Desert Island Discs
Genre	Biographical/Musical
Running time	45 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
Home station	BBC Radio 4
Host(s)	Kirsty Young
Creator(s)	Roy Plomley
Producer(s)	Leanne Buckle
Air dates	1942 – Present
Audio format	Stereophonic sound
Opening theme	By The Sleepy Lagoon by Eric Coates
Website	BBC website

Desert Island Discs is a long-running BBC Radio 4 programme. It was first broadcast on January 29, 1942 and is said by the Guinness Book of Records to be the longest-running music programme in the history of radio. Guests are invited to imagine themselves as castaways on a desert island, and asked to choose the eight pieces of music they would take with them; discussion of their choices permits a review of their life. Aside from the music they select, they are also permitted to take one book, excluding the Bible or other religious work and the complete works of Shakespeare, which are deemed to be already present on the island (probably to force castaways to make more original and interesting choices). They also choose one luxury item which must be inanimate and of no survival value, though large supplies of champagne seem to be allowed.^[1] The names and selections of some of the more recent guests are listed separately. Sir Thomas Malory wrote the most famous fictional biography of the Middle Ages with Le Morte dArthur about the life of King Arthur. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of chiefly spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... Kirsty Young on Five News Kirsty Jackson Young (born 23 November 1968 in East Kilbride) is a Scottish television journalist, presenter, actress and radio presenter. ... Roy Plomley (January 20, 1914 - May 28, 1985) was an English radio broadcaster. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Label for 2. ... Eric Coates (August 27, 1886 – December 21, 1957) was an English composer of light music and a viola player. ... BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of chiefly spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... // For the controversy about who invented radio, see Invention of radio. ... U.S. merchant seamen try to revive a shipwrecked Filipino fisherman rescued in the South China Sea. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... Complete Works of Shakespeare is the standard name given to any volume containing all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

The last five Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom have all been guests on the programme, although only John Major (choosing Lord's Cricket Ground as his luxury) and Tony Blair appeared while in office. The first "castaway" was Vic Oliver, and other guests have included Jacob Bronowski, Noël Coward, Benny Hill, Sid James, Dame Judi Dench, Paul McCartney, John Malkovich, David Cameron, Bobby Robson, John Peel, Princess Margaret, George Clooney, Brian May, George Foreman, Rod Steiger, Billy Connolly, Richard Dawkins, Gene Pitney, Engelbert Humperdinck, Stephen King, Stephen Hawking, Rowan Williams, Jo Brand and Matt Lucas. A number of guests, such as Arthur Askey, have been castaway more than once. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the the United Kingdom. ... Sir John Major, KG, CH, PC (born 29 March 1943) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the British Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency... Vic Oliver (1896 to 1964) was an actor and radio comedian. ... Jacob Bronowski (January 18, 1908, Łódź, Poland - August 22, 1974, East Hampton, New York, USA) was the presenter of the BBC television documentary series, The Ascent of Man which inspired Carl Sagans Cosmos series. ... Noël Coward Sir Noel Peirce Coward (spelling his forename Noël with the diaeresis was an affectation of later life, and Peirce is the correct spelling) (December 16, 1899 - March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ... Alfred Hawthorn Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992), better known as Benny Hill, was a prolific English comic, actor and singer, best known for his television programme, The Benny Hill Show. ... Sid James Sid James (8 May 1913–26 April 1976) was a film and television actor. ... Judi Dench as M in GoldenEye Dame Judi Dench (born December 9, 1934) is a renowned British stage, film and television actress. ... Sir James Paul McCartney MBE (born June 18, 1942) is an iconic Grammy Award-winning English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. ... John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, producer and director. ... David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, positions he has occupied since December 2005. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... “Peel Sessions” redirects here. ... HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret (Margaret Rose Armstrong-Jones, née Windsor; (August 21, 1930—February 9, 2002) was a member of the British Royal Family, the second eldest daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and sister of the... George Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an Academy Award- and two-time Golden Globe winning American actor, director, producer and screenwriter, known for his role in the first five seasons of the long-running television drama ER (1994–99), and his rise as an A-List movie star in... Brian Harold May, CBE (born July 19, 1947) is a virtuoso[1][2][3][4] guitarist best known as the lead guitarist and backing, sometimes lead, vocalist for the English rock band Queen. ... George Foreman, born (January 10, 1949) is an American two-time World boxing Champion in the heavyweight division. ... Rod Steiger (April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor. ... William Billy Connolly, CBE, (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter, and actor. ... Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. ... Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. ... Engelbert Humperdinck Engelbert Humperdinck (b. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author best known for his enormously popular horror novels. ... Stephen Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA, (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist. ... For the English boxer, see Rowan Anthony Williams. ... Joanne Brand was born 3rd May 1957 in Hastings, East Sussex. ... Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is a British comedy actor. ... Arthur Askey (June 6, 1900 - November 16, 1982) was a prominent British comedian. ...

Desert Island Discs was devised by its original presenter, Roy Plomley. After Plomley's death in 1985, it was presented first by Michael Parkinson, and from 1988 by Sue Lawley. Lawley stepped down in August 2006 after 18 years as host. She was replaced by Kirsty Young, who interviewed illustrator Quentin Blake for her first show, broadcast on October 1 2006. Roy Plomley (January 20, 1914 - May 28, 1985) was an English radio broadcaster. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Michael Parkinson CBE (born 28 March 1935) is an English journalist and television presenter. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sue Lawley (born July 14, 1946) is a English broadcaster. ... Kirsty Young on Five News Kirsty Jackson Young (born 23 November 1968 in East Kilbride) is a Scottish television journalist, presenter, actress and radio presenter. ... Professor Quentin Saxby Blake, CBE (born December 16, 1932) is a British cartoonist and author. ...

The programme's theme music is By The Sleepy Lagoon composed by Eric Coates in 1930. Eric Coates (August 27, 1886 – December 21, 1957) was an English composer of light music and a viola player. ...

Unlike most Radio 4 programmes, Desert Island Discs cannot be heard on the BBC's Listen Again service (which allows most programmes to be listened to up to a week after transmission via the website) because of unresolved rights issues between the BBC and the owners of the format of the programme.

References

1. ^ "John Stevens". Desert Island Discs. BBC Radio 4. 2006-11-17. website

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ...

External links

• Desert Island Discs (BBC)