Frank Sinatra — Artist · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

Find a castaway Most requested Browse the archive About Report a fault

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desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

Find a castaway
Most requested
Browse the archive
About

Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
Report a fault

Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

Frank Sinatra — Artist · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

Find a castaway Most requested Browse the archive About Report a fault

Artist

Frank Sinatra

154 episodes

Chosen over the decades

154

Total castaways

2000s

Peak decade

8

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

75 Years of Desert Island Discs
Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Minter
Alec McCowen
Andrea Levy
Andrea Newman
Anna Moffo
Anthony Andrews
Anthony Grey
Arsène Wenger
Barbara Taylor Bradford
Baroness Campbell
Barrie Rutter
Barry John
Barry Manilow
Benny Green
Betsy Blair
Beverly Sills
Bill Cullen
Bobby Robson
Bob Monkhouse
Bradley Walsh
Britt Ekland
Bryn Terfel
more

Anthony Andrews
Anthony Andrews on his only memory of his father coming home with a drum
Castaway · 5 April 1987Michael Parkinson
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett on his first job as a singing waiter at 16
Castaway · 4 January 1987Michael Parkinson
Benny Green

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desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

Find a castaway
Most requested
Browse the archive
About

Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
Report a fault

Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

Benny Green on his first gig at a pit of iniquity that was a bore

Castaway · 14 December 1986Michael Parkinson

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Richard Condon

How writing the first letter of each word cured Richard Condon's stutter

Castaway · 28 September 1986Michael Parkinson

06°54′S 130°56′W

Bobby Robson

Bobby Robson on learning he was sacked by Fulham from a newspaper

Castaway · 25 May 1986Michael Parkinson

Barbara Taylor Bradford

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Barbara Taylor Bradford

Barbara Taylor Bradford on the dying friend who inspired her novel Voice of the Heart

Castaway · 27 April 1985Roy Plomley

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Doris Stokes

Doris Stokes on seeing spirit children as a young girl after rheumatic fever

Castaway · 6 April 1985Roy Plomley

Michael Ffolkes

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Michael Ffolkes

Michael Ffolkes on selling his first cartoon aged ten

Castaway · 19 October 1984Roy Plomley

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George Abbott

George Abbott on watching a producer chop scenery with an axe

Castaway · 1 September 1984Roy Plomley

04°53′S 104°15′W

Gayatri Devi

Gayatri Devi on writing to Nehru to stop the demolition of Jaipur's walls

Castaway · 4 August 1984Roy Plomley

Ed Mirvish (Honest)

06°35′S 110°29′W

'Honest' Ed Mirvish

Ed Mirvish on buying a theatre 3,000 miles away sight unseen

Castaway · 24 March 1984Roy Plomley

13°18′S 154°09′W

Woody Herman

Woody Herman on Igor Stravinsky writing Ebony Concerto for his band

Castaway · 18 February 1984Roy Plomley

08°03′S 153°49′W

Terry Wogan

Terry Wogan on his most awkward interview with Jerry Lee Lewis

Castaway · 21 May 1983Roy Plomley

21°16′S 109°58′W

Wilbur Smith

Wilbur Smith on writing his first novel on government stationery

Castaway · 25 September 1982Roy Plomley

06°47′S 096°04′W

Roger Moore

Roger Moore on being good at looking as though he was listening at school

Castaway · 25 July 1981Roy Plomley

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Buddy Rich

How a UFO buzzed Buddy Rich's car at 4am

Castaway · 9 May 1981Roy Plomley

Stewart Granger

04°18′S 173°32′W

Stewart Granger

Stewart Granger on the guilt of surviving his battalion's annihilation

Castaway · 25 April 1981Roy Plomley

Princess Grace of Monaco

13°19′S 019°56′W

Princess Grace of Monaco

Grace Kelly on being turned down by a college because of returning GIs

Castaway · 18 April 1981Roy Plomley

06°36′S 156°16′W

Daniel Massey

Daniel Massey on never passing an audition

Castaway · 7 March 1981Roy Plomley

14°15′S 109°41′W

David Broome

David Broome on first being lifted into the saddle aged two and a quarter

Castaway · 14 February 1981Roy Plomley

22°47′S 021°25′W

Alan Minter

Alan Minter on holding the school record for canings

Castaway · 29 November 1980Roy Plomley

08°32′S 114°31′W

Andrea Newman

Andrea Newman on the joy of her first civil service payday

Castaway · 27 September 1980Roy Plomley

05°34′S 050°15′W

Gregory Peck

How a rubber whale in the Irish Sea almost killed Gregory Peck

Castaway · 2 August 1980Roy Plomley

09°27′S 024°12′W

Alec McCowen

Alec McCowen on learning the Gospel of Mark three verses at a time

Castaway · 19 May 1979Roy Plomley

04°57′S 179°46′W

Barry John

Barry John on deciding to quit rugby at his peak

Castaway · 9 December 1978Roy Plomley

09°58′S 037°13′W

Jule Styne

Jule Styne on jumping on stage to imitate Harry Lauder aged five

Castaway · 28 October 1978Roy Plomley

Alan Jay Lerner

18°59′S 063°37′W

Alan Jay Lerner

How losing an eye in an accident led Alan Jay Lerner to musical theatre

Castaway · 23 September 1978Roy Plomley

03°38′S 066°32′W

Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks on selling the wine Alfred Hitchcock sent him

Castaway · 1 July 1978Roy Plomley

11°46′S 160°12′W

Spike Milligan

How failing a maths exam stopped Spike Milligan becoming a fighter pilot

Castaway · 4 February 1978Roy Plomley

02°45′S 134°48′W

Omar Sharif

Omar Sharif on the photograph that won him his role in Lawrence of Arabia

Castaway · 14 January 1978Roy Plomley

00°35′S 005°58′W

Michael Croft

How the war dashed Michael Croft's cricket ambitions

Castaway · 17 September 1977Roy Plomley

04°45′S 141°27′W

Roy Dotrice

Roy Dotrice on playing female roles in a POW camp

Castaway · 29 January 1977Roy Plomley

01°03′S 086°44′W

Anna Moffo

How Anna Moffo went from Little Miss Muffet to overnight star

Castaway · 20 November 1976Roy Plomley

21°26′S 121°16′W

Norman Bailey

How Norman Bailey would use a pocket calculator to count grains of sand

Castaway · 23 October 1976Roy Plomley

09°19′S 169°56′W

Penelope Keith

Penelope Keith on the sewing machine needle that ended her piano playing

Castaway · 21 August 1976Roy Plomley

04°39′S 054°11′W

Vince Hill

How a year down the coal mines helped Vince Hill avoid the army

Castaway · 15 November 1975Roy Plomley

09°34′S 050°37′W

Beverly Sills

Beverly Sills on cutting up a costume to get it made silver

Castaway · 18 November 1972Roy Plomley

21°23′S 027°53′W

Steve Race

Steve Race on suffering a heart attack at the microphone

Castaway · 27 November 1971Roy Plomley

Maurice Woodruff

05°09′S 124°05′W

Maurice Woodruff

Maurice Woodruff on why he never tells a client they will die

Castaway · 26 June 1971Roy Plomley

07°28′S 106°49′W

Ronnie Corbett

Ronnie Corbett on his first job issuing animal feed coupons

Castaway · 29 May 1971Roy Plomley

00°45′S 062°09′W

Geoff Boycott

Geoff Boycott on teaching monkeys to bowl coconuts

Castaway · 10 April 1971Roy Plomley

Harry Carpenter

18°51′S 093°58′W

Harry Carpenter

Harry Carpenter on deciding to avoid his father's fish business

Castaway · 26 September 1970Roy Plomley

17°55′S 029°58′W

Lillian Board

How Colette Besson denied Lillian Board Olympic gold

Castaway · 29 November 1969Roy Plomley

02°57′S 056°22′W

Anthony Grey

Anthony Grey on renaming Desert Island Discs 'Donatitis Discs'

Castaway · 1 November 1969Roy Plomley

04°46′S 051°06′W

Hetty King

Hetty King on hiding under her mother’s crinoline to avoid the school board

Castaway · 14 April 1969Roy Plomley

10°37′S 099°27′W

John Mortimer

John Mortimer on having his play performed by real murderers in San Quentin

Castaway · 20 January 1968Roy Plomley

Ginette Spanier

03°47′S 066°16′W

Ginette Spanier

Ginette Spanier on fainting from hunger in the street during the war

Castaway · 21 June 1965Roy Plomley

06°28′S 148°44′W

Jack de Manio

Jack de Manio on winning a music prize for pretending to play the piano

Castaway · 26 December 1964Roy Plomley

Tallulah Bankhead

20°54′S 055°04′W

Tallulah Bankhead

How Tallulah Falls gave Tallulah Bankhead her name

Castaway · 14 December 1964Roy Plomley

22°13′S 038°48′W

Kenneth Connor

Kenneth Connor on his first broadcast before the war

Castaway · 22 June 1964Roy Plomley