Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
BBC Radio 4
Guests are invited to choose the eight records they would take to a desert island
All episodes
Best episodes
Top 10 Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Rod Steiger
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
07/25/99 • 35 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is Rod Steiger. He talks about The Method, Marlon Brando and the depression which dogged him for nearly a decade. And he confesses why he couldn't go to the desert island without Frank Sinatra.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Send in the Clowns by Sarah Vaughn Book: Complete book of poetry by e e cummings Luxury: Self-contained external electric fan
Anthony Howard
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
05/30/99 • 38 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the journalist Anthony Howard. He's worked on The New Statesman, The Observer and The Sunday Times, where as Obituaries Editor, he turned a previously dead-end job into a highly competitive art form. A regular television commentator, he probably inherited his gift for oratory from his father, a parson who gave stirring sermons.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: The Toasting Song (from La Traviata - Act One) by Giuseppe Verdi Book: Dictionary of National Biography Luxury: Camp bed
David Shepherd
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
01/17/99 • 36 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the wildlife artist David Shepherd.
Rejected from the Slade Art School on the grounds of having 'no talent whatsoever' he was taught to paint by a man he met at a cocktail party who told him "you're going to be painting for the Inland Revenue, the Gas Board and the school fees." Famed now for his paintings of elephants, he is one of the best-selling artists in the world.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Symphony No. 8 by Gustav Mahler Book: Collection by Beatrix Potter Luxury: Wind-up video player
Susan Blackmore
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
05/03/98 • 35 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this week says changing her mind was one of the most difficult things she's ever had to do. After an out-of-body experience, psychologist Susan Blackmore set out to study and prove the existence of the paranormal. Twenty years on, she's a convinced sceptic.
She continues, however, to be fascinated by the question of consciousness. In particular, the new theory of memes which examines how habits and beliefs are passed on from one person to another. At their worst, she says, they're evident in fascism or religious fundamentalism. At their best, they're responsible for our co-operation and kindness.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Not Fade Away by Grateful Dead Book: Origin of Species by Charles Darwin Luxury: A handful of cannabis seeds
Sir Ernest Hall
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
04/26/98 • 37 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the businessman Sir Ernest Hall.
His life is like a fairytale. From a sickly boy, living in the one room he and his family shared, he became a successful businessman and millionaire - and all because of an inspirational piece of music. Today on the site of an old carpet factory in Halifax, he's brought together his two loves - business and the arts - to form an environment in which plastic-bag manufacturers and building societies draw inspiration from the painters and sculptors who work alongside. At the age of 68 he has also realised his ambition to be a professional pianist.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Piano Trio in B Major by Franz Schubert Book: The collected works by William Blake Luxury: Piano
Judi Dench
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
04/12/98 • 37 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actress Dame Judi Dench.
She's been delighting audiences for some 40 years, on film, television and the stage. It's partly this versatility that makes her so special. Nominated for an Oscar for the film Mrs Brown, in which she played an ageing Queen Victoria, she says the difference between film and the theatre is that on stage she can make an audience believe that she's a tall, willowy blond, when in reality she is five foot nothing.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh Book: Ordnance Survey map of the world Luxury: The Man with a Glove painting by Titian
Gavin Bryars
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
04/05/98 • 34 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the experimental composer Gavin Bryars. One of his best-known works, The Sinking of the Titanic, pays tribute to the band which continued to play as the ship went down. It poses the question what if they hadn't stop playing; how would their music have sounded under water? His most popular composition, Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet, features a tramp singing the same verse again and again, building up layer upon layer of emotion.
Composing is a craft he learnt as an assistant to John Cage, after hearing his work Four minutes, thirty-three seconds - of silence. Today he is both established and establishment - the ENO are soon to stage his latest opera and if you look closely at the orchestra, you'll spot him on the bass!
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: My Foolish Heart by Bill Evans Trio Book: Science and Civilisation in China by Joseph Needham Luxury: Gravity chair
Michael Crawford
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
12/24/99 • 36 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is Michael Crawford. Renowned for his attention to detail, he has always performed his own stunts - whether roller-skating under moving lorries in Some Mothers Do Have 'Em, or walking the tightrope in the musical Barnum. A consumate professional, he admits to escaping from his hospital bed, where he was recovering from exhaustion, so the show could go on!
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Gloria from Mass in B Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: The complete book of self-sufficiency by John Seymour Luxury: Pen and paper
Oz Clarke
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
12/12/99 • 35 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is Oz Clarke. As a wine expert, he has sipped, slurped and spat his way through thousands of vintages from around the world. Renowned for his enthusiasm for trying new flavours and varieties, his earliest memory is of drinking his mother's damson wine when he was just three years old. And it didn't put him off.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Thanks for the Memory by The Mitford Girls Original London Stage Cast Book: French Provincial Cookery by Elizabeth David Luxury: His memory
Ralph Fiennes
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
10/31/99 • 35 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is Ralph Fiennes. His first Hollywood film role was as the Nazi concentration camp leader in Schindler's List, a part which, he says, had a profoundly disturbing effect on him. His latest project, playing the jaded hero Onegin, is the culmination of a long held desire to bring Pushkin's novel to the big screen.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Mir Ist So Wunderbar by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: A la Recherche du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust Luxury: Pen and limited supplies of ink and paper
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
Featured in these lists
FAQ
How many episodes does Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 have?
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 currently has 125 episodes available.
What topics does Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Personal Journals and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000?
The episode title 'Michael Crawford' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000?
The average episode length on Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 is 36 minutes.
How often are episodes of Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 released?
Episodes of Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000?
The first episode of Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 was released on Jan 5, 1997.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ