Desert Island Discs – Still not washed up after 70 years
Desert Island Discs – the BBC Radio four show in which celebrity guests choose the songs that would sustain them by means of a prolonged, maybe indefinite stay on a fictional desert island – turns 70 this month.
It was on 29 January 1942 that the series claimed its 1st castaway. Because then the show has broadcast virtually two,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 – select eight pieces of music to accompany you via hours of solitary. Inevitably guests chosen pieces of music which had sound tracked various points in their own lives, which then permitted some type of individual 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 frequently drew far 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 house and how it can be relied upon to preserve you firm for the duration of your travels. By means of lengthy flights, sleepless nights when jet lagged, or maybe particularly if you are travelling alone, music can be your best companion.
Some songs appear 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 is the only type of music I want to hear.
Equally, how several 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 specific song on a loop. Just the first two bars of one song can take you straight back to a distinct holiday memory.
Which brings us to the big question, which songs would you chose? More than the years specific trends have emerged with some songs coming up once more and once more. Right 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 main
- Beethoven’s Pastoral
- Elgar’s Pomp & Circumstance
- Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 in A main
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 Fantastic World
- John Lennon – Think about
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 reside without? Would you greedily go for quantity more than quality and choose nothing less than ten minutes?
Ok, so let’s ignore the truth that we now live in an age exactly where you could just take an iPod that holds 40,000 tracks and live happily ever soon after.
Original rules apply what eight tracks would you pick to be stranded with?
