Cole Porter — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

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
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

desert is.landest. 1942

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

Composer

Cole Porter

119 episodes

Chosen over the decades

118

Total castaways

1980s

Peak decade

8

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Adele Leigh
Alan Coren
Alan Jay Lerner
Alec McCowen
Alison Steadman
Anna Pavord
Barbara Hulanicki
Baroness Blackstone
Betty Driver
Betty Jackson
Bing Crosby
Bruce Forsyth
Carmen Callil
Charles Causley
Charlie Watts
Claire Tomalin
Dame Harriet Walter
Dame Norma Major
David Jacobs
David Walliams
Diana Athill
Dorothy Rowe
Douglas Fairbanks Jnr
Earl Of Snowdon
more

Alan Jay Lerner
How losing an eye in an accident led Alan Jay Lerner to musical theatre
Castaway · 23 September 1978Roy Plomley
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks on selling the wine Alfred Hitchcock sent him
Castaway · 1 July 1978Roy Plomley

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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

Alan Coren on selling his first piece to Punch

Castaway · 21 January 1978Roy Plomley

19°02′S 090°08′W

Phil Drabble

Phil Drabble on learning natural history from poachers

Castaway · 10 December 1977Roy Plomley

Douglas Fairbanks Jnr

22°33′S 159°17′W

Douglas Fairbanks Jnr

Douglas Fairbanks Jnr on being sacked from his first film job at 13

Castaway · 29 May 1976Roy Plomley

19°14′S 128°04′W

Julia Foster

Julia Foster on winning a poetry competition at Brighton Dome aged 13

Castaway · 3 January 1976Roy Plomley

00°02′S 090°43′W

Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby on quitting law school to play in a band at a Chinese restaurant

Castaway · 27 December 1975Roy Plomley

Sir John Betjeman

07°36′S 141°06′W

Sir John Betjeman

John Betjeman on reciting his poetry in the bath

Castaway · 12 April 1975Roy Plomley

21°11′S 015°58′W

Eddie Waring

Eddie Waring on being the first rugby league writer to tour Australia in 1946

Castaway · 23 February 1974Roy Plomley

Michael Parkinson

04°42′S 047°04′W

Michael Parkinson

Michael Parkinson on learning nothing about bottles and a lot about women

Castaway · 19 February 1972Roy Plomley

Maggie Fitzgibbon

01°04′S 176°23′W

Maggie Fitzgibbon

Maggie Fitzgibbon on being discovered while singing under the shower

Castaway · 27 January 1969Roy Plomley

16°34′S 047°39′W

Jon Vickers

Jon Vickers on the ball he bounced on a nail that his father thought he'd broken on purpose

Castaway · 23 March 1968Roy Plomley

Susan Hampshire

21°58′S 108°35′W

Susan Hampshire

Susan Hampshire on playing a nymphomaniac in her husband's film

Castaway · 3 February 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

Tallulah Bankhead

20°54′S 055°04′W

Tallulah Bankhead

How Tallulah Falls gave Tallulah Bankhead her name

Castaway · 14 December 1964Roy Plomley

00°09′S 176°03′W

David Jacobs

David Jacobs on the screw points that ruined his perfect cupboard mirror

Castaway · 25 May 1964Roy Plomley

23°47′S 044°00′W

Godfrey Talbot

How a tank cut Godfrey Talbot's cable during a desert broadcast

Castaway · 29 August 1960Roy Plomley

13°13′S 158°05′W

Roy Plomley

Roy Plomley on singing in Guildford High Street and losing his nerve

Castaway · 12 May 1958Roy Plomley

06°07′S 037°46′W

Emlyn Williams

Emlyn Williams on choosing eerie opening chords with producer Miles Mallison

Castaway · 7 June 1955Roy Plomley