The Smiths — Artist · desert is.land

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
Report a fault

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

The Smiths — Artist · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

Artist

The Smiths

18 episodes

Chosen over the decades

18

Total castaways

2010s

Peak decade

4

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Chris Packham
David Walliams
Greg Davies
J K Rowling
Louis Theroux
Marianne Elliott
Mark Gatiss
Michael Eavis
Noel Gallagher
Rt Hon David Cameron MP
Sharon Horgan
Simon Pegg
Sir Bradley Wiggins
Sir Stuart Rose
Steve Coogan
Sue Perkins
Willy Russell
Yotam Ottolenghi

Greg Davies
Greg Davies on waking up in tears every morning before work
Castaway · 12 May 2024Lauren Laverne
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg on phoning his stepdad from the set of Tintin
Castaway · 14 May 2023Lauren Laverne
Sharon Horgan

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

Sharon Horgan on waking up to a man stroking her face

Castaway · 26 July 2020Lauren Laverne

17°07′S 135°31′W

Louis Theroux

Louis Theroux on the freedom of filming with a gun nut on a hillside in Idaho

Castaway · 12 May 2019Lauren Laverne

Marianne Elliott

09°37′S 144°52′W

Marianne Elliott

Marianne Elliott on hiding under the table as a child

Castaway · 29 July 2018Kirsty Young

05°46′S 111°03′W

Sue Perkins

How sitting in pig poo helped Sue Perkins bond with a Cambodian tribe

Castaway · 9 July 2017Kirsty Young

Yotam Ottolenghi

18°05′S 135°57′W

Yotam Ottolenghi

Yotam Ottolenghi on his grandmother sipping espresso and making semolina gnocchi

Castaway · 18 November 2016Kirsty Young

01°17′S 166°36′W

Noel Gallagher

Noel Gallagher on not remembering walking on stage at Knebworth

Castaway · 19 July 2015Kirsty Young

Sir Bradley Wiggins

08°37′S 006°47′W

Sir Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins on being mobbed while taking his daughter to buy a mini iPod

Castaway · 10 May 2015Kirsty Young

22°54′S 085°35′W

Chris Packham

Chris Packham on illegally taking a kestrel from its nest

Castaway · 13 October 2013Kirsty Young

14°37′S 058°51′W

Mark Gatiss

Mark Gatiss on his childhood enthusiasm for wartime sing-alongs

Castaway · 23 October 2011Kirsty Young

Sir Stuart Rose

20°02′S 161°52′W

Sir Stuart Rose

Stuart Rose on his father being adopted by a Quaker lady named Nona Ransom

Castaway · 22 November 2009Kirsty Young

13°59′S 149°55′W

Steve Coogan

How Patrick Marber used Steve Coogan's own words for Alan Partridge

Castaway · 11 October 2009Kirsty Young

02°06′S 124°00′W

David Walliams

David Walliams on signing autographs in a hospice as his father died

Castaway · 22 February 2009Kirsty Young

11°07′S 176°09′W

Michael Eavis

Michael Eavis on being told to take his hands off Marc Bolan's car

Castaway · 30 November 2008Kirsty Young

Rt Hon David Cameron MP

08°16′S 061°39′W

Rt Hon David Cameron MP

David Cameron on driving home from hospital after his son's diagnosis

Castaway · 28 May 2006Sue Lawley

14°34′S 092°14′W

J K Rowling

J K Rowling on conceiving Harry Potter on a delayed train

Castaway · 5 November 2000Sue Lawley

16°43′S 171°04′W

Willy Russell

Willy Russell on the woman who told him the same story every week for two years

Castaway · 23 January 1994Sue Lawley