Daley Thompson

Speaker 10:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young and this is a download from the Desert Island Discs archive. This edition may be slightly different from what was actually broadcast, but it's the only version we have. It comes from the British Library's radio collection. It was archived without the music, so although the Castaways choices are introduced, they're not part of this recording. Full details can be found on the Castaways page on the Desert Island Discs website.

Speaker 10:26

The programme was originally broadcast in nineteen eighty.

Speaker 10:30

And the presenter was Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:33

Our castaway this week has been called the best all-round athlete in the world today. He was born in London and his name is Daley Thompson.

Speaker 10:37

Yeah.

Presenter0:41

Daily Dupay records a lot.

Daley Thompson0:43

We have a quite a lot of spare time when we do sort of our recovery and stuff between training sessions and most of the time I listen to music then and during sessions I have a radio out and

Daley Thompson0:53

Just listen to it while I'm doing my thing.

Presenter0:55

Uh

Daley Thompson0:55

Sing or play an instrument yourself?

Daley Thompson0:58

Unfortunately I can do neither, but I'd like to learn. Could you endure loneliness on an island?

Daley Thompson1:03

Well, I have to train most mornings and afternoons by myself and so, uh, I suppose I could do it for a little while, but obviously it would get a bit boring.

Presenter1:11

What's the first record you've chosen of the eight?

Daley Thompson1:13

Marvin Gaye singing Abraham, Martin and John. Why do you choose this one? Um just because I I like Marvin Gay's voice and I wish I could sing like him.

Presenter1:22

Marvin Gaye singing Abraham Martin and John.

Presenter1:27

Now, Daly, you're a Londoner. What part of London?

Daley Thompson1:29

Tell him not.

Presenter1:30

Now by ancestry you're Nigerian and Scott. Mm-hmm. Good mixture?

Presenter1:35

Oh, well, I haven't done too badly of it. Now, you had the misfortune to to lose your father when you were quite young. Do you think that's why you had a reputation as being rather an unruly child?

Daley Thompson1:45

Um, I don't know. I think it's just like the area where I was brought up. It's a a working class area and most kids sort of run around and get into a bit of trouble now and then.

Presenter1:54

You were getting into fights even at nursery school, I I hear.

Daley Thompson1:57

Well, I was chucked out of nursery school I think when I was four for fighting and things, but uh I think most kids are fairly boisterous at that age.

Presenter2:03

So oh off you went to boarding school when you were about seven, did they? They sought you out there?

Daley Thompson2:08

Yeah, I suppose, you know. I quietened down a little and got on with uh going to class and being normal.

Presenter2:14

They gave you plenty of um physical exercise there.

Daley Thompson2:16

Yeah, well we used to uh have games every afternoon, so I obviously enjoyed that. What was the big thing in your life, the big sport? Ah, football. Football. Yeah, football at the time. I was as I say I was playing sort of four or five days a week at school and then on Saturdays and Sundays I'd uh play for local teams and my county.

Presenter2:24

Oh f

Presenter2:33

You tried to do something about soccer, didn't you? You you you wanted to be a

Daley Thompson2:36

Yeah, I'd love to have been a football player, uh'cause I had children with Fulham and Chelsea and I was uh going fairly well, but then I started doing athletics and uh doing everything.

Presenter2:45

They gave you a trial, both clubs. Yes. What turned you to athletics?

Daley Thompson2:49

I don't know, I I started I went down my local track and started doing it with a few friends and I just found that, you know

Daley Thompson2:57

doing an individual thing as opposed to a team thing, I got a lot more self-satisfaction from it. So, you know, I just started from there and been carrying on.

Presenter3:02

It is

Presenter3:05

Right. Well, we'll talk about that in a minute. Let's have your second record. What's that to be?

Daley Thompson3:09

It's James Taylor and you've got a friend.

Presenter3:12

James Taylor, you've got a friend. Why'd you choose that one?

Daley Thompson3:15

Well, I've uh first heard James Taylor when he was uh singing in a film called FM, which is I saw in America, and uh from then I got a few albums of his and uh I just liked him ever since.

Presenter3:28

Right, now you turn from soccer to athletics. What sort of distance attracted you, first of all?

Daley Thompson3:32

Um I started off as a sprinter, 100 and 200, because basically this is the shortest distance, so it's pretty easy.

Presenter3:37

You did quite well in the in the English Schools Championship for the two hundred metres.

Daley Thompson3:40

Yeah, well I came fourth one year, my first year trying and my next year I came first. Yeah. So obviously with the initial success you sort of start to train and do a bit more.

Presenter3:50

Now that first year you did all right, fourth in the English Schools Championship. Then you did no good at all in the junior championships, the AAA junior championships. And in a way that was the best thing that ever happened to you.

Daley Thompson4:02

Yeah, I suppose because uh you know you sort of feel dejected because you think you're some good and obviously if you're not sort of making finals and stuff of junior things then uh obviously you're not quite as good as you thought you had. And uh I'd sort of come to the point where I felt that uh perhaps I'm not as good as I thought I was and perhaps I should try something else. And uh on the day when I wasn't doing very well at the junior three A's I uh happened to meet one of my coaches and uh he sort of gave me some encouragement and I think uh I've carried on ever since.

Presenter4:31

It's just'cause you looked so awfully miserable and dejected that you met this man. He came up and comforted you and a man who's going to be very important to you.

Daley Thompson4:41

Yeah, well, you know, uh Bob's sort of helped me as a sort of father figure ever since and uh I rely quite a lot on him for good advice. Bob. Bob Mortimer.

Presenter4:50

Well, partly thanks to Bob Mortimer, you won that event the following year.

Presenter4:54

Now you very bright scholastically, too. You went on to college of early education.

Daley Thompson4:59

Well, uh I'm I'm no cleverer than anybody else. I just uh happen to be very fortunate in some of the very impressive number.

Presenter5:04

We've got a very impressive number of O's and A's.

Presenter5:08

Now, whose idea was it for you to go for the Decathlon?

Daley Thompson5:11

Bob's? Actually, it was Bob's because at the time I was doing sort of high jump and some long jump and some hundred and four hundred for the club, Essex Beagles, and uh we just decided that it might be a good idea not to specialise too early and try decathlon. And so we tried decathlon in June 75 and it went fairly well and I've been doing it ever since. Now there aren't many youngsters who go for it are there? Well basically you're not allowed to do decathlon I think until you're over seventeen or eighteen. So I was fortunate in that the Welsh three A's let me do it as a guest.

Presenter5:24

Good.

Daley Thompson5:42

And uh so this is the reason why you don't get many gangsters doing it.

Presenter5:45

Right, before we talk about the decathlon and detail record number three.

Daley Thompson5:49

And that sure'nough must be loved by Heat Wave.

Presenter5:53

Sure enough must be love by Heat Wave, and I'm not to ask you why you like it. Thanks. Now we can gather from the first three records that you daily must be a romantic.

Presenter6:03

We we're going to continue in in this mood musically, are we?

Daley Thompson6:06

Oh yeah, I'm basically I don't like sort of too loud music and any kind of music that I like dancing to. Right. Dancing with a partner.

Presenter6:11

Right.

Presenter6:13

Let's talk about the decathlon, obviously from the name ten events. Can you list them?

Daley Thompson6:19

Do five events on two days. Five events on two days, yeah. And you do hundred meters long jump, short foot, high jump, four hundred meters. That's the first day. That's the first day. Second day you do hundred and ten meters hurdles, discus, power vault, javelin and fifteen hundred.

Presenter6:21

January

Presenter6:32

Obviously when you started there must have been some events you'd never even tried.

Daley Thompson6:35

Oh, when I did my first account I think I hadn't done five events and they were things like Hurdles, Provolt, Discus, Fifteen Hundred and Shot.

Presenter6:45

Now there must be one complication. Now shot is for big muscular chaps and you don't need all that weight for high jump for example.

Daley Thompson6:55

Yeah. So the obvious thing to do is to uh find the sort of optimum body weight that you can carry without it being detrimental to your speed. So as the years go on you try to be a bit heavier, some years a bit lighter. And you try and uh find what's good for you.

Presenter7:09

Different forms of training, too. I mean, you've got to.

Daley Thompson7:12

Well obviously you have to do uh lots of weights and things for the throwing events, but then you have to do lots of mobility for things like hurdles and pole bulk. How's the scoring done? The tables that you use were done in nineteen sixty two and a thousand points was for the average of the top hundred in the world for each individual event. And it was done in a straight line graph down and above it.

Presenter7:29

But

Presenter7:35

So really, it it's a sort of slide rule job. You just get on with it, you don't worry about the scoring, you leave the

Daley Thompson7:40

Oh no. Well it's it comes in a little book and once you get the book you know what it looks like then it's pretty easy.

Presenter7:44

You just run first and leave it to the chaps with the stopwatches.

Daley Thompson7:45

Perfectly.

Speaker 17:45

Yeah.

Daley Thompson7:47

Stop what

Presenter7:48

It must need a lot of organization at a cathode and I presume they don't have many of them. They don't have them at most meetings.

Daley Thompson7:53

Well most meetings you see only run over half an hour or a couple of hours and as a decathlon takes two days, it'll be pretty difficult. But uh they hold quite a lot all around the place. You it see depends on what kind of country you go to. If you go to um European countries where they have sort of a long history and tradition of decathlon then you'll find that they have a lot of them on but in places like Britain where they've never actually had anybody who's very good or they don't have a tradition of it, then uh you don't find very many.

Presenter8:19

And you competed for the first time in the Welsh Open and you won that? Yes. Now since then you've been strictly a decathlon man. Have you competed in other events?

Daley Thompson8:27

Oh yeah, all the time. I mean like every week you do something or other because uh you have to learn to do the skills that you've been training at under pressure. And the only way to learn that is by getting into competitions and uh doing it. But you're doing loose ones the whole time. Yeah, so you know, every weekend you'll do three or four things and try and get some more competition on a Wednesday as well.

Presenter8:34

And then we'll

Presenter8:44

Now you represented England at Montreal. How did you do?

Daley Thompson8:46

Mm-hmm.

Daley Thompson8:47

Okay, I'm eighteenth. It's Great Britain actually, it's uh all the country.

Presenter8:50

He was still a teenager, very young for the event.

Daley Thompson8:53

Yeah, well, I was about the youngest by about uh four or five years. And uh the Catholics sort of dump usually get to their best at about twenty seven, twenty eight.

Presenter9:01

Well, you're still young for the event. Now what? You're pushing twenty-two.

Daley Thompson9:05

Uh

Presenter9:05

But

Daley Thompson9:05

Yeah.

Presenter9:05

Yeah.

Daley Thompson9:05

But not very hot.

Presenter9:05

But not very hard.

Daley Thompson9:06

No.

Presenter9:07

Since Montreal you you won the event at the seventy eight Commonwealth Games, you've held the United Kingdom record and since May of this year the world record. That was a nice breakthrough.

Daley Thompson9:18

Uh yeah, it's very fortunate. I mean, you know, things went very well for me, you know, because usually you find that in a decathlon you sort of have five or six good ones, two or three fair ones, and a couple of bad ones. But I was fortunate in that all my events went fairly good for me. Where was this? It was in Austria, a place called Gotzis.

Presenter9:34

Right, you're at the top. Let's have record number four.

Daley Thompson9:38

Book of number four is uh Together by O. C. Smith.

Daley Thompson9:41

Any reason? Not really, it's just a nice record, isn't it? It's quiet and dumb.

Presenter9:44

Romantic

Presenter9:47

Together, O. C. Smith. Now training for ten events at world class, obviously a full-time occupation. Six days a week? Seven days a week. Seven days a week. What's a typical day? Well

Daley Thompson9:59

Oh you get up when everybody's at work about ten thirty and run for twenty minutes. By then you've found your way down to my local sports centre and we'll throw shot, disc and javelin for an hour and a half. Then we'll have some lunch, run again for another twenty minutes, throw again for another hour and a half, run again, then we'll go up to Crystal Palace and spend maybe three hours and do things like hurdles, pole vault, javelin.

Presenter10:27

That's a long day.

Daley Thompson10:28

Well, it's uh it's fairly long but uh it has some breaks in between that last for two hours maybe, so it's not too bad. And and no late nights. Oh no, because obviously if you're up sort of uh not early, but up to sort of work your body hard, you can't obviously be staying up too late, otherwise you won't be rested f the time for the next day.

Speaker 110:36

It's not too bad.

Presenter10:50

And what about diet? You must eat two or three times as much as the next man, I mean, apart from the fact that you're a big chap anyway.

Daley Thompson10:55

Well actually, uh diet doesn't really matter because the fact that you're working fairly hard all the time, you don't put on any weight or anything and you can basically eat what you like.

Presenter11:03

Now what are the economics of this, Daily? I mean you can't do a day's work as well, obviously.

Daley Thompson11:08

Well the economics are that most athletes are sort of sponsored by different people or they're helped by their associations. In my case I'm helped by both.

Presenter11:15

Yeah, it's

Presenter11:17

What do you mean by by sponsorship?

Daley Thompson11:19

Well, they give you money so that you can pay your bills and your rent and buy yourself some clothes and some food.

Presenter11:24

But there's there's a pretty fine dividing line there. I mean you mustn't enter in any kind of commercial advisorship. No, it hasn't been advertised.

Daley Thompson11:31

Oh no. No, no, it has to be done. It must be advertising. Yeah, it has to be done basically through the your association. So obviously there can't be any sort of commercial spin-offs.

Presenter11:39

I've been looking at your book. One is my lucky number. A splendid picture book. Lot of pictures of you. And in some of them you're wearing an advertising T-shirt. Now, who's kidding whom? How does that figure?

Daley Thompson11:50

When you say an advertising T shirt, I mean like the the sort of shirts you can buy anywhere. So uh

Presenter11:55

Yes, but you are advertising a firm of German sports manufacturers.

Daley Thompson11:58

Yeah, but I don't think you could uh you can basically stop people'cause I mean they're just the ones you're given. Or the ones that you buy in the streets. I mean I mean if I've bought it then I don't think anybody could say that I was really advertising or you could stop anybody in the street from wearing them.

Presenter12:02

Uh

Presenter12:07

Yeah, the title.

Presenter12:09

Now some of your training uh during the winter I'm happy to notice is done outside this country.

Daley Thompson12:15

Uh yeah, we uh we trundle off to uh either France or California for three or four months and uh get some sunshine.

Presenter12:22

Now this again is happy sponsors.

Daley Thompson12:23

Well again, it's all paid for yeah, you know, it's all paid for because uh well I've I obviously couldn't afford it and this comes through some people called the Sports Aid Foundation who help sportsmen around the country.

Presenter12:34

Now what's being done about the provision of of sports facilities? I mean, one of the reasons why you have to go abroad during the winter is is that you can't work undercover here.

Daley Thompson12:43

Uh

Presenter12:43

Yeah.

Daley Thompson12:43

Yeah. Well facilities in this country are probably the worst I've seen anywhere in the world because uh sport here is still taken as if people do it for a hobby as opposed to, you know, trying to be the best at what they are. So you know, at Crystal Palace during the winter, if it's not raining or anything, then the the lights are fused because a few weeks ago it was raining and so you know, it's very difficult to work down there under those conditions.

Speaker 112:58

Hmm.

Presenter13:08

And that is the only general big sports centre undercover in the south of England.

Daley Thompson13:13

Well see the indoor area in Crystal Palace, it was just basically an afterthought. It's just a road over the top that's just been covered in the sides. So it's not really purpose built or anything. That's why it has a lot of problems. And it is the only place between here and Wolverhampton. And there is only one in the country which is at Wolverhampton. For indoors. Crossford.

Presenter13:34

So it's just as well you can get to California.

Daley Thompson13:36

Yeah.

Presenter13:36

Yeah.

Daley Thompson13:36

Yeah, really. I mean otherwise it would be that much more difficult. In fact maybe impossible to be any good.

Presenter13:42

Yeah.

Daley Thompson13:42

Yeah.

Daley Thompson13:44

Uh

Presenter13:44

Are there plenty of centers of that type there, or do you train at university or or whatever?

Daley Thompson13:48

Well, see in California where the weather's nice you don't need any indoor facilities or anything and uh I work out at a place called San Diego State University and they just allow me to use the university as I please. All the sort of training facilities with the medical facilities as well. Great. Record number five. Here's uh Al Green singing for the good times.

Presenter14:12

Al Green for the Good Times. Now you've been working for four years, four long years, towards the nineteen eighty Olympics.

Presenter14:21

which have now gone sour. Nevertheless, you're you're off to Moscow. Now what about your conscience, Daly? I mean, you know that your performance is going to provide glamorous propaganda for an aggressor nation. Doesn't

Daley Thompson14:32

Is that what you?

Daley Thompson14:33

Um I don't consider it to be uh

Daley Thompson14:36

Propaganda for anybody else.

Presenter14:38

Well, the Germans claim to have done rather well in a propaganda exercise with the nineteen thirty six Olympics.

Daley Thompson14:44

Well, I would have said that uh Lake Placid was just as much a propaganda exercise for the Americans. Yes, but they behaved rather better.

Presenter14:49

Yes, but they've behaved rather better and a little better through the years recently.

Daley Thompson14:53

Well, I think that would be a matter of opinion. It depends on how you look at these things.

Presenter14:57

If you do get your gold medal, it's going to be a bit tarnished. I mean, you know that your main rival, the West German Guido Kratzmer, isn't going to compete.

Daley Thompson15:05

No, right, but uh fortunately he was there the other week when uh I set my world record. Yes, I see. And uh obviously I beat him. He won't be there, but uh I think the chances are that I might have been able to beat him again.

Presenter15:11

Yeah.

Daley Thompson15:18

Uh

Presenter15:18

Mm-hmm.

Daley Thompson15:18

But uh my next uh three or four arrivals will all be there, because they're Russians and East German, so I don't think it'll quite be as tarnished as some would say.

Presenter15:26

Now, you've talked in the press. Now, you've got um

Presenter15:29

Moscow. Then in four years' time you've got the Los Angeles. You've talked about what can be done of the money that's available for the big Olympic stars. You see yourself as a sort of Johnny Weissmuller of of of the mid nineteen eighties. You can't swim. No, but uh that's what you want to do. You want to act and and

Daley Thompson15:49

Acton and

Daley Thompson15:50

No, I'm not sure what I want to do. At the moment all I really want to do is just do athletics really. Yes. You know, I as to what I want to do afterwards, obviously there will be a lot of commercial things that are possible. But uh at the moment I'm trying to do the best I can at this and then see what happens.

Presenter16:05

Yes, well nineteen eighty four's a long way away. Wow. Lot of sweat.

Daley Thompson16:08

Well, no baby.

Daley Thompson16:10

Well, I mean, that's that's what's so much fun about it. I mean, there's very few people of my age who can actually do as they please, not have to worry about work or not have to worry about money. Yes. And can just get up and any day they like and if they wanna go to say California, then get up and go to California. And I like the freedom, you know.

Presenter16:18

Yeah.

Daley Thompson16:27

And I have good fun.

Presenter16:28

You've already been to a lot of places. In the next four years there are a whole lot more to you.

Daley Thompson16:31

Yeah, right. You know, so I mean, like, all the next four years obviously are gonna be hard work because there's no improvement without any hard work. But I think it it's worth it because my own self satisfaction.

Presenter16:41

Record number six.

Daley Thompson16:42

Here's uh Rod Stewart singing The Best Days of My Life, and I like it because it's a a favorite record of Me and Me Friend. Any particular friend? Oh yeah, yeah. I ain't gonna tell you what her name is.

Presenter16:56

Rod Stewart, The Best Days of My Life. Let's go straight on to record seven.

Daley Thompson17:00

This is uh George Benson and Unchained Melody. I like this one basically because uh I saw George Benson in concert while I was in America, and uh this just reminds me of being there in the sunshine.

Presenter17:13

George Benson, Unchained Melody, a nice feeling of sunshine about it, and there's plenty of that on the island, and physically there's no one better equipped to be a Robinson Crusoe than you, Daly. Have you got some ideas?

Daley Thompson17:25

Kiddie.

Presenter17:26

Yeah.

Daley Thompson17:26

Uh

Presenter17:26

I love

Daley Thompson17:27

I'd be physically equipped to be a Friday, but no Robinson Crusoe. You could build a hut.

Presenter17:32

Yeah.

Daley Thompson17:32

Yeah, I think uh you know I'd have a bit of fun for a little bit, but uh I might get a bit bored. You can fish?

Daley Thompson17:38

Yeah, I like fishing. I love fishing because I use it as relaxation and I go fishing during the summer. Well and well anyway, I there's there's some lakes up in Crawley where I live and I go fishing there occasionally. Would you try to escape? Not for the first few months I wouldn't think'cause I'd I'd enjoy a bit of peace and quiet'cause life's a bit hectic sometimes.

Presenter17:43

Bend

Presenter17:57

Do you know anything about Smallboot?

Daley Thompson17:59

Now

Presenter17:59

You said modestly a little while ago that you weren't a swimmer. In fact, you do swim. I you swam in superstars, did you?

Daley Thompson18:05

Yeah, but only learnt to swim for the superstars. Really? Yeah. And like I was I spent, I think, ten weeks, every single day for ten weeks swimming. Like an hour a day. And it was ever so boring. It it was ever so difficult.

Presenter18:08

Yeah.

Daley Thompson18:17

Yeah.

Presenter18:17

Well, it's impossible to forget how to swim. You'll know how to swim.

Daley Thompson18:21

Oh yeah, I know now, but uh I don't think I'd uh take it too seriously'cause service are difficult.

Presenter18:27

So you'd think it out before you did anything really.

Daley Thompson18:29

Oh yeah.

Presenter18:30

Yeah.

Daley Thompson18:30

Yeah.

Presenter18:30

Record

Daley Thompson18:30

Uh

Presenter18:30

Record number eight, your last record.

Daley Thompson18:32

Another romantic one? All my records are romantic because I'm basically a romantic person. And this is uh Three Times a Lady from the Commodores.

Presenter18:42

Three times a lady by the Commodores. If you could take just one disc out of that eight you've played us, which would it be?

Daley Thompson18:48

I think George Benson. George Benson. Yeah, because it's got a nice little bit at the beginning of it, you know. So, I like that one.

Presenter18:54

Singing, I forget. Unchained melody.

Presenter18:57

And if you could take one luxury to the island one thing of no practical use

Daley Thompson19:02

Um a guitar. A guitar. Yeah, because I'm tone deaf and so it'd be nice to learn how to play guitar.

Presenter19:08

All ready for your film career of the future.

Daley Thompson19:10

Yeah, right, I could be doing these sort of things, couldn't I?

Presenter19:12

All right, and we'll give you some instruction books in the case. And one book apart from the Bible and Shakespeare and not a big encyclopedia.

Daley Thompson19:20

Um, I think I'd take maybe if I was allowed a collection of John Wyndham,'cause they're only sort of short science fiction books.

Presenter19:26

Yes. Well, we'll bind some of your favorites together into one big substantial volume, some science fiction by John Wyndham. And thank you, Daley Thompson, for letting us hear your Desert Island discs and the very best of luck with the Decatlan.

Daley Thompson19:39

Thanks very much.

Presenter19:40

Goodbye, everyone.