Sammy Davis Jr.

desert is.landest. 1942

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Tuning in…

desert is.land

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

The listing

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Most requested
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Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
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Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

Sammy Davis Jr. — Artist · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

Artist

7 episodes

Chosen over the decades

Total castaways

1990s

Peak decade

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Bruce Forsyth
Lord Delfont
Roy Fox
Sara Pascoe
Simon Cowell
Tom Ilube
Topol

Sara Pascoe
Sara Pascoe on breaking a window to escape her mum's locked house
Castaway · 22 March 2026Lauren Laverne
Tom Ilube
Tom Ilube on being blacked up for a school play
Castaway · 3 October 2021Lauren Laverne

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

Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell on his Eureka moment at 40 for judging hits

Castaway · 13 August 2006Sue Lawley

Bruce Forsyth

05°35′S 020°52′W

Bruce Forsyth

How driving round the block three times helped Bruce Forsyth enter the London Palladium

Castaway · 1 December 1996Sue Lawley

Lord Delfont

20°18′S 143°19′W

Lord Delfont

Bernard Delfont on turning down the Beatles

Castaway · 10 November 1991Sue Lawley

Topol

18°48′S 179°35′W

Topol

How Topol won the lead in Fiddler on the Roof with a 50-word English vocabulary

Castaway · 15 October 1983Roy Plomley

Roy Fox

10°51′S 006°50′W

Roy Fox

Roy Fox on naming Jean Harlow

Castaway · 16 February 1974Roy Plomley

Sara Pascoe

Tom Ilube

Bruce Forsyth

Lord Delfont

Topol

Roy Fox