Desert Island Discs – the BBC Radio 4 show in which celebrity guests select the songs that would sustain them through a prolonged, perhaps indefinite stay on a fictional desert island – turns 70 this month.
It was on 29 January 1942 that the series claimed its first castaway. Since then the show has broadcast almost 2,800 episodes with guests ranging from Kenneth Williams and Princess Margaret to George Clooney and David Cameron.
The format was the brainchild of original presenter/host Roy Plomley. The premise was deceptive in its simplicity – choose eight pieces of music to accompany you through hours of solitary. Inevitably guests selected pieces of music which had sound tracked various points in their own lives, which then permitted some kind of personal discussion of their private affairs. By fictitiously taking every comfort that was dear to his guests away and leaving them with only the emotional attachment of music, Plomley often drew more out of his guests than he could have expected.
But what comes across in the format’s longevity is the attachment of music when away from home and how it can be relied upon to keep you company during your travels. Through long flights, sleepless nights when jet lagged, or perhaps especially if you are travelling alone, music can be your best companion.
Some songs seem to have been written to be played on holiday; indeed some songs can only be listened to on a summer break. I personally wouldn’t dream of listening to the music of Bob Marley or Jack Johnson on a rainy afternoon in the UK, but when I’m sipping on a fruit shake in a beach hut, at that moment it’s the only type of music I want to hear.
Equally, how many songs now take you straight back to where you first heard them? From the clubs of Ibiza to the youth hostel that seemed to have a certain song on a loop. Just the first two bars of one song can take you straight back to a particular holiday memory.
Which brings us to the big question, which songs would you chose? Over the years certain trends have emerged with some songs coming up again and again. Here are the favourites:
The classics
- Beethoven’s Choral Symphony in D minor
- Rachmaninoff’s Concerto in C minor
- Schubert’s String Quintet in C major
- Beethoven’s Pastoral
- Elgar’s Pomp & Circumstance
- Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 in A major
The Pop
- Edith Paf – Non, Je Ne Regrette Bien
- Frank Sinatra – I Did It My Way
- Noel Coward – Mad Dogs and Englishmen
- Edith Piaf – La Vie En Rose
- Flanagan and Allen – Underneath the Arches
- Judy Garland – Over the Rainbow
- Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World
- John Lennon – Imagine
But how about you, dear reader? Would you opt for songs that sound great in the sun? Or the tracks you grew up with you just can’t live without? Would you greedily go for quantity over quality and select nothing less than ten minutes?
Ok, so let’s ignore the fact that we now live in an age where you could just take an iPod that holds 40,000 tracks and live happily ever after.
Original rules apply what eight tracks would you choose to be stranded with?