David Bowie — Composer · 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

Find a castaway
Most requested
Browse the archive
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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

David Bowie — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

Composer

David Bowie

16 episodes

Chosen over the decades

16

Total castaways

2000s

Peak decade

5

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Alan Johnson
Antony Gormley
Beryl Bainbridge
Christopher Nolan
David Baddiel
Hanif Kureishi
Marti Webb
Neil Tennant
Nitin Sawhney
Professor Brian Cox
Professor Tim Spector
Ralph Fiennes
Ricky Gervais
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Shami Chakrabarti
Stella McCartney

Professor Tim Spector
Tim Spector on the helicopter crash that caught fire
Castaway · 31 March 2024Lauren Laverne
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney on Nelson Mandela making a president wait for him
Castaway · 16 June 2019Lauren Laverne
David Baddiel

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

David Baddiel on his father calling English a waste of a brain

Castaway · 27 May 2018Kirsty Young

Christopher Nolan

00°00′S 146°43′W

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan on seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey on an enormous screen as a child

Castaway · 18 February 2018Kirsty Young

Stella McCartney

03°27′S 129°19′W

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney on her children telling Paul McCartney to shut up while he played guitar

Castaway · 25 June 2017Kirsty Young

Professor Brian Cox

19°38′S 096°17′W

Professor Brian Cox

Brian Cox on wanting his grandfather to see him at Buckingham Palace

Castaway · 30 December 2011Kirsty Young

Shami Chakrabarti

07°30′S 031°41′W

Shami Chakrabarti

Shami Chakrabarti on her earliest political memory of walking to the electric chair

Castaway · 2 November 2008Kirsty Young

Sanjeev Bhaskar

23°03′S 101°20′W

Sanjeev Bhaskar

How a coin toss led to Sanjeev Bhaskar's big break

Castaway · 12 October 2008Kirsty Young

Beryl Bainbridge

15°01′S 123°25′W

Beryl Bainbridge

Beryl Bainbridge on being thrown out of school for illustrating a dirty rhyme

Castaway · 3 February 2008Kirsty Young

02°09′S 146°55′W

Alan Johnson

How a teacher made Alan Johnson say 'Free, sir' every week

Castaway · 7 October 2007Kirsty Young

05°54′S 179°39′W

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais on not knowing he was poor until university

Castaway · 24 June 2007Kirsty Young

07°47′S 160°53′W

Neil Tennant

How Chris Lowe hissed "don't look triumphant" at Neil Tennant on Top of the Pops

Castaway · 4 February 2007Kirsty Young

22°05′S 082°53′W

Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes on the disturbing feeling of wearing an SS uniform

Castaway · 31 October 1999Sue Lawley

22°46′S 115°11′W

Antony Gormley

Antony Gormley on his wife giving him 'birth' through plaster body casts

Castaway · 10 May 1998Sue Lawley

07°56′S 161°37′W

Hanif Kureishi

Hanif Kureishi on being racially insulted every day from age four to sixteen

Castaway · 21 April 1996Sue Lawley

23°18′S 109°54′W

Marti Webb

Marti Webb on how a friend’s suggestion led to her taking over as Evita

Castaway · 22 May 1982Roy Plomley