Sue Lawley's guest this week is Profesor Igor Aleksander. He has been researching artificial conciousness for over 30 years. His first machine, Wisard, could recognise faces. His latest, Magnus, can think. He predicts that soon our computors will be so intelligent we won't be able to switch them off at the end of the day without feeling guilty. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Agnus Dei from Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi Bo...
Jul 04, 1999•38 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe. Since the last election she has used her free time to write a novel, but has no plans to become a full time author since politics remains her passion. Some two years after she spiked Michael Howard's bid to become leader of the Conservative Party, she is herself being talked about as a possible Tory Leader. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: How Gre...
Jun 27, 1999•38 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is James Dyson. Today he's one of the richest men in Britain, but he began with an idea, a piece of cardboard and some sticky-backed plastic. Five years and more than 5,000 prototypes later, he was confident that he had invented a new type of vacuum cleaner. But that was to prove only the beginning of a long, drawn-out battle to get it licensed. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Slowdown by W...
Jun 20, 1999•37 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the film composer John Barry. The Pope is said to adore his soundtrack to Dances with Wolves. Although he's probably best known for the theme tunes he wrote for the Bond movies; including Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever. In all, he's won five Oscars - not bad for a Yorkshire lad who happened to hit London just as it began to swing. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Symphony No.9 - Adag...
Jun 13, 1999•38 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is Chris Bonington. In a climbing career spanning 48 years he has stood astride British mountaineering 'like a hairy colossus', climbing and leading expeditions as well as photographing and writing about them. Along the way he has seen many friends perish on the mountains and more than once narrowly escaped death himself. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Once I Had A Sweetheart by Joan Baez ...
Jun 06, 1999•37 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 T...
May 30, 1999•39 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the artistic director of the Rambert Dance Company Christopher Bruce. As a child he was sent to dance lessons to strengthen his legs after polio had left them severely weakened. Ten years later he was the star of Ballet Rambert. Not content with being dubbed 'the Nureyev of contemporary dance' he went on to become one of the great choreographers, working all over the world before returning to the company as Director in 1994. [Taken from the original programme mate...
May 23, 1999•37 min
This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is Michael Green. As Chairman of Carlton Communications he is one of the most powerful men in British television and the driving force behind digital TV. In conversation with Sue Lawley, he talks about his life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Jersualem by Vangelis Book: The Complete Works by Sigmund Freud Lu...
May 16, 1999•37 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is Richard Dreyfuss. He was already the youngest actor ever to win an Oscar when he starred in the phenomenally successful Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Too many drugs and too much drink threatened his career until in 1982 he had a terrible car smash which brought him to his senses. Today, with a dozen more hit films under his belt he's fulfilling a lifelong ambition to appear on the London stage. [Taken from the original programme material for this ar...
May 09, 1999•37 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is Helen Bamber. In 1945, at the age of 20, she travelled to Belsen with the Jewish Relief agency. There she learnt how important it is to listen to those who have suffered. It was a lesson she continued to practice in her work with Amnesty International, and later with the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture which she set up in 1985. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Song of the Bi...
May 02, 1999•38 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the jazz musician Stan Tracey. He's been at the heart of the British Jazz scene since the 1960s when he was resident pianist at Ronnie Scotts. It was at that time he wrote what has been called the greatest of all British jazz albums - his Under Milk Wood suite. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Mood Indigo by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra Book: Crazy Like A Fox by S J Perelman Luxury: F...
Apr 25, 1999•35 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the film director Ken Loach. Probably best known for his film Kes, his recent film, My Name Is Joe has just won the award for best actor at Cannes. He learnt his craft in television in the 1960s, quickly attracting attention with Up the Junction and Cathy Come Home, which prompted the setting up of the homeless charity Shelter. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Opening of the 4th Movement ...
Apr 18, 1999•38 min
This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the flamenco guitarist Paco Peña. Celebrated thoughout the world for his authentic performances, he was born into a poor family in Southern Spain where music, singing and dancing was part of everyday life. Today, he is regarded as one of the world's foremost traditional Flamenco players. In conversation with Sue Lawley, he talks about his life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme mat...
Apr 11, 1999•37 min
"Sue Lawley's guest this week is the jockey Richard Dunwoody. He's been champion jockey three times and has won the Grand National twice. Now he's hot on the heels of Peter Scudamore's record for the most wins ever. He chooses eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Clare Island by The Saw Doctors Book: The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien Luxury: An endless supply of ice-cream...
Apr 04, 1999•34 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the actress Luise Rainer who recently appeared in the film The Gambler. In 1936 she won the first of two Oscars for her telephone scene in the film The Great Zeigfeld. Despite her success, she felt uncomfortable in Hollywood and made her friends among the European expatriate community, including Schoenburg, Einstein and Thomas Mann. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: The Creation by Franz J...
Mar 28, 1999•37 min
Sue Lawley's castaway is Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam. Favourite track: Chicago by Frank Sinatra Book: The collected works by Seamus Heaney Luxury: A globe
Mar 21, 1999•36 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the award-winning restaurant critic Fay Maschler. Twenty-seven years after she won a competition to write a column for the Evening Standard, she is still eating out three times a week, comparing caramel crackling and moue of mousse, on our behalf. She chooses eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Goldberg Variations Nos. 1 and 2 by Johann Sebastian...
Mar 14, 1999•34 min
Sue Lawley's castaway is scriptwriter & Comic Relief founder Richard Curtis. Favourite track: And I Love Her by The Beatles Book: Guinness Book of Pop Luxury: Pizza Express in Notting Hill
Feb 28, 1999•35 min
This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the opera singer Maria Ewing. Renowned for her acting ability as much as her voice - she portrayed Carmen as witty, clever and very very dangerous. Her Sheherazade was sexy. While as Salome she brought the audience to the edge of their seats as the last of the seven veils revealed her naked beneath. In conversation with Sue Lawley, she talks about her life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original ...
Feb 21, 1999•36 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the Romanian poet Nina Cassian. She was forbidden to return home, after a visit to New York, because of her outspoken critisism the Ceaucescu regime. The loneliness of the unwilling exile is often reflected in her work, but so is love, passion and her wicked sense of humour. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Ach Golgatha by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne Luxury: ...
Feb 14, 1999•39 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the pianist Andras Schiff. Born in Hungary, Bartok was the first composer he fell in love with and his music is still a regular part of his repertoire; despite making his fingers bleed. He compares learning a new composition to maturing wine - you can taste it almost immediately but it takes many years to become a vintage performance. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: String Quintet in C -...
Feb 07, 1999•39 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the American travel writer Bill Bryson. His inspiration was his father; a great traveller who never quite made it to his intended destination. His best-selling books, Notes from a Small Island and The Lost Continent, chronicle his experiences of facing up to fearsome British landladies and American motels which make the Bates hotel in Psycho look inviting. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track:...
Jan 31, 1999•37 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Born in Germany, she came to England as a refugee and moved to India as a young bride where she wrote her first film screenplay in 1961 - in eight days. Since then, she has written over 30 screenplays, all bar one in collaboration with the Merchant-Ivory partnership, including Heat and Dust, A Room with a View and The Remains of the Day. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Fa...
Jan 24, 1999•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] F...
Jan 17, 1999•36 min
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the war correspondent Clare Hollingworth. In a career spanning 60 years, her scoops have included identifying Kim Philby as 'the third man' and being the first to spot the massing of German tanks on the Polish border in 1939. She chooses eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Symphony No.8, the 'Unfinished Symphony' by Franz Schubert Book: History o...
Jan 10, 1999•36 min
This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. One of the most successful musicians of our time, it's nearly 40 years since he famously encouraged us to Take Five, and so changed the sound of jazz forever. In conversation with Sue Lawley, he talks about his life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: The Ode To Joy (Symphony No...
Jan 03, 1999•37 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is Sir David Attenborough. He brought the blue-footed booby into our sitting rooms, and revealed the secret lives of plants. But we remember him best caught in the embrace of a female gorilla. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Adagio from String Quintet in C Major by Franz Schubert Book: Shifts and Expedients of Camp Life by W B Lord Luxury: Guitar
Dec 25, 1998•38 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the comedian and television host Bob Monkhouse. He began his career as a schoolboy writing jokes for established comedians. Later he became a gag writer for radio. But it was television which made his name. From the Golden Shot to Bob's Full House, he reckons he's hosted more than 27 different shows. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Adagio for Strings, Opus 11 by Samuel Barber Book:...
Dec 20, 1998•38 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the novelist Dick Francis. In what he calls "the best years of my life" as a professional jockey, he broke his nose, his collarbone, his wrist and his skull but also won 345 of the 2,305 races he ran. Now a best-selling author of 37 novels, he chooses eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Chatanooga Choo Choo by Glenn Miller Orchestra Book: M...
Dec 13, 1998•36 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this morning is the military historian John Keegan. As a boy, he would listen to his father's tales of war on the Western Front. Disabled because of a childhood illness, he was unable to become a soldier himself, and so chose to document their history instead. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: An die Musik by Franz Schubert Book: The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan Luxury: French-speaking man robot...
Dec 06, 1998•38 min
