Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Disc jockey, fundraiser and fixer known for his broadcasting and charitable fundraising.
On the island
Eight records
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
The first one would remind me of the early days of my life during World War II with all the excitement that wartime has for young people.
My second record is to do with the definitive impression that my first real job gave me, which was seven and a half years down the pits.
That's how Paperback Writer came to be invented. I thought it was the most marvellous occasion. It was a great honour for me to be able to be there to see the way that these great minds worked.
That really established me as somebody who did things that other people only dreamed of.
This particular record came out of the speaker, and I thought that's the record because the lyric of this particular Ray Charles record said everything that I felt at the time.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm
It then occurred to me that I didn't mind making money for me or somebody else. As long as I was having a go at making money, it pleased me.
Land of Hope and GloryFavourite
My last record would be that there was I lying on the beach in the sunshine, having listened to all those marvellous memory records, and I'd think, yes, it was a good place that I left. In fact, it was a great place it was called Great Britain.
In conversation
Presenter asks
5:04A very hard life, was it?
It was a very interesting life, and it wasn't hard. Insofar as when you are young and you like physical work, it was more of a pleasure. It's a strange thing to say about being down the pits that it would be a pleasure. I personally found it a pleasure because I respected so much the people I worked with. I mean to me, the guys that worked on the coal face, the actual miners, they were my heroes and still are to a great extent.
Presenter asks
17:34Tell me some of the mysteries of that series [Jim Will Fix It], some of the things that have happened.
It all started by the BBC saying to me, 'You've been fixing things for people most of your life. Why don't we put pictures to it and make a TV show?' And that's exactly as it finished up. And I've taken the liberty today of working a little mini fix it of our own here on Desert Island Disc because I brought this beautiful young lady who lives in this very posh wheelchair who was one of our ex-patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and her name is Charlotte and she helps me because she is our honorary assistant receptionist.
Presenter asks
22:36How are you going to manage on this island, Jim? Are you a practical person? You good with your hands? Can you build a shelter?
The keepsakes
The book
No good with the hands. I would probably burrow into the sand. And to keep warm in the evening time I'd probably do a quick half marathon round the beaches. … So not being a practical person but being a bit physical in its simplistic form, a little bit of jogging on the beach would do for me.
Presenter asks
24:02Would you try to get away? Would you try to float off in a raft?
Not really. Only if the raft was fastened to the Canberra or something like that, because I would much rather be in trouble on a beach than I'd be in trouble on top of 30 fathoms of water. So I'd better stay where I am.
Presenter asks
25:05If you could take only one of your seven disks, which would it be, Jim?
I think it would be the last one because it contains so many voices of so many happy people.
Presenter asks
25:16And one luxury to have on the island, one object of no practical use that will give you pleasure to have around.
Well, if I didn't have a box of matches or a lighter, and couldn't make fire, then a luxury would be a nice Havana cigar, because I couldn't smoke it.
“War is a tragedy. It's also, when you look at it historically, quite useless really, one way or another. But undeniably for young people, it can be a very exciting time.”
“the guys that worked on the coal face, the actual miners, they were my heroes and still are to a great extent.”
“Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from their own.”
“It was no big deal that I did it. It was my honour to be there. I wasn't doing them no favours. They were doing me far more favours, allowing me to go in the place in the first place.”