Desert Island Discs
BBC Radio 4
Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 10, 1981 • 34min
John Fowles
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer John Fowles.Book: Dictionary of National Biography
Luxury: Field glasses
Jan 3, 1981 • 33min
Robin Cousins
Roy Plomley's castaway is ice-skating champion Robin Cousins.Favourite track: Carmen Ballet by Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Book: Shogun by James Clavell
Luxury: Marzipan
Dec 27, 1980 • 35min
Placido Domingo
Roy Plomley's castaway is tenor Placido Domingo.Favourite track: Otello by Giuseppe Verdi
Book: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Luxury: Video player and cassettes of his own performances
Dec 20, 1980 • 34min
Arthur Askey
Roy Plomley's castaway is comedian Arthur Askey.Favourite track: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Book: Guinness Book of Records
Luxury: Piano
Dec 13, 1980 • 35min
Neville Marriner
Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Neville Marriner.Favourite track: There Is No Rose by King's College Chapel Choir
Book: Life On Earth by David Attenborough
Luxury: Violin
Dec 6, 1980 • 31min
Jose Carreras
Roy Plomley's castaway is tenor Jose Carreras.Favourite track: Your Tiny Hand is Frozen (Che gelida manina) (from La Boheme) by Giacomo Puccini
Book: Poems by Rabindranath Tagore
Luxury: Velazquez, Les Hilanderas
Nov 29, 1980 • 30min
Alan Minter
Roy Plomley's castaway is boxer Alan Minter.Favourite track: My Way by Frank Sinatra
Book: Survival manual
Luxury: Solar-powered transistor radio
Nov 22, 1980 • 34min
Tom Conti
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Tom Conti.Favourite track: Dies Irae by Giuseppe Verdi
Book: Summerhill by A S Neill
Luxury: Piano
Nov 15, 1980 • 30min
Jacquetta Hawkes
Roy Plomley's castaway is archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes.Favourite track: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in A Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Collected works by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Luxury: Wine
Nov 8, 1980 • 34min
Mark Elder
Roy Plomley's castaway is musical director of the English National Opera Mark Elder.Favourite track: I Used To Be Colour Blind by Fred Astaire
Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Luxury: Sherry
