Charlie Parker

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

Find a castaway
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

Charlie Parker — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

Composer

7 episodes

Chosen over the decades

Total castaways

2000s

Peak decade

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Dizzy Gillespie
Felix Dennis
John Surman
Professor Eric Hobsbawm
Robbie Coltrane
Tariq Ali
Terry O'Neill

Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali on organising a cleaners' strike in the Himalayas as a teenager
Castaway · 16 March 2008Kirsty Young
Felix Dennis
Felix Dennis on standing in the dock at the Old Bailey in 1971
Castaway · 12 August 2007Kirsty Young
Terry O'Neill

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

Terry O'Neill on accidentally photographing a sleeping Rap Butler at Heathrow

Castaway · 28 January 2001Sue Lawley

Professor Eric Hobsbawm

08°37′S 054°25′W

Professor Eric Hobsbawm

Eric Hobsbawm on a cause that has plainly failed

Castaway · 5 March 1995Sue Lawley

Robbie Coltrane

03°38′S 163°30′W

Robbie Coltrane

How a Marlon Brown impersonation in a bar landed Robbie Coltrane his first paid acting job

Castaway · 9 February 1992Sue Lawley

John Surman

10°40′S 058°10′W

John Surman

John Surman on choosing the baritone sax because it cost the same as an alto

Castaway · 6 October 1984Roy Plomley

Dizzy Gillespie

11°10′S 004°44′W

Dizzy Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie on receiving a trombone from his school at age 11

Castaway · 19 January 1980Roy Plomley

Tariq Ali

Felix Dennis

Terry O'Neill

Professor Eric Hobsbawm

Robbie Coltrane

John Surman

Dizzy Gillespie