Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
2 appearances
Broadcaster regarded as the trusted voice of a nation, known for covering royal funerals, jubilees, and every general election since 1979.
On the island
Eight records
Second movement (Adagio) of Concerto for Violin and Oboe in D minor, BWV 1060Favourite
Munich Bach Orchestra conducted by Karl Richter
I think it's the most... Delicious melody.
my wife sings this song... I accompany her... this is one of my favourite songs.
Commentary on the Lying in State of King George VI
I miss him and I would like to hear his voice on that island.
"Lonely Road" from Song of Freedom
it explains exactly what hell it would be to be on a desert island.
String Quintet in C major, D. 956: II. Adagio
The Lindsays with Douglas Cummings
I hear sounds that just transport me, that enrapture me, that carry me completely out of myself, whatever mood I'm in, into a different world, into the spheres, and this is one of them
Song That You'd LikeFavourite
I want to take my children to this desert island, and I know I'm not allowed to. And I've got four children. And my younger daughter is a singer, and this is one song of hers that I particularly like
I used to go to the jazz clubs in New York and in New Orleans and got a sort of taste for a particular kind of rather rough-edged jazz. I particularly liked uh Blind Boy Fuller, who had a rough old life and sings in a sort of unsophisticated way that appeals hugely to me.
This is a song I first heard sung in a concert in Dorset, and it really struck me. And it's. Setting to music the words of Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe. To me it's the song of the The dangerous innocence of love.
Sonata for Solo Violin, Sz. 117
I've always been very excited by the sound of the violin. For me it's the instrument of all instruments. And because of that I like particularly the unaccompanied violin. And I suppose because of that the kind of extraordinary sound of Bartock's unaccompanied violin sonata thrills me.
Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes, Op. 33a: I. Dawn
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden conducted by Benjamin Britten
I'm taking this record with me because I'm rather fearful that it may turn out to be a desert island with palm trees and sandy beaches and sunshine, which I would hate... And I just think this bit of music, Sea Interlude from Peter Grimes, is the most brilliantly evocative music about the sea that I've ever heard.
Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17: Act I, Aria: Non disperar, chi sa?
Danielle de Niese with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by William Christie
the piece I've chosen is because it was one of the things that rarely turns him on and I thought it would be a nice memory on the island to have of him.
Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626: Dido's Lament ("When I am laid in earth")
it almost makes me choke when I have to say these words each year, but this is from Dido and Aeneas When I'm laid in earth, may my wrongs create No trouble in thy breast Remember me, but ah, forget my fate.
In conversation
Presenter asks
4:35As a boy, had you any other ideas [about your career]?
Well, it wasn't obvious to me that I was going to do anything. … But when I left Oxford, I wanted two things. One I thought of was being a lawyer. And the other, being a barrister, that is, and the other was going into the Foreign Service. … But I went into Broadcasting in the end because I was broke and it was about the only thing you didn't need any particular qualification for.
Presenter asks
5:45What effect did [your father's career] have? Was it a help or was it kind of a hindrance?
Quite clearly there is a slight help in the name, that people were prepared to give you a go. Once that go had been given you, it was entirely up to you. … I think that at the very beginning, in a way, it was easier because he was at the very top and I was at the very bottom. … Increasingly difficult in a funny way. I find now that when I have letters, for instance, of criticism about my performance, if people like what I've done, they always say, your father would have approved of it. And if they don't like what I've done, I get letters saying, your father would be ashamed of you. It's a constant presence.
Presenter asks
11:14Are you a political animal yourself? Have you strong political convictions?
Oh, I think those are two different things. I'm a political animal in that I'm fascinated by politics. I find the whole business of politics riveting, dramatic, exciting, in the same sense as it was to 18th and 19th century writers. I'm riveted by it. But the only difficulty is I still haven't made up my mind which party I join.
The keepsakes
The book
Michel de Montaigne
I'd take unhesitatingly the collection of Montaigne's Essays, sixteenth century French philosopher, whose writing I've always found completely fascinating and intriguing, and it would be stimulating, and he's a wise man, and he's a man of the world, and he has a sense of humour, and he's erudite. and I can't think of better company.
The luxury
Drawing books, pencils, and varnish
a collection of drawing books a supply of pencils and some varnish so it doesn't smudge, and I'd spend the month doing what I would really like to do day in, day out, which is draw, draw, draw.
Presenter asks
11:33Do you think elections should be fought so much on television?
Because television now is the way of getting across to a large number of people. … I think that you need to look very carefully at the extent to which you should be talking to leading politicians and the extent to which you should be raising particular issues and, so to speak, bringing the politicians in to talk about them. You get a better idea in a democracy by what's seen on television about politics than probably people have ever in the history of democracy had before.
Presenter asks
13:59Where do you want to go from here? Are you going to stay in what you're doing or are you aiming at hard covers or administration? Or what?
Do you know I have no idea? I can't see beyond six months. … I long to get out of it in a funny way. I long to get out and do something different. And I just can't find a way of discovering something as interesting and as fulfilling as what I'm doing at the moment.
Presenter asks
20:06If you could take just one disc, which would it be?
I think it would be the Bach I played at the beginning, the concerto for violin, oboe and D minor.
Presenter asks
1:39How did you prepare for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales?
I kept saying, Stop talking about what tone you should set. I'll take my cue from the crowds and from the feeling on the day. I don't need to decide in advance with you what kind of tone we should set. And when it came to the day... I just kept as quiet as I could and said things where I thought it was appropriate, as though I was sitting on a sofa watching it with somebody and just whispering to them... and letting the pictures tell the story.
Presenter asks
6:34When did you begin to be aware that your father [Richard Dimbleby] was very much at the centre of cultural life?
When I was at I went to boarding school when I was about ten no, eight no, seven, actually, seven, that's right. Wicked world. Um and I remember we went out for a day out at Hastings... and there were a group of women down from London for a day out, and I remember them dancing round my father, and one of them had her knickers on her head, and I thought there's something very odd going on here. My father is clearly rather too well known to these people.
Presenter asks
11:00What was your mother like?
My mother, who's now just celebrate her ninety-fifth birthday. has always been has become increasingly, as a matter of fact, the cornerstone of the family, the matriarch. And I suspect always was, though my father was such a sort of big in every way character that we assumed he ruled the roost, but I think secretly my mother did because she handled him. Brilliantly, she actually was his manager. and she devoted herself entirely To us. The children.
Presenter asks
17:43What are your memories of interviewing Bill Clinton when he lost his rag?
Surprise? I thought he was a cool customer. And I was astonished, and he went off into A rant, really. So I was I was taken aback, but the odd thing is he was professional enough after he had done his explosion... Clinton, so I never knew quite whether it was real anger or synthetic.
Presenter asks
21:33Why would you want to be Director General or Chairman of the BBC?
I quite agree. You're absolutely right. I must have been off my head. But I tell you why. On each occasion, for one reason or another, I thought, arrogantly I suppose, that I knew what the BBC should do in a particular pickle it was in. And particularly, I think, that I could explain it to the licencepayer. In other words, that I could articulate what the BBC was about to the people who were paying for it.
Presenter asks
28:37Do you think of what might have been if you hadn't come back from America to run the family business?
I'd have just been a broadcaster in America instead of a broadcaster in Britain, wouldn't I? ... I don't think I have any real regrets of that kind. We had this business. and I came back and ran it. I can't say I terribly enjoyed it. On the other hand, on the upside, it allowed me to have blazing rows with the B B C without worrying where the next penny would come from, which is always a strong position to be in.
“I would think it was like throwing one's life away, a totally pointless, useless existence. I can see no merit at all in living anywhere except in society and with people.”
“I find now that when I have letters, for instance, of criticism about my performance, if people like what I've done, they always say, your father would have approved of it. And if they don't like what I've done, I get letters saying, your father would be ashamed of you. It's a constant presence.”
“I long to get out of it in a funny way. I long to get out and do something different. And I just can't find a way of discovering something as interesting and as fulfilling as what I'm doing at the moment.”
“I would take a huge humidor packed with 10,000 of Mr. Castro's best cigars, Havana cigars, and I reckon that would last me for something like 30 years.”
“I've always thought you get paid for your silence. But but you have to have all that other stuff in reserve, because of course things go wrong, and you suddenly find yourself having to say something. Anything you don't say can't be held against you, that's my view.”
“Journalism, I think. I think it is. There are professions that are addictive... It it it gets into your blood. I think it's because it's the most enjoyable of professions and In the years I've been doing it, I'm constantly. Astonished at the sort of privilege of going, not just of interviewing Nelson Mandela, but of interviewing a family in the slums of Bombay. It's just a Privilege beyond compare, really.”
“The excitement of live broadcasting is the chaos. It's only fun when things go wrong. I mean, if you get through an entire election programme and there's never been a hiccup in it. You think, oh, well, you know, what was in that? No, I do. I do like it when things go wrong. As long as you realize that the audience, too, enjoys the gaiety of your confusion.”
“I find the the whole shape of a family. Exciting. But not as a tradition. I think tradition Can be the absolute death. Of originality and energy and A fulfilled life.”