Paul Simon — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

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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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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

Paul Simon — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

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

Composer

Paul Simon

29 episodes

Chosen over the decades

29

Total castaways

1980s

Peak decade

5

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Anna Ford
Ann Leslie
Antony Sher
Brendan Foster
Brian Cox
Brian Greene
Bruce Fogle
Dame Monica Mason
Elaine Paige
Gareth Malone
Jack Mapanje
Joan Plowright
John Motson
Jonathan Lynn
Jonathon Porritt
Lord Montagu
Martha Lane Fox
Martin Bell
Marti Webb
Nicola Horlick
Peggy Seeger
Phil Edmonds
Richard Dreyfuss
Rick Rubin
more

Sir Gregory Doran
Gregory Doran on finding the 229th copy of Shakespeare's First Folio
Castaway · 29 June 2025Lauren Laverne
Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin on sleeping in his parents' bed until age five
Castaway · 23 October 2022Lauren Laverne
Brian Greene

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

Brian Greene on spending Saturday afternoons multiplying 30-digit numbers

Castaway · 16 May 2021Lauren Laverne

09°19′S 147°12′W

Brian Cox

Brian Cox on his sister presenting him from behind a coal bunker curtain

Castaway · 29 March 2020Lauren Laverne

Venki Ramakrishnan

02°19′S 102°43′W

Venki Ramakrishnan

Venki Ramakrishnan on thinking his Nobel Prize call was an elaborate prank

Castaway · 21 October 2018Lauren Laverne

19°11′S 056°32′W

John Motson

John Motson on Brian Clough giving him both barrels

Castaway · 17 June 2018Kirsty Young

07°41′S 096°02′W

Gareth Malone

Gareth Malone on the painful moment he couldn't sing, with his father and teacher joining in

Castaway · 25 December 2016Kirsty Young

20°02′S 168°16′W

Anna Ford

How Anna Ford taught IRA internees in Long Kesh

Castaway · 18 March 2012Kirsty Young

Dame Monica Mason

13°42′S 148°05′W

Dame Monica Mason

Monica Mason on her father’s last wave from a hospital balcony

Castaway · 8 January 2012Kirsty Young

17°08′S 120°31′W

Nicola Horlick

Nicola Horlick on Sky vans and film crews arriving at her door

Castaway · 29 July 2007Kirsty Young

18°10′S 090°17′W

Ann Leslie

Ann Leslie on deciding not to die in hospital for her family's sake

Castaway · 7 November 2004Sue Lawley

20°29′S 073°01′W

Jack Mapanje

Jack Mapanje on a phone call in Gaelic that may have saved his life

Castaway · 24 October 2004Sue Lawley

Martha Lane Fox

15°31′S 020°04′W

Martha Lane Fox

Martha Lane Fox on her father's horror if she'd become a banker

Castaway · 4 January 2004Sue Lawley

12°00′S 131°54′W

Sue Johnston

Sue Johnston on reliving her own attack while filming a rape storyline

Castaway · 26 May 2002Sue Lawley

07°57′S 116°26′W

Bruce Fogle

Bruce Fogle on a punk client crying over her rat's mammary tumor

Castaway · 19 August 2001Sue Lawley

15°13′S 019°38′W

Martin Bell

Martin Bell on what TV wouldn't broadcast from the Bosnian war

Castaway · 15 July 2001Sue Lawley

04°52′S 010°30′W

Peggy Seeger

Peggy Seeger on being dressed in model's gear to meet Ewan MacColl

Castaway · 8 July 2001Sue Lawley

Sir John Sulston

23°51′S 153°03′W

Sir John Sulston

John Sulston on holding the human genome on a CD-ROM

Castaway · 13 May 2001Sue Lawley

Richard Dreyfuss

11°12′S 057°59′W

Richard Dreyfuss

How waking up under a car ended Richard Dreyfuss's drug habit

Castaway · 9 May 1999Sue Lawley

Jonathon Porritt

07°39′S 144°03′W

Jonathon Porritt

Jonathon Porritt on being taken aback by Mrs Thatcher's environmental speech

Castaway · 11 June 1989Sue Lawley

21°34′S 084°38′W

Brendan Foster

Brendan Foster on breaking the world record at the opening of Gateshead Stadium

Castaway · 13 March 1988Michael Parkinson

06°12′S 087°33′W

Antony Sher

Antony Sher on the rejection that made him determined to be an actor

Castaway · 6 December 1987Michael Parkinson

15°51′S 089°28′W

Lord Montagu

Montagu on the greatest dilemma of his life: choosing eight records

Castaway · 30 August 1987Michael Parkinson

12°59′S 067°13′W

Elaine Paige

Elaine Paige on her fourth audition for Evita thinking ‘Here we go again’

Castaway · 12 July 1987Michael Parkinson

02°05′S 161°50′W

Phil Edmonds

Phil Edmonds on his family being ostracized as 'Kaffa Booties' in Zambia

Castaway · 19 October 1986Michael Parkinson

00°52′S 115°18′W

Jonathan Lynn

How writers failing to deliver a script led Jonathan Lynn to write his first TV episode

Castaway · 20 October 1984Roy Plomley

14°59′S 101°01′W

Terry Jones

Terry Jones on hiding upstairs to write poems as a boy

Castaway · 2 July 1983Roy Plomley

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

03°54′S 100°33′W

Joan Plowright

Joan Plowright on turning down a seven-year film contract

Castaway · 24 January 1981Roy Plomley