John Dowland — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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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

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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

John Dowland — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

Composer

John Dowland

13 episodes

Chosen over the decades

13

Total castaways

1990s

Peak decade

6

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

E P Thompson
Joanna MacGregor
Julian Bream
Lucia Popp
Mary Beard
Noel Edmonds
P D James
Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Pears
Quentin Blake
Rose Tremain
Roy Dotrice
Sir Roger Norrington

Mary Beard
Mary Beard on how her breastfeeding heroism was remembered as dereliction of duty
Castaway · 31 January 2010Kirsty Young
Quentin Blake
Quentin Blake on drawing with a waverly nib
Castaway · 1 October 2006Kirsty Young
Peter Maxwell Davies

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

Peter Maxwell Davies on hearing the music he was going to write in a Lake District mist

Castaway · 30 January 2005Sue Lawley

Sir Roger Norrington

07°06′S 109°17′W

Sir Roger Norrington

How the Vienna Philharmonic apologised to Roger Norrington for their vibrato

Castaway · 15 August 1999Sue Lawley

19°40′S 062°44′W

Rose Tremain

Rose Tremain on filling a vacuum created by her father's leaving home

Castaway · 12 October 1997Sue Lawley

Joanna MacGregor

21°29′S 058°28′W

Joanna MacGregor

Joanna MacGregor on the shock of being told what to think when she first went to school

Castaway · 1 June 1997Sue Lawley

10°53′S 044°56′W

E P Thompson

E P Thompson on his memory of Gandhi spinning in his house

Castaway · 3 November 1991Sue Lawley

01°20′S 110°09′W

Julian Bream

Julian Bream on being caught playing his father's guitar

Castaway · 9 July 1983Roy Plomley

18°34′S 054°15′W

P D James

P D James on starting her first novel by getting up early in her late thirties

Castaway · 20 November 1982Roy Plomley

21°59′S 127°10′W

Lucia Popp

Lucia Popp on how bears could make loneliness bearable

Castaway · 8 May 1982Roy Plomley

11°16′S 019°57′W

Noel Edmonds

Noel Edmonds on quitting a £3,000-a-year job at 19 with nothing to fall back on

Castaway · 14 October 1978Roy Plomley

04°45′S 141°27′W

Roy Dotrice

Roy Dotrice on playing female roles in a POW camp

Castaway · 29 January 1977Roy Plomley

06°05′S 034°50′W

Peter Pears

Peter Pears on his first concert with Benjamin Britten for Spanish Republican funds

Castaway · 21 July 1969Roy Plomley