Celebrating 75 years of “Desert Island Discs”
Bryan Woods celebrates the ever-popular radio show in its 75th anniversary year.
IT was a freezing cold night on Monday, November 3, 1941. As Roy Plomley sat in his rented digs and shivered, he began to daydream about being a castaway on a desert island.
His thoughts turned to the sort of music he might listen to on this isolated paradise.
The young broadcaster was inspired to write a letter to Leslie Perowne, then head of radio popular programmes at the BBC. Perowne liked it and “Desert Island Discs” was born.
It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces programme on January 29, 1942, when the comedian Vic Oliver was cast away.
Since then there have been more than 3,000 editions of the programme.
These have featured interviews with notable people in entertainment, the arts, politics, science and sport. Now in its 75th year, “Desert Island Discs” is broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
Its simple format is unchanged – castaways select eight pieces of recorded music. They then explain why they chose them and talk about their lives.
Though music is usually selected, it is not always the case. When Alan Titchmarsh was the featured castaway, he chose the very beautiful song of the blackbird.
Roy Plomley presented the programme for 43 years until his death in 1985. Among his castaways was the operatic soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who appeared on the programme in 1958. She chose no fewer than seven of her own recordings to take to the mythical desert island!
Castaways were later allowed a luxury item. But the object had to be inanimate. It also could not be used to escape from the island or communicate with the outside world.
On a few occasions, two people have been cast away on the island. When the comedians Morecambe and Wise appeared, Eric chose a deckchair as a luxury item. Not to be outdone, Ernie plumped for a deckchair ticket machine!
In 1951, castaways were also allowed the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare and a book of their choice.
Works by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens are the most popular, but the champion showjumper Harvey Smith declined a book, saying that he had never read one in his life.
One original feature that still survives is the “Desert Island Discs” theme tune. At first Roy Plomley just wanted the natural sounds of waves and birds to introduce the programme, but it was decided that music was needed and “By The Sleepy Lagoon” by Eric Coates was chosen.
The sound of herring gulls was also included, but in 1964 somebody pointed out that gulls would not be heard over a desert island.
The sound of tropical birds played instead, though the public still preferred the gulls and after a few months they were reinstated.
The broadcaster Kirsty Young has presented “Desert Island Discs” since 2006. Her many and varied guests have included pop star Morrissey and Prime Minister Theresa May.
Kirsty Young continues with the spirit of the programme that was set by Roy Plomley all those years ago. It is a delight to all of us who listen to the show. n