't
found the answer yet. There have been about 2,800 editions of Desert Island Discs, but there has also
been a large number of castaways who have been on the show more than once: two
people have been on Desert Island Discs
four times - the comedian and
entertainer Arthur Askey (1942, 1955, 1968, 1980), and the naturalist TV
presenter David Attenborough (1957, 1979, 1998, 2012). And over the long life
of the programme, the following group have been on three times: Petula Clark,
Michael Crawford, David Frost, Robertson Hare, Stanley Holloway, Barry
Humphries (once as Dame Edna), Celia Johnson, Charles Mackerras, John Mills,
John Mortimer, Peter Ustinov, and Terry Wogan. And there have been over 200
people who have appeared twice.
 |
| Comedian Arthur Askey - a four-timer on Desert Island Discs |
 |
| David Attenborough - the other four-timer |
Three
people agreed to be on Desert Island Discs
who had refused to do the television programme This Is Your Life - Danny Blanchflower, Roger Moore, and Richard
Gordon. Gordon is the English writer known best for his Doctor in the House books. When he was ambushed out in public by
the host, who announced to him "This Is Your Life", Gordon replied,
"Oh, balls, it's not". Classic. Actually, he changed his mind and did
the show the following week.
Not
all of the guests on Desert Island Discs have been individuals. Some programmes
have featured very famous duos - who have been granted the comfort (or
purgatory) of being marooned with their partner. Amongst this select group are
some familiar teams: Flanders and Swann, Frank Muir and Denis Norden, Nina and
Frederik, Peter Brough and Archie Andrews (his dummy), and Morecambe and Wise. Some
of these people might live to regret their desert-island-life as a partnership.
Well, they could always set themselves up on opposite sides of the island - if
it turns out to be large enough.
The
profile of Desert Island Discs guests
looks like this: the ratio of men to women is about 70:30. And the three most
common occupations of castaways have been stage, screen, and radio; writer; and
musician. Other significant categories: sports, academics, politicians, and
those working in the fields of art and design.
Four
"castaways" have been from the Royal Family: Princess Margaret, the
Duchess of Kent, Viscount Lynley, and Princess Michael of Kent - who,
unbelievably, picked "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" as her favourite
Beatles piece. Go figure! [And James Galway picked "Octopus's
Garden"!]
In
1992 John Major was on Desert Island
Discs. He is the first and only serving Prime Minister to be on the show:
and he showed his Englishness by selecting a John Arlett cricket commentary as
one of his eight recordings. He also chose a piece by the very popular English
composer Edward Elgar - who is the sixth most-favoured composer on the
programme, behind Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Schubert and Verdi.
 |
| Prime Minister John Major and interviewer Sue Lawley |
When
the Conservative Party leader David Cameron (2006) was on the show, he picked a
song by The Smiths - "This Charming Man." The group's guitarist,
Johnny Marr, was so angry he told Cameron later to stop saying he was a fan of
the group.
Some
of the castaways have made very revealing statements on Desert Island Discs. When John Cale (2004), for example, was asked
what the Velvet Underground sounded like, he responded, "Painful". Debbie
Harry (2011) expressed regret about not having children. Jack Lemmon, in 1989, said his mother was so keen to finish a
Bridge game that she ended up giving birth to him in the elevator. Yoko Ono
(2007) revealed that she asked John Lennon to decide whether or not to abort
their son, Sean. "I didn't want to burden him," she said, "with
something he didn't want." Yoko, by the way, chose John's "Beautiful
Boy" as her Lennon track. So did Paul McCartney when he was on in 1982.
And Michael Caine (2009) revealed that he makes "the best roast potatoes
in the world."
 |
| Roy Plomley and Paul McCartney (1982) |
Lauren
Bacall (1979) became confused and difficult during her appearance. When Ray
Plomley asked her near the end to pick one of her eight selections - the
traditional, most favourite track of all to save from the waves (" ... if
you could only save one disc ..."), she exploded, "What is this? You
said I had eight records. Now you're saying I only have one?!"
 |
| Lauren Bacall was a castaway in 1979 |
Some
people had a bit of a narcissistic edge: English concert pianist Moura Lympany
(1979) chose eight pieces of music that featured herself as the pianist. Soprano
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (1958) chose seven tracks featuring herself singing. The
English tenor Peter Pears chose six tracks of himself singing. Norman Wisdom,
Zubin Mehta, and Louis Armstrong chose five of their own recordings. And Satchmo
also picked his autobiography as his book selection for the island.
And
some castaways have been real individuals: Rev. Ian Paisley chose eight records
that were unique to him; and English blues musician Georgie Fame ("Yeh,
Yeh"), meanwhile, chose six musical artists unique to him.
One
listener wrote in to complain about the emphasis on famous guests. He offered
himself: "As a retired Post Office worker I think I qualify; and I enclose
a list of my eight records. I am available most days, except Thursdays, when I
go to Old Time Dancing."
Music
The
section in the book after Castaways is Music. This is the part of the work that
is of most interest to me. It is fascinating to weigh the balance of choices
between the predictable and the unique. One is often amazed by the bizarre choices
that have been made over the years. How honest are the castaways in their
choices? Do they throw in a classical track or two in order to give their list
some gravitas? Do they leave out some
music because they fear it will be judged as trite or light-weight?
First,
here are the favourite figures in the field of popular music: The Beatles - followed
closely by Frank Sinatra; then come Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Noel Coward,
Ella Fitzgerald, Edith Piaf, Bob Dylan, Paul Robeson and Judy Garland. Two British
performers only in the top ten.
The
Top Five Beatles picks on Desert Island
Discs? "Yesterday", "Hey Jude", "A Day in the
Life", "Penny Lane", and "Eleanor Rigby". All but one by
Paul. My favourite Beatles' track is 16th. in the list here - "Strawberry
Fields Forever". Only six people out of about 2,500 chose it (including
Kenny Everett and Douglas Fairbanks Jr).
 |
| George Martin: this castaway chose one by John; one by Paul |
George
Martin, who has been on Desert Island
Discs twice (1982 and 1995),
picked "In My Life" and "Here, There and Everywhere". One
each by John and Paul. As diplomatic as ever.
Other
interesting Beatles' picks: John Cale selected "She Said, She Said"
(cool!); Brian Epstein picked "She's a Woman"; Donald Sutherland
preferred "Ballad of John and Yoko"; Richard Briers liked
"Within You, Without You", and Roger Vadim chose "While My
Guitar Gently Weeps".
 |
| Charlie Watts is the only one of the Stones to appear on Desert Island Discs |
The
other highly represented rock band is The Rolling Stones. The Top Five for the
Stones: "You Can't Always Get What You Want",
"Satisfaction", "Sympathy For The Devil", "Get Off My
Cloud", and "Gimmie Shelter". Now how come I agree much more
with the Stones' list than I do with The Beatles? By the way, the English actor
Bill Nighy (2004) is the only castaway to pick two Stones tracks in his list of
eight: "Gimmie Shelter" and "Winter".
If
you turn your attention away from performers and look at the list of favourite
songs, here are the top ten songs (in
order): "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien", "Underneath the
Arches", "La Vie En Rose", "My Way",
"Summertime", "Night and Day", "September Song",
"Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "Over the Rainbow", and
"These Foolish Things".
It
is fascinating to examine the long list of recording artists who have never
been picked once on Desert Island Discs.
Here are a few of the names that surprised me in this list: Buffalo
Springfield, Alice Cooper, Dave Clark Five, Deep Purple, Bo Diddley, Dave
Edmunds, The Faces, Fairport Convention, The Hollies, Manfred Mann, Carl
Perkins, Sly and the Family Stone, Patti Smith, Ten Years After, The Troggs,
and UB40.
The
top ten list of favourite classical composers? The three big winners are
Mozart, Beethoven and Bach - they are way ahead of the others. The rest of the
group: Schubert, Verdi, Elgar, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Handel and Wagner.
The
top ten pieces of classical music? The
Marriage of Figaro (Mozart), Messiah
(Handel), Symphony No. 9 in D minor
(Beethoven), The Magic Flute Mozart), Der Rosankavalier
(Richard Strauss), Don Giovanni
(Mozart), Tosca (Puccini), Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor
(Rachmaninov), St. Matthew Passion
(Bach), and La Boheme (Puccini).
Other
bits of classical trivia. Some castaways stick just to classical music. And
some of them have very specific tastes. The American writer James Ellroy chose
works by just three composers: Beethoven (5), Bruckner (2) and Sibelius.
British politician Enoch Powell also selected just three composers: Wagner (4),
Beethoven (3) and Haydn. Maria Von Trapp picked only Mozart (4), Schubert (3)
and Bach.
English
actress Peggy Ashcroft loved Bach's Brandenburg
Concerto No. 5 in D major so much that she selected three excerpts from it!
Lots
of castaways chose a piece from Holst's The
Planets - the favourite being "Jupiter" (18 people) - or a piece
from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons - the
most popular being "Spring" (13).
The
most popular hymn was "Ave Maria" (42 picks). The favourite Christmas
carol was "In the Bleak Midwinter" (13). And the favourite national
anthem: "Land of My Fathers" - Wales (17).
Some
of the castaways' eight selections were spoken word choices, instead of music.
Many people chose work from a poet (Dylan Thomas was the clear favourite -
selected 45 times). Some chose a reading from a favoured novel (Joyce and
Dickens, for example). Some wanted an excerpt from a play (Oscar Wilde and -
especially - Shakespeare). Recordings of famous speeches were also popular:
Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, John Kennedy. Some intriguing choices
featured pieces of broadcast sound:
footballer Jackie Charlton chose the BBC commentary from the last minute
of extra time during the 1966 World Cup Final (England won, in case you
forgot!). John Sessions picked William Faulkner's acceptance speech for his
Nobel Prize for Literature (1950). Peter Ustinov chose Asquith's speech on the
budget in 1909! Others favoured unique sound effects. David Attenborough picked
the birdsong of the lyrebird. Alan Bennett selected 'West of Exeter' train
sounds. Anthony Steel chose the sounds of Piccadilly Circus. Roger McGough - a member
of the Liverpudlian group The Scaffold - chose the sound of foghorns on the
Mersey. Strangest choice in this department? The English cricketer Freddie
Trueman picked the sound of tables and chairs being moved at the Yorkshire
County Cricket Club!
The
music used as the theme for Desert Island Discs, by the way, is by Eric Coates.
It's called By the Sleepy Lagoon. It
has always been the theme - throughout the seventy-year run of the programme.
For some added atmosphere, as the theme is running at the beginning of the
show, they have added the sound of Herring Gulls. At some point, some
vociferous nit-pickers pointed out that Herring Gulls would never be found at a
tropical island. So they briefly changed the sound effect to the more authentic
cries of Sooty Terns. It didn't work, the gulls were returned to their place, by popular
demand.
Luxuries
After
the section on Music comes Luxuries. The choice of a special luxury for the
desert island was first offered to a castaway on 16 October, 1951. On this
occasion, the English actress and singer Sally Ann Howes chose garlic.
 |
| Acceptable luxury? |
The
rule about the choice of luxury is that it must be an inanimate object - but
not one that would allow you immediately to escape the island: a rowboat, or a
helicopter, for example. Lots of castaways chose an item to remind them of
their family - photographs, for example, a family possession, or an heirloom.
Many guests picked a practical luxury: a tool, a fishing or hunting device,
vegetable seeds, an insecticide, or products to protect against the sun. A fair
number picked an item of clothing. Lots selected a piece of art - a painting or
sculpture. A large number of castaways asked for writing materials, or
equipment required to draw or paint. Many picked their bed, a favourite pillow,
a duvet, or a hammock. Some chose food - including several, I was amused to
see, who wanted a jar of Marmite.
 |
| Luxury? Of course! |
 |
| Hmm, nice! |
And
then there are drinks! Several castaways chose tea or coffee - specific types, or special methods of presentation. But many more got into
the harder stuff. The most popular selections were champagne, whisky and wine. Dedicated
drinkers specified particular brands: trade unionist Jimmy Knapp chose a case
of Talisker single malt whisky; Playwright Terence Rattigan wanted Dom Perignon
champagne; actor and writer Julian Fellowes specified "two enormous casks
of Chateau Margaux". Denholm Elliott and Clement Freud considered quantity
more important than quality - they both suggested a still. Actor
Dirk Bogarde took a larger view and requested a distillery!
Smokers,
too, were not shy about pursuing their own particular vice. Actress Joan
Greenwood simply chose cigarettes (is that how she got the husky voice?) Zoe
Wanaker, another English actress, was more precise - requesting packets of
Samson tobacco and Rizla liquorice papers. Staying with the thespian crowd,
both Michael Redgrave and Ralph Richardson selected to take a pipe, and George
Cole and John Houston (the American director) chose Havana cigars. And three
castaways, Susan Blackmore, Hanif Kureishi and Fran Landesman decided to invest
their time, energy and horticultural skill into generating their own smokable
material - a bunch of cannabis seeds.
Sports
equipment, not surprisingly, was popular as a luxury item: rocker David Essex
wanted a cricket bat; DJ John Peel selected a football - and a wall to kick it
against; Peter Ustinov asked for a tennis racket. Lots of castaways picked golf
equipment - but jazz diva Sarah Vaughan has been the only female guest to
choose golf clubs and balls.
Many
castaways picked an item related to hygiene or personal grooming: a bath was a
popular choice, but also in this list are guests choosing a shower, toiletries,
perfume, shaving kit, mirror, hair products, hairbrush or comb, and - of course
- a toilet. Jazz singer Annie Ross didn't quite grasp the notion of
desert-island solitude, perhaps, when she chose as her one luxury a set of
false eyelashes! Will Carling wanted a flotation tank. And comedian Billy
Connolly was very precise - choosing an electrical device for heating shaving
foam!
 |
| Martin D28 |
One
of the most popular categories of luxury items was musical instruments. Amongst
the huge group that selected a piano are, not surprisingly, Dave Brubeck,
Daniel Barenboim, Earl Hines, Liberace, Andre Previn, Randy Newman, and Stephen
Sondheim. A guitar was a popular choice, too. Again, there are obvious names in
this list: Julian Bream, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour (an acoustic Martin), John
Lee Hooker, Cliff Richard, John Williams, and Paul McCartney (Hofner bass, or
acoustic guitar? - it doesn't specify in the book). And then a wide group of
other instruments - attached to some obvious names: Louis Armstrong, of course,
chose a trumpet; John Dankworth and Ronnie Scott picked a saxophone; James
Galway wanted his golden flute; George Formby, naturally, picked a ukulele (his
first one); Jack Teagarden chose a trombone; Paddy Moloney wanted a tin
whistle; and comedy-actor Jimmy Edwards selected a euphonium. In the
let's-get-specific department: actors Ewan McGregor and Bill Nighy both wanted
the mouth organ (harmonica), but McGregor specified a chromatic harmonica (think Larry Adler and
Stevie Wonder) - unlike Nighy, who requested a boxed set of blues harps. If
you're going to be stranded alone, perhaps, for many, many years, you might as
well get exactly what you want.
 |
| What? ... |
And,
just for fun, let's conclude this section with just a few of the strangest
choices for desert-island-luxury. Alfred Hitchcock selected a Continental
railway timetable. Alan Hacker suggested a Hovercraft wheelchair with capuccino
machine might be useful. John Cleese thought Michael Palin stuffed would be a
good luxury. Stanley Holloway wanted a parking meter and lots of change.
Wilfrid Hyde-White asked for a picture of Charlie Chaplin and a model of a
Rolls-Royce. Elia Kazan requested twenty tons of pine needles. And John Sessions asked for a 78rpm
record of "The Laughing Policeman", so he could smash it on the
rocks.
Books
 |
| Philip Roth? Apparently not! |
After
the often random and quirky choices of the luxury, we focus in the final
section of this book on the castaways' selections of reading material. This
element of Desert Island Discs was
introduced on 9 October 1951 - just one week before the choice of luxury was also
added to the programme's format. All castaways were henceforth provided with a
copy of The Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare - and another book of
their own choosing. The first castaway given this option was the actor and
director Henry Kendall. His choice was the latest edition of Who's Who in
the Theatre.
The
category choices here have tended to be less varied than that of the luxury.
The three main choices have been poetry, novels, and practical books. Amongst
poetry-lovers the most popular choice was a collection or anthology. There have
also been, of course, a wide selection of individual poets chosen. Those chosen
several times include Dylan Thomas, T. S. Eliot, John Donne, and W. H. Auden. The
top ten choices for novelists are Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, Marcel Proust,
Jane Austen, P. G. Wodehouse, Dante Alighieri, Kenneth Grahame (all for The
Wind in the Willows), Lewis Carroll, J. R. R. Tolkien, and James Joyce. Coming
in at #11 was Daniel Defoe. All the castaways who chose this author picked -
you guessed it - Robinson Crusoe.
Just
as there has been a large group of musical performers who have never been
picked in any of the castaways' list of eight recordings, there has also been a
number of well-known and popular writers who, surprisingly, have never been
picked by a single castaway. Here are just a handful that I have chosen from
this list: Martin Amis, Isaac Asimov, Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Truman
Capote, Joseph Conrad, Alexander Dumas, Henry Fielding, Elizabeth Gaskell,
Graham Greene, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Irving, Franz Kafka, Ian McEwan, Henry
Miller, Iris Murdoch, Edgar Allan Poe, Philip Roth, Muriel Spark, Hunter S.
Thompson, John Updike and Edith Wharton.
 |
| J. Bronowski discusses his book with Roy Plomley |
Dickens
at #1, then. But what are the top five Dickens novels chosen? The Pickwick
Papers is the clear favourite, followed by David Copperfield, Great
Expectations, Bleak House, and Nicholas Nickleby. The
validity of this list, however, has been marred by the fact that many castaways
were allowed to choose "the complete works of Dickens" - I think
Simon Callow was one of these culprits. I concur with the choice, but it does
seem to violate the programme's rule. The #1 book in the Jane Austen list was,
not surprisingly, Pride and Prejudice - but then again the host allowed
12 of the castaways to choose the collected novels by Austen.
Amongst
the other reading material, several castaways were not afraid to go the
low-brow route. Several chose a collection of cartoons or comic strips. The
actor Dennis Price picked a Giles
volume. The English fashion designer Paul Smith chose The Beano Annual
for 1974. The historian and peace campaigner E. P. Thompson selected a
collection of Pogo comic strips by Walt Kelly. And then there are the
egomaniacs who want to have their own autobiographies to read: Louis Armstrong,
Jim Clark, Catherine Cookson, Anton Dolin, Diana Dors, Robertson Hare, Thora
Hird, Engelbert Humperdinck, Gorden Kaye, and Otto Preminger.
And
then there are the practical, non-fiction books. Novelist Pat Barker chose a
book on tropical fish - so that she could learn to identify them. American
actor Joseph Cotten picked a boat-building book. English bird-photographer Eric
Hosking requested a field guide to the island's birds. Clive James - funny man
- wanted a book that explained how to build a plane out of palm fronds and
coconut fibre (authored by Willy Messerscmitt!). Neil Simon got very basic -
choosing How to Swim. Tommy Steele and June Whitfield asked for a
Do-It-Yourself book. And J. K. Rowling got serious in her choice - an SAS
survival-guide or manual.
And
let's end this section with a few quirky picks: John Lee Hooker requested
"a book with pictures of pretty women"; David Frost chose the London
A-Z; Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage) selected the Melbourne street
directory ("an old version"); Robert Morley wanted a book explaining
the rules of Patience (did he ask for a pack of cards as his luxury?); John
Cleese asked for (bitterly?) Tammy Wynette's autobiography Stand By Your Man;
Maria Von Trapp picked "true funny stories in German (sounds more like what
John Cleese would have said!); Earl Wild wanted transcripts from the Watergate
hearings (really?!); and smart-arse Tim Robbins asked for a book - of matches
(should have been a luxury, right?).
So, is this a book then that I would recommend? Well, not
for purchase - unless you are a real, ardent fan of the programme and a lover of books made up completely
of lists. If you have a mild interest in the topic, you might want to check out
the book from your local library - probably not a problem in the UK, but I
doubt very much if any libraries in north America would acquire it for their
shelves, since the programme is not broadcast over here.
Meanwhile, you could spend some idle time, perhaps,
compiling your own list of eight favourite recordings!
Clive Baugh's Desert Island Discs (+ luxury
and book)
Every
once in a while I jot down my own list of eight recordings - should I be
invited by Kirsty Young to be on the show! I'm not the only one. Mitchell
Symons reports in this book that the British writer and critic A. A. Gill
(2006) had been planning his list since the age of 12. The Irish comic
presenter Graham Norton (2004) reeled off his list of eight records the moment
he was asked. Actor Patrick Stewart was so keen to be on the programme that he
carried around his list in his pocket. He was on the show in 2005. But the
politician Herbert Morrison, who also kept his permanent list tucked away in a
pocket, sadly never got to be on the programme.
So
why only eight individual pieces on Desert
Island Discs, anyway? It seems so limiting to me. And, since the late-60s,
I've always been an "albums man", myself. If I were designing the
programme, I'd invite guests to pick eight albums (CDs), and select one
representative track for broadcast from each of those albums. In the early days
of Desert Island Discs, the castaways
were advised that they would get eight recordings and an endless supply of
needles with which to play them with. Needles?! There's the clue. This
programme began in the days of 78 shellac discs - which could be played on a
wind-up gramophone, without the need of electricity. The vinyl LP - developed
by Columbia Records - wasn't introduced until 1948. So, for those first five or six years of
the show, the castaways really were choosing eight recordings - eight
individual discs. After the era of the 78 disc was long-gone, they still kept
to the original concept - eight pieces, whether songs, instrumentals, sections
from multi-movement classical pieces, or spoken word recordings. And eight
pieces, of course, because of the time-limitation imposed by the length of the radio
programme.
 |
| Roy Plomley: 78 rpm, gramophone and lots of needles |
What
about the method one uses to select the eight recordings? I think that this is
important - but only original host Roy Plomley made a point of asking his
guests if they had employed a specific method for coming up with their list.
Many castaways just seem to pick their selections for sentimental reasons, or to
represent different periods in their life. Surely, it's got to be more
thought-through than that! These might be the only selections of music you'll
have to while away your time on the island for many years. Choose carefully! If
you're a music lover with eclectic tastes, for example, you'd want to have a
list that includes a pieces from several different genres - for me, off the top
of my head, that would include rock, classical, jazz and folk (or, perhaps,
"singer-songwriter). You'd also want to consider having music that covers
several moods; after all, you'd like to have, I think, music that would fit
different times during the day - quiet and contemplative, perhaps, early in the
morning, or late at night, and loud and aggressive, after you've been through
several cups of fermented coconut juice.
I'm
going to provide two lists (if you don't mind!): first, my version of the eight
individual recordings; and then my preferred alternative to the traditional Desert Island Discs format - viz., my
choice of eight albums. Oh, and if you check with me again next week, the lists
will look very different!
My Eight Individual
Tracks
1. "Homeword Bound" by Simon and
Garfunkel. This is my only sentimental choice on the list. When I was near the
end of my time at St. Edward's College boarding school - we had moved to
Liverpool by then - I was dissatisfied with the situation, angry with the man
in charge, and thinking of home. My best pal and I both loved Simon and
Garfunkel and this became our theme song at the time.
2. "Strawberry Fields Forever" by
The Beatles. How do you pick just one Beatles recording? It's very difficult.
It has to be a Lennon piece, of course, so that does serve to narrow the choice
dramatically. It's one of Lennon's more enigmatic lyrics. A strangely
open-ended, inconclusive piece of music - remarkable for its unique and
haunting arrangement. I never tire of listening to it.
3. "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob
Dylan. Six minutes of magic. The band performed it live off the floor, no
overdubs. This was not tightly arranged, and they only managed to get through
the whole thing once in a perfect rendition. This would be the piece I'd listen
to after a couple of glasses too many of fermented coconut juice. I'd be
singing along with its angry lyric - which is full of resentment and the need
for revenge. Yell along with the refrain - it'll make you feel better!
4. "My Funny Valentine" by Frank
Sinatra. Again, how do you pick just one track from this performer? I came late
to an appreciation of this guy's music. I had been long-alienated by his public
image and some of his more mediocre and played-to-death recordings - think
"Something Stupid", "Strangers in the Night", and "My
Way". When I finally got around to listening to the many superb albums he
released in the 1950s, I realized what an amazing singer he is - not just the
impeccable vocal technique, but his ability to present the lyric perfectly;
it's as though he is reading a short story, with every nuance highlighted and
emphasized. If you're a fan of the great popular songs of the past - the
standards now referred to as the "Great American Songbook" -
invariably it is Sinatra's version that is best.
5. "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young.
You listen to Neil; you feel good. There's something about the man's honesty
and authenticity that shines through in nearly all his music. There is a wonderful
balance in his music between the rough and the smooth, between the melodic and
the noisy, between the acoustic and the electric. Like Bob Dylan, he is
intelligent, endlessly creative, and completely authentic - unlike Bob, whose inscrutable
attitude can often alienate his audience,
Neil is open and magnanimous. This track is a good example of sweet
vocals matched to a propulsive rock beat. And it has a killer riff.
6. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" by
Charles Mingus. If rock music is focused on the guitar; jazz has the saxophone
as its primary instrument. Must have some jazz on my desert island. And I
prefer the laidback, beautiful sounds of players like Johnny Hodges, Dexter
Gordon, and Lester Young. So much to choose from. I could have selected Johnny
Hodges doing either of Billy Strayhorn's pieces "Isfahan" or
"Blood Count" for Duke Ellington's orchestra. Instead I chose this;
it's a gorgeous tribute to saxophonist Lester Young - found on Mingus's album Ah Um.
7. Adagietto
from Symphony #5 in C# minor by
Gustav Mahler. I need to have some classical orchestral music in this list. But
just one movement? Here's a movement I listen to often - without hearing it in
the context of the entire work. After all, the whole thing runs about 70
minutes. This exquisite slow-movement is merely 11 minutes. Gorgeous music you
might be familiar with; it was used very atmospherically in Visconti's film version
of Death In Venice.
8. Allegro
from Brandenburg Concerto #3 in G major
by J. S. Bach. This is one of three concerti in the six-concerti set which
features no woodwinds - strings accompanied by harpsichord. This is baroque
music at its most irresistible. If you have to choose one movement, from one
work, from one period - well - how about this?
 |
"Yes, Clive - and what is your first choice?"
"Mr. Plomley, can I pick an album?"
"No, of course you can't pick an album; haven't you listened to my programme before?" |
My Eight Albums
1. Revolver
by The Beatles. Many pundits would pick Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as their Beatles choice. But, truth be
told, there are some mediocre songs on there. If you're looking for the Beatles
LP which includes not only studio wizardry and musical innovation, but also the
most consistently high quality of song-writing, this is it.
2. Blonde
On Blonde by Bob Dylan. Hard to choose between this and Highway 61 Revisited. But this one is
just chockfull of great songs. And about twenty minutes longer. Dylan at his
peak in the mid-60s.
3. After
the Gold Rush by Neil Young. This is the album that made me a Neil Young
fan. It's still hard to decide, however, whether to go for this one, or Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, or Rust Never Sleeps. I seem to keep coming
back to this one as my favourite. I suppose sentiment gives this a slight edge,
but it also attracts because of its perfect combination of hard-edged rock and
sweet vocals. And a great set of songs.
4. In
The Wee Small Hours of the Morning by Frank Sinatra. Again, hard to choose.
This one - from 1955 - or Only the Lonely,
which came out three years later. A wonderful selection of songs. Music
arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. Brilliant singing. Melancholic
ballad-singing at its most sublime.
5. Kind
of Blue by Miles Davis. Features a great band: Cannonball Adderley, Wynton
Kelly, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and John Coltrane. This
innovative album is based on a different style of improvisation - built, as it
is, on a set of modal sketches, rather than a group of harmonies or chord
progressions. Jimmy Cobb, the drummer, called it music "made in
heaven". And so it is. Moody, laid-back, understated - it insinuates
itself into your consciousness. You never grow tired of it. This is the album
that drew me into instrumental jazz.
6. Pet
Sounds by The Beach Boys. It should really be credited to Brian Wilson and
The Beach Boys. A mid-60s tour-de-force
that still failed to dislodge in the general public's mind that this was a band
delivering "surf music". Brian wrote the arrangements and produced
the tracks in this suite of theme-related songs co-written (lyrics) by Tony
Asher. God only knows why they included "Sloop John B" on here. Dump that and it's a perfect record.
7. Symphony
#5 in C minor & Symphony in #7 in
A major by Ludwig Van Beethoven - featuring the Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra conducted by Carlos Kleiber. If we're agreeing that the CD is the
technology we're using to deliver these eight "albums", then here's a
bonus - two of Beethoven's greatest works on one CD. My father influenced me to
listen to classical music; but I heard it a lot more when I was at boarding
school - mostly familiar works from the Romantic or Classical period: Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, for example,
or Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E
minor. But the main interest, in those early days of listening to classical
music, were the great symphonies of Tchaikovsky, Schubert, and, of course,
Beethoven.
8. The
Water Music by G. F. Handel. As I expanded my knowledge of classical music,
I found I began to listen more and more to the Baroque and early-Classical
periods. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Vivaldi, and Handel became my favourites. I began
to prefer music that was not as dramatic and grandiose as the Romantics - gravitating
inexorably towards the formality and delicacies of the Baroque style. A move
away from the large concert hall to the intimacy of chamber music. Most fans
focus on Handel's oratorios. I love his orchestral work - the concerti grossi for strings, the concerti grossi for woodwinds, The Royal Fireworks Music, and this
wonderfully uplifting piece. Delightful.
My Luxury and My Book
My
luxury: this is a very tough choice. My first thought would be an endless
supply of some intoxicant - one of my favourite English ales, for example, or
bottles of single malt scotch (Lagavulin? Talisker? Laphroaig?), or ... Then I
was thinking about a large supply of paper and some writing implements. Or how
about a guitar? Yes, my choice would be a high-quality acoustic guitar. I could
entertain myself, create my own songs, and improve my technique. Only the birds
could complain.
My
book: this is difficult, too. I have it narrowed down to two choices. It only
makes sense, if you are only allowed one book, to make it a very long novel.
And a novel that is fascinating in its many plot-lines, entertaining in its
vast cast of characters, and profoundly uplifting in its understanding and
dramatic portrayal of human nature. My second choice would be Middlemarch
by George Eliot. My desert island literary companion would have to be War
and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Very long; very involving; very inspiring.
Invitation
And
how about you? If you'd like to play the game, nominate your list of eight
recordings. Give us your luxury and your choice of book. Leave your picks by
clicking on the Comment button below and filling the box that opens. Give us
your Desert Island Discs.
Addendum
Desert Island Discs has its own website.
You can access their vast archive of about 1,450 past programmes. You can
choose to listen to them directly from the website, or you can download them to
your computer and then transfer them to a portable listening device - I have
been doing this via iTunes and the iPod set up semi-permanently in my car.
