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
Apr 14, 1979 • 32min
Sir Edmund Hillary
Roy Plomley's castaway is mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary.Favourite track: Blowin' In The Wind by Bob Dylan
Book: The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien
Luxury: Painting he has of Kathmandu valley
Apr 7, 1979 • 32min
Sir Adrian Boult
Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Sir Adrian Boult.Favourite track: Symphony No. 40 In G Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Luxury: Panama hats stuffed with barley sugar
Mar 31, 1979 • 37min
Burl Ives
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Burl Ives.Favourite track: Horn Concerto No. 4 In E Flat by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: I Ching
Luxury: Whisky (Tobermory)
Mar 24, 1979 • 27min
Ray Reardon
Roy Plomley's castaway is snooker champion Ray Reardon.Favourite track: Symphony No. 5 In C Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean
Luxury: Golf clubs and balls
Mar 17, 1979 • 30min
Ileana Cotrubas
Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Ileana Cotrubas.Favourite track: Dies Irae by Giuseppe Verdi
Book: History of the whole world
Luxury: Sistine Chapel in the Vatican
Mar 10, 1979 • 31min
David Attenborough
Roy Plomley's castaway is zoologist David Attenborough.Favourite track: String Quintet In G Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Shifts and Expedients of Camp Life by William Barry Lord
Luxury: Binoculars
Mar 3, 1979 • 28min
Lauren Bacall
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Lauren Bacall.Favourite track: My Mistress' Eyes (Sonnet 130) by William Shakespeare
Book: Collected Short Stories by John Cheever
Luxury: Sun tan lotion
Feb 24, 1979 • 33min
Nana Mouskouri
Roy Plomley's castaway is singer Nana Mouskouri.Favourite track: Girl From The North Country by Bob Dylan
Book: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Luxury: Telephone
Feb 20, 1979 • 31min
Sir Arthur Bryant
Roy Plomley's castaway is historian Sir Arthur Bryant.Favourite track: The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
Luxury: Painting of a little princess, by Velazquez
Feb 13, 1979 • 31min
Norris McWhirter
Roy Plomley's castaway is Editor of the Guinness Book of Records Norris McWhirter.Favourite track: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D Major by Edward Elgar
Book: The National Dictionary of Biography
Luxury: Roll of cloth
