Desert Island Discs

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Desert Island Discs is the title of a weekly BBC cultural program . It was first recorded on January 27, 1942 in the bombed Maida Vale studio and broadcast two days later for the British armed forces on the Forces program at 8 p.m. Desert Island Discs is one of the longest running radio programs in the world. The program is currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Sundays from 11.15 a.m. to 12 p.m. (repeat: Fridays between 9 a.m. and 9.45 a.m.). It can also be listened to online and as a podcast .

concept

Each week is a different celebrity guest of the show and makes its selection of eight pieces of music, which he was shipwrecked ( Engl. : Castaway ) to a deserted island ( desert Iceland would) take, also a book. The Bible (or the Holy Scriptures of the religion of the interview guest) as well as Shakespeare's Collected Works are not available for selection because editions of the same are already on the island. Towards the end of the program, the guest also selects a luxury item that must be inanimate and not usable to leave the island or to communicate with the outside world.

history

The program's first presenter was its inventor Roy Plomley , an actor and announcer. He proposed the concept to the BBC in 1941, and it was adopted by Leslie Perowne. Production was suspended from 1946 to 1951. Since then, the program has been broadcast on Home Service , and from now on guests could also wish for a luxury item and a book. Since September 1967 the program can be heard on Radio 4, which was then newly founded. Plomley hosted a total of 1,791 episodes of the series.

In 1985, after Plomley's death, Michael Parkinson first took over the moderation, from March 1988 to August 2006 Sue Lawley hosted the show. Kirsty Young was named as her successor .

The first guest on the show was the comedian Vic Oliver , and he wanted Chopin's revolutionary etude “Poland is not lost yet” No. 12 in C minor, played by Alfred Cortot , the first piece that every guest wanted to hear at this time. Since then, countless people from the worlds of politics, science, art and sport have presented their favorite music and books and talked about their lives, including the last five British Prime Ministers (although only John Major during his tenure). Other guests on the show included Judi Dench , John Malkovich , Princess Margaret , George Clooney and Stephen Hawking .

Web links

Commons : Desert Island Discs  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Desert Island Discs History . In: BBC website. Without a date. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  2. ↑ Desert Island Discs January 29, 1942 . In: BBC website. The BBC Story. Anniversaries. January. Without a date. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  3. ↑ Alex Hudson: The castaway who annoyed Churchill . In: BBC News. January 26, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.