Frank Loesser — 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

Frank Loesser

27 episodes

Chosen over the decades

27

Total castaways

1980s

Peak decade

6

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Adam Kay
Anthony Horowitz
David Linley
Earl Of Snowdon
Engelbert Humperdinck
Frank McCourt
Gavin Lyall
Imelda Staunton
Jacquetta Hawkes
James Bolam
James Prior
John Gunter
Keith Waterhouse
Lord Oaksey
Matt Lucas
Neil Simon
Nicholas Hytner
Nicky Haslam
Robert Harris
Ronnie Wood
Rt Hon Shirley Williams
Ruth Rogers
Stubby Kaye
Tom Lehrer
more

Ronnie Wood
How a party sofa led Ronnie Wood to join the Rolling Stones
Castaway · 12 October 2025Lauren Laverne
Adam Kay
Adam Kay on being told he was gay by a classmate running a pornography library
Castaway · 18 June 2023Lauren Laverne

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

How a 685-entry competition brought Ruth Rogers to Paris

Castaway · 2 August 2015Kirsty Young

15°28′S 140°48′W

Robert Harris

Robert Harris on politics being his father's football

Castaway · 28 November 2010Kirsty Young

22°01′S 176°19′W

Nicky Haslam

How Nicky Haslam went to work with a face the size of a football after a facelift

Castaway · 2 August 2009Kirsty Young

Anthony Horowitz

19°47′S 070°13′W

Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz on discovering writing as an escape from a cold boarding school

Castaway · 31 December 2006Kirsty Young

04°49′S 096°37′W

Matt Lucas

Matt Lucas on waking up to find his hair on the pillow aged six

Castaway · 26 November 2006Kirsty Young

Rt Hon Shirley Williams

11°25′S 099°36′W

Rt Hon Shirley Williams

How hiding behind a curtain reunited Shirley Williams with her mother

Castaway · 29 January 2006Sue Lawley

Imelda Staunton

20°05′S 049°32′W

Imelda Staunton

Imelda Staunton on not knowing the police in Vera Drake were actors

Castaway · 15 May 2005Sue Lawley

Engelbert Humperdinck

19°53′S 157°59′W

Engelbert Humperdinck

Engelbert Humperdinck on starting the sideburns against all advice

Castaway · 19 December 2004Sue Lawley

10°39′S 171°09′W

David Linley

David Linley on running his hands along the underside of furniture to check the finish

Castaway · 3 February 2002Sue Lawley

19°50′S 164°06′W

Frank McCourt

Frank McCourt on writing his earliest memory in the present tense

Castaway · 17 June 2001Sue Lawley

Warren Mitchell

10°12′S 008°29′W

Warren Mitchell

How a communist on a troop ship converted Warren Mitchell from a Tory

Castaway · 28 November 1999Sue Lawley

12°37′S 043°22′W

Neil Simon

Neil Simon on his brother predicting at age 15 he’d be America’s best comedy writer

Castaway · 14 May 1995Sue Lawley

Nicholas Hytner

05°02′S 015°39′W

Nicholas Hytner

How Nicholas Hytner's wandering attention on stage made him a director

Castaway · 11 July 1993Sue Lawley

23°38′S 077°49′W

Lord Oaksey

John Oaksey on buying a half share in a horse for a Grand National ride

Castaway · 11 April 1993Sue Lawley

01°27′S 057°39′W

James Prior

How James Prior challenged the minister of food over his school pig club

Castaway · 11 January 1987Michael Parkinson

Rt Hon Shirley Williams

14°33′S 084°21′W

Rt Hon Shirley Williams

How a tip-off about concentration camps sent Shirley Williams to America

Castaway · 23 March 1986Michael Parkinson

03°57′S 014°30′W

Willie Rushton

Willie Rushton on writing 'vile' in a biology exam

Castaway · 18 August 1984Roy Plomley

06°32′S 080°42′W

Stubby Kaye

Stubby Kaye on wetting his pants during his first stage performance

Castaway · 4 February 1984Roy Plomley

Keith Waterhouse

21°05′S 169°10′W

Keith Waterhouse

Keith Waterhouse on being beckoned into Alfred Hitchcock's presence to polish dialogue

Castaway · 30 July 1983Roy Plomley

12°04′S 142°46′W

John Gunter

John Gunter on designing a show for his mother that never happened

Castaway · 23 July 1983Roy Plomley

Jacquetta Hawkes

00°06′S 004°09′W

Jacquetta Hawkes

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

Castaway · 15 November 1980Roy Plomley

Earl Of Snowdon

17°34′S 140°55′W

Earl Of Snowdon

Snowdon on starting his photography career in a box room

Castaway · 6 September 1980Roy Plomley

16°55′S 059°23′W

Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer on his parents finding him a popular music teacher

Castaway · 12 July 1980Roy Plomley

07°42′S 047°22′W

James Bolam

James Bolam on having his on-screen family murdered while being assessed for a comedy part

Castaway · 12 March 1977Roy Plomley

06°35′S 137°12′W

Gavin Lyall

Gavin Lyall on not eating a polar bear's liver

Castaway · 24 January 1976Roy Plomley

Frank Loesser — Composer · desert is.land