Mohamed Amin
Sue Lawley's castaway is photo-journalist Mohamed Amin. Favourite track: My Way by Frank Sinatra Book: Life of John F Kennedy Luxury: Satellite dish and television set
Jul 12, 1992•36 min
Desert Island Discs: Archive 1991-1996
Guests are invited to choose the eight records they would take to a desert island
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Episodes
Clare Short MP
Sue Lawley's castaway is politician Clare Short. Favourite track: Nun Sag Ich Dir Zum Ersten Mal by Arnold Schoenberg Book: Geometry Tutor Luxury: Piano
Jul 05, 1992•36 min
Vivienne Westwood
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. Avant-garde, surprising and often shocking, Vivienne first drew media attention when, in the late 1970s, she founded the punk movement with Malcolm McLaren. These days, though hardly orthodox, she has become more mainstream - in 1990 and 1991 she was named Designer of the Year, and she has just been awarded an OBE in the most recent Honours list. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her impressive career and re...
Jun 28, 1992•39 min
Terry Waite
In 1987, as an Ambassador of the Anglican Church trying to engineer the freedom of men held in Lebanon, Terry Waite was taken hostage himself. Nearly five years later, courageous and resilient, he emerged from a captivity of appalling deprivation and isolation. This week on Desert Island Discs he will be talking to Sue Lawley about those years and recalling the three vows he took - no regrets, no self-pity, no sentimentality - which he believes saved his sanity. [Taken from the original programm...
Jun 21, 1992•39 min
Robert Lindsay
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is actor Robert Lindsay. Born in Derbyshire 42 years ago, he's recognised today as one of Britain's most versatile performers. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his schooldays at a secondary modern and the art master who introduced him and the rest of the school to drama. He'll also be recalling the days when he couldn't walk down the street without being mobbed, so famous was he for his role as Wolfie in the BBC's television sitcom Citizen Smith....
Jun 14, 1992•37 min
Duncan Goodhew
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the swimmer Duncan Goodhew. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his early life, which was dogged by misadventure - a fall from an apple tree left him permanently and completely bald; and in his early teens, he was discovered to be dyslexic. Nevertheless, these setbacks merely strengthened his resolve to succeed at swimming, and to go on and win a gold medal for the 100 metres breast-stroke at the Moscow Games. [Taken from the original programme m...
Jun 07, 1992•35 min
Prunella Scales
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of the country's favourite actresses - Prunella Scales. She's most easily recognised as Sybil Fawlty, wife of John Cleese, the manic hotelkeeper in the television series Fawlty Towers, but it's a role which represents a very small part of all she's done. Since her debut in Bristol 40 years ago, she has never been out of work, and recently she's scaled new heights with her portrayal of the Queen in Alan Bennett's A Question of Attribution. She'...
May 31, 1992•38 min
Lord Chief Justice Taylor
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the country's most senior serving judge Lord Taylor of Gosforth. Recently appointed the Lord Chief Justice of England, he'll be discussing the public's perception of the English legal system, following the recent series of miscarriages of justice; and also, his plans to open up areas of the law and to rid the system of some of its more antiquated trappings, such as wigs and robes. He'll also be talking to Sue Lawley about how, as an accomplished m...
May 24, 1992•38 min
Michael Grade
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is television executive Michael Grade. As a member of the famous Grade dynasty, he grew up in the showbiz atmosphere of London's West End. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about being brought up by his formidable grandmother after his mother left him when he was very young; and about his career, which has taken him from Daily Mirror sports journalist to Hollywood producer, to the Controller of BBC1 and to his present position as the Chief Executive of ...
May 17, 1992•37 min
Will Carling
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is rugby player Will Carling. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how, as a six year old, he dreamed of captaining England, and then, having achieved his ambition at the startlingly early age of 22, he went on to take his team to the final of the World Cup and to win the Grand Slam for the last two years running. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: What A Wonderful World by Lo...
May 10, 1992•34 min
Henrietta, Marchioness Of Tavistock
This week's castaway in Desert Island Discs is Henrietta, Marchioness of Tavistock. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about, amongst other things, her idyllic childhood, her passion for breeding horses and explaining why she initially refused to live with her husband in his family's ancestral home, Woburn Abbey. Favourite track: Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo by Pietro Mascagni Book: History of the English-Speaking Peoples by Sir Winston Churchill Luxury: Triangular pillow
May 03, 1992•37 min
Anthony Rolfe Johnson
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the distinguished tenor Anthony Rolfe Johnson. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his Methodist upbringing in the East End of London, his years as a farmer in Sussex and explaining why he was 29 years old before he took his enormous talent for singing seriously. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Gloria In Excelis Deo by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: Welsh-English Dictionar...
Apr 26, 1992•40 min
Sir Ernst Gombrich
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is art historian Sir Ernst Gombrich. His most famous book, The Story of Art, was written more than 40 years ago, yet it remains the world's most popular introduction to great artists and their work. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his life and work recalling his first impressions of England to which he came from Vienna in 1936, his time translating German propaganda broadcasts for the BBC during the Second World War and explaining why he prefers...
Apr 05, 1992•39 min
Lady Soames
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Lady Soames, historian and only surviving child of Winston Churchill. A distinguished author and now Chairman of the Board of the National Theatre, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her extraordinary life - recalling her blissful childhood spent at Chartwell, the family's country home. She'll also be talking about the many state visits she made with her father and her husband - and remembering a conversation she had with General de Gaulle, who...
Mar 22, 1992•39 min
Sir Isaiah Berlin
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is philosopher and historian Sir Isaiah Berlin. Born in Latvia 80 years ago, he was brought to England by his family when he was ten years old and barely able to speak English. He is now internationally regarded as one of the most brilliant scholars of his age. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his early years in Russia, his commitment to, and respect for, this country, and explaining the philosophical implications of liberalism - his guiding prin...
Mar 15, 1992•40 min
Jocelyn Stevens
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is entrepreneur, newspaperman and public servant Jocelyn Stevens. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his love of life - he works in London and spends his weekends in Gstaad - and his impressive career: he revitalised Queen Magazine, launched Radio Caroline, saved the Evening Standard and served as Managing Director of Express Newspapers. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Si...
Mar 08, 1992•37 min
Dr Steve Jones
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is geneticist Dr Steve Jones. Eminent in his field, he's made a lifelong study of the evolution of the snail, the reproduction of the fruit fly and the sex life of the slug. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the study of genetics, reflecting on its disreputable past, analysing the problems of genetic engineering and discussing the research that inspired his recent Reith Lectures, particularly the evidence that proves that most of the world has des...
Mar 01, 1992•38 min
Elvis Costello
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is singer-songwriter Elvis Costello. Widely regarded as one of the best British songwriters of recent years, he comes from a musical family - both his father and grandfather were trumpeters. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his eclectic taste in music, comparing classical singers to pop stars, and choosing eight records, not for pleasure, but to provide sustenance on his desert island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive ...
Feb 23, 1992•37 min
Sir Roger Bannister
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Sir Roger Bannister, the man who first ran the four-minute mile. Now an eminent neurologist, he is as proud of his research during the last 15 years into the effects of low blood pressure, as he is of his achievements on the athletics field. Master of Pembroke College, he's taken up sculling, and with a night school qualification in navigation as well, he'll be telling Sue Lawley how he plans to escape from the desert island. [Taken from the origi...
Feb 16, 1992•38 min
Robbie Coltrane
In memory of Robbie Coltrane. The actor was Sue Lawley's castaway in Desert Island Discs in 1992. He first became noticed in the early 1980s in television programmes such as The Comic Strip, The Young Ones and Saturday Night Live. After that he became an international star. He talked to Sue Lawley about, amongst other things, his love of Scotland, his passion for vintage cars and his fear of live performances. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island ...
Feb 09, 1992•37 min
J G Ballard
This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is writer JG Ballard. Since the early 1960s, he has been well-known as a science fiction writer. But more recently he has reached an even wider audience with his autobiographical novels Empire of the Sun and The Kindness of Women. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his extraordinary life - his childhood in Shanghai, his adolescence spent in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp and how, after the sudden and tragic death of his wife, he raised his three young ...
Feb 02, 1992•36 min
John Major
Few people will be surprised to hear that the castaway in this week's special 50th anniversary edition of Desert Island Discs is the Prime Minister John Major. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his very happy childhood years, his more traumatic adolescence and his transformation into the perfect Conservative parliamentary candidate. He'll also be discussing his love of music and books, and revealing the luxury that was a surprise even to Sue Lawley. [Taken from the original programme material...
Jan 26, 1992•39 min
Reverend David Jenkins
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of Britain's most well-known church leaders, the Right Reverend David Jenkins, the Lord Bishop of Durham. At the age of 60, after a career spent mainly as an academic theologian, he was catapulted into controversy: his views on the virgin birth and the resurrection caused outrage, and his opinions on the divisions between rich and poor infuriated politicians. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his surprise at the controversies he caused, and...
Jan 19, 1992•38 min
Steven Berkoff
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is actor, writer and director Steven Berkoff. Irreverent, energetic and compelling, his work has brought him an international reputation and his last West End production, Kvetch, was voted comedy of the year. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his love of drama and why it changed his life, his short spell in Hollywood playing archetypal villains and his time spent in Paris studying mime. [Taken from the original programme material for this archiv...
Jan 12, 1992•38 min
Gorden Kaye
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is actor Gorden Kaye. Lovers of British situation comedy knew him a long time ago as a familiar supporting figure in It Ain't Half Hot, Mum and Are You Being Served?, but for most people he has only one part: that of the French cafe owner Rene Artois in 'Allo 'Allo. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his childhood years in Yorkshire, his love of comedy and natural talent for it, and the loyalty of his audience through good and bad times. [Taken fro...
Dec 22, 1991•36 min
Sue Townsend
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is writer Sue Townsend. Her most famous creation is Adrian Mole, and, in many respects, his life mirrors her own: like her hero, she comes from a poor but not deprived background and always nursed a secret ambition to be a writer. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her life and work and carefully selecting eight records which remind her of some of the most significant events in her life. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive...
Dec 08, 1991•42 min
Fred Dibnah
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is a man who, for the past 26 years, has earned his living by helping to alter the industrial landscape of northern Britain - steeplejack Fred Dibnah. Renowned for his philosophising as much as for his engineering expertise, he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his life, which has been spent swinging from factory chimneys and wrestling behind the wheels of steam engines. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert I...
Dec 01, 1991•37 min
Dilys Powell
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the film critic Dilys Powell. She began reviewing films for The Sunday Times in 1939, and since then her forthright and pithy comments have served as a natural accompaniment to the pleasures of going to the cinema. Today, at the age of 90, she still reviews three or four films a week and she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her receipt of what she describes as "a very liberal education" from her lifelong devotion to the big screen. [Taken from th...
Nov 24, 1991•42 min
James Lovelock
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is scientist James Lovelock. The son of a South London gasman, he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his passion for science and recalling some of the experiences he had whilst working on the American space programme, which eventually led him to invent the Gaia Theory - a theory which, amongst other things, argues that the human race is not necessary for the planet's survival. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Des...
Nov 17, 1991•42 min
Lord Delfont
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the man who brought the Folies Bergere to Britain and ran the Talk of the Town in its heyday - the theatrical impresario Lord Delfont. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his extraordinary life: he was raised in the East End of London, his family having settled there after escaping the pogroms in the Ukraine, and is now, at 82, the president of his own leisure corporation; worth £450 million. [Taken from the original programme material for this a...
Nov 10, 1991•36 min
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