Jimmy Webb

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

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Most requested
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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

Jimmy Webb — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

Composer

8 episodes

Chosen over the decades

Total castaways

2000s

Peak decade

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Annie Lennox
Beryl Bainbridge
Max Hastings
Monica Dolan
Peter Alliss
Ricky Gervais
Sir Robert Helpmann

Monica Dolan
Monica Dolan on secretly withdrawing her university application
Castaway · 27 July 2025Lauren Laverne
Ant and Dec
Ant and Dec on the stunned silence after being written out of Byker Grove
Castaway · 29 December 2013Kirsty Young

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

Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox on losing her first child

Castaway · 11 May 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

Ricky Gervais

05°54′S 179°39′W

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais on not knowing he was poor until university

Castaway · 24 June 2007Kirsty Young

Peter Alliss

05°16′S 023°33′W

Peter Alliss

Peter Alliss on nearly killing someone in the RF regiment

Castaway · 29 March 1987Michael Parkinson

Max Hastings

19°34′S 122°48′W

Max Hastings

How Max Hastings walked into Port Stanley ahead of British troops

Castaway · 15 June 1986Michael Parkinson

Sir Robert Helpmann

06°15′S 162°30′W

Sir Robert Helpmann

Robert Helpmann on seeing his mother in Katherine Hepburn's Portia

Castaway · 23 December 1978Roy Plomley

Monica Dolan

Ant and Dec

Beryl Bainbridge

Ricky Gervais

Peter Alliss

Max Hastings

Sir Robert Helpmann