Edward Elgar — 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

Edward Elgar

214 episodes

Chosen over the decades

214

Total castaways

1980s

Peak decade

8

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

75 Years of Desert Island Discs
Agnes Nicholls
Alan Keith
Alan Parker
Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec McCowen
Alec Robertson
A L Rowse
Alvar Lidell
Andrew Cruickshank
Andrew Davis
Andrew Neil
Ann Leslie
Anthony Andrews
Anthony Dowell
Anthony Grey
Antony Hopkins
Antony Sher
A N Wilson
Arnold Ridley
Arthur C Clarke
Barbara Windsor
Ben Helfgott
Benjamin Luxon
more

Neville Marriner
Neville Marriner on lining up children against each other at competitive music festivals
Castaway · 13 December 1980Roy Plomley
Tom Conti
How playing the guitar saved Tom Conti from crushing loneliness
Castaway · 22 November 1980Roy 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

Jacquetta Hawkes

Jacquetta Hawkes on drawing bison and mammoth in a cave as a child

Castaway · 15 November 1980Roy Plomley

Rt Hon Lord Denning

19°32′S 129°56′W

Rt Hon Lord Denning

Lord Denning on saying at age ten he would become a barrister

Castaway · 17 May 1980Roy Plomley

Donald Pleasence

16°27′S 050°44′W

Donald Pleasence

Donald Pleasence on winning a silver medal at a musical festival aged seven

Castaway · 29 March 1980Roy Plomley

15°11′S 173°41′W

Norman Mailer

How missing D-Day almost made Norman Mailer weep for a lost novel

Castaway · 15 December 1979Roy Plomley

19°49′S 138°09′W

Michael Palin

How a terrible piano lesson put Michael Palin off playing

Castaway · 17 November 1979Roy Plomley

Josephine Barstow

20°45′S 055°19′W

Josephine Barstow

Josephine Barstow on the morning she decided to become an opera singer

Castaway · 13 October 1979Roy Plomley

Peter Barkworth

22°04′S 037°03′W

Peter Barkworth

Peter Barkworth on his father offering £2.15 a week for drama school

Castaway · 1 September 1979Roy Plomley

09°27′S 024°12′W

Alec McCowen

Alec McCowen on learning the Gospel of Mark three verses at a time

Castaway · 19 May 1979Roy Plomley

Sir Arthur Bryant

03°07′S 052°31′W

Sir Arthur Bryant

Arthur Bryant on becoming the youngest headmaster in England at 23

Castaway · 17 February 1979Roy Plomley

Norris McWhirter

16°47′S 044°23′W

Norris McWhirter

Norris McWhirter on running the 100 yards in just over 10 seconds

Castaway · 10 February 1979Roy Plomley

14°28′S 061°39′W

Benjamin Luxon

Benjamin Luxon on being called to tour Russia with the English Opera Group

Castaway · 27 January 1979Roy Plomley

02°38′S 017°02′W

Joan Fontaine

How a slap from Alfred Hitchcock helped Joan Fontaine cry on cue

Castaway · 25 November 1978Roy Plomley

Alec Clifton-Taylor

05°20′S 072°45′W

Alec Clifton-Taylor

Alec Clifton-Taylor on escaping his family to rush into a church as a child

Castaway · 30 September 1978Roy Plomley

21°18′S 094°50′W

Itzhak Perlman

Itzhak Perlman on playing soccer as a goalie on crutches

Castaway · 29 April 1978Roy Plomley

Rt Rev. And Rt Hon. Gerald Ellison

21°44′S 096°21′W

Rt Rev. And Rt Hon. Gerald Ellison

How Gerald Ellison handled the Oxford sinking in the Boat Race

Castaway · 11 March 1978Roy Plomley

15°33′S 159°34′W

A L Rowse

A L Rowse on discovering the Dark Lady of the Sonnets in the Bodleian Library

Castaway · 13 August 1977Roy Plomley

Arthur C Clarke

08°50′S 115°54′W

Arthur C Clarke

Arthur C Clarke on building his own crystal set to listen to music as a youth

Castaway · 23 July 1977Roy Plomley

11°19′S 012°50′W

Rod Hull

Rod Hull on the emu egg that grew bigger every day

Castaway · 9 April 1977Roy Plomley

18°02′S 056°30′W

Oliver Ford

Oliver Ford on finding himself in the middle of a minefield

Castaway · 5 March 1977Roy Plomley

14°43′S 077°36′W

Eric Idle

Eric Idle on being banned in Rutland

Castaway · 27 November 1976Roy Plomley

Lt-Colonel John Blashford-Snell

10°05′S 112°08′W

Lt-Colonel John Blashford-Snell

John Blashford-Snell on forming a private army at 14 to defend Herefordshire

Castaway · 30 October 1976Roy Plomley

03°23′S 042°44′W

Frank Muir

How claiming to organise concert parties got Frank Muir out of RAF guard duty

Castaway · 2 October 1976Roy Plomley

09°19′S 169°56′W

Penelope Keith

Penelope Keith on the sewing machine needle that ended her piano playing

Castaway · 21 August 1976Roy Plomley

00°18′S 143°32′W

George Guest

George Guest on why he would barely last a week on a desert island

Castaway · 31 July 1976Roy Plomley

01°39′S 058°29′W

Philip Larkin

Philip Larkin on spending months in the Bodleian Library stacks

Castaway · 17 July 1976Roy Plomley

18°56′S 014°49′W

Philip Jones

Philip Jones on writing tunes for brass instruments to attack boredom

Castaway · 26 June 1976Roy Plomley

05°39′S 047°26′W

John Laurie

How John Laurie was carried from Passchendale on a stretcher, unwounded

Castaway · 15 May 1976Roy Plomley

Sir William Gladstone

19°51′S 104°34′W

Sir William Gladstone

William Gladstone on drinking his family's wine cellar in ten years

Castaway · 1 May 1976Roy Plomley

Stanley Holloway

15°00′S 063°19′W

Stanley Holloway

Stanley Holloway on his first job taking his boss's head to be ironed

Castaway · 25 October 1975Roy Plomley

13°32′S 088°18′W

Anthony Dowell

Anthony Dowell on starting ballet at age four at the Hampshire School

Castaway · 26 July 1975Roy Plomley

11°13′S 105°34′W

Helen Bradley

How Helen Bradley painted with a fish slice and a dinner plate

Castaway · 5 July 1975Roy Plomley

Leslie Mitchell

07°45′S 107°38′W

Leslie Mitchell

How Leslie Mitchell spoke the first words on television

Castaway · 1 June 1974Roy Plomley

16°47′S 134°02′W

Brian Johnston

How asking about the butter ration in Oxford Street got Brian Johnston into the BBC

Castaway · 16 March 1974Roy Plomley

15°44′S 055°46′W

John Mills

John Mills on selling lavatory paper while secretly taking tap dancing lessons

Castaway · 22 December 1973Roy Plomley

16°17′S 121°02′W

Arnold Ridley

Arnold Ridley on needing more makeup to look young enough

Castaway · 3 November 1973Roy Plomley

21°41′S 002°58′W

Edward Robey

How a murder trial at the Old Bailey in 1918 led Edward Robey to the law

Castaway · 13 October 1973Roy Plomley

08°38′S 167°37′W

Joseph Cooper

How keeping a dummy keyboard helped Joseph Cooper prepare for rescue

Castaway · 19 May 1973Roy Plomley

Group Captain Peter Townsend

20°55′S 059°45′W

Group Captain Peter Townsend

Peter Townsend on taking seven days to cover 24 miles in the Burmese jungle

Castaway · 25 November 1972Roy Plomley

23°32′S 155°43′W

Alec Robertson

Alec Robertson on his mother's singing lesson that ended with 'never come back'

Castaway · 3 June 1972Roy Plomley

Raymond Leppard

02°24′S 065°20′W

Raymond Leppard

Raymond Leppard on the fire that destroyed his Monteverdi score

Castaway · 4 March 1972Roy Plomley

12°31′S 121°17′W

Alan Keith

Alan Keith on playing truant from school to go to the theatre

Castaway · 6 February 1971Roy Plomley

09°49′S 066°34′W

Joan Hammond

Joan Hammond on her wig getting stuck on a cherry tree branch on stage

Castaway · 25 July 1970Roy Plomley

00°15′S 049°09′W

Dr Roy Strong

Roy Strong on buying a long-lost portrait of Milton for £22

Castaway · 7 March 1970Roy Plomley

Isidore Godfrey

09°16′S 076°33′W

Isidore Godfrey

Isidore Godfrey on singing Hell's Persia to the Sarsi Indians

Castaway · 7 February 1970Roy Plomley

02°57′S 056°22′W

Anthony Grey

Anthony Grey on renaming Desert Island Discs 'Donatitis Discs'

Castaway · 1 November 1969Roy Plomley

02°27′S 069°22′W

Alvar Lidell

Alvar Lidell on handling the abdication document for broadcast

Castaway · 5 May 1969Roy Plomley

Lieutenant Colonel C H Jaeger

02°31′S 163°48′W

Lieutenant Colonel C H Jaeger

C H Jaeger on playing the trumpets at the 1937 coronation

Castaway · 18 November 1968Roy Plomley

11°33′S 009°12′W

Billy Russell

How a precocious little brat got Billy Russell into show business

Castaway · 7 October 1968Roy Plomley