As the 70th anniversary of Desert Island Discs approaches, Kate Chisholm charts its enduring success
Ed Miliband should be worried. He’s not as yet been invited to choose eight ‘favourite’ pieces of music for that staple of the Radio 4 diet, Desert Island Discs (or DID to those in the know). Nick Clegg, David Cameron and even Alex Salmond have all been cast away, but not Miliband. Perhaps he’s not being taken seriously enough as the leader of the Labour party? Perhaps he’s not yet ready to reveal his Top Eight records?
It’s 70 years since the soaring strings and screeching seagulls of ‘By the sleepy lagoon’ were first heard on British radio, setting the scene for an hour of whimsical chat with an invited guest who’d been instructed to imagine what it would be like to be marooned with only eight pieces of music for company. Since then 805 women and 2,084 men (what an imbalance) have been landed on that no-longer-so-deserted isle. Roy Plomley, who was the presenter until his death in 1985, himself appeared twice. Very quickly, the programme became threaded into the warp of British life. If you’ve not been cast away, then surely you’re not quite pukka.
Both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown hastened to be on the show before the 1997 election. In those far-off days Brown (in March 1996) came before Blair (a few months later in November). Don’t choose any music that’s too far out; do remember to talk about the children must have been the mantras instilled in Blair by his advisers.
‘Do you cook?’ asked Sue Lawley, who presided over the island from 1988 to 2006. ‘Occasionally,’ said Blair, pausing just long enough before adding, ‘for the kids.’ But he then went one better. He reeled off his children’s ages — ‘12, 10, 8’ — and, best of all, got them right.
Politicians have not often been invited on to the BBC’s longest-running radio programme (outdone only by America’s Grand Ole Opry, which has been on air since 1925). Their rarity has probably been crucial to its success. Since the very first edition, broadcast on the Forces Broadcasting Service on Thursday, 29 January 1942, the guests have been obliged to have ‘some standing’ in the community, and to have led ‘a rich and interesting life’ — but not rich in the sense of wealth and not of interest because of their celebrity. It’s surprising, then, to discover that Plomley’s first guest, Vic Oliver, was the son-in-law of Winston Churchill, as well as a popular entertainer. More intriguingly, he was born and brought up in Austria and claimed to have fought alongside Hitler in the first world war.
Surprising, too, to realise that Plomley dreamt up the idea for the programme in the midst of war, with evidence of the Blitz all around Broadcasting House and the homes of many of his listeners. But what better antidote to the horrors of that time than to imagine yourself exiled to a tropical paradise, white sand, blue sea, hot sun, with nothing to do but lounge around under a coconut tree listening to your favourite music (the book and luxury were added later).
DID’s longevity gives proof to the doctrine that less is more; and that a rigid format (guests were not allowed to deviate from the established eight records, one book, one luxury — not even Princess Margaret) need not be stifling. No research was necessary, thought Plomley. He simply oiled the wheels of conversation by taking the guest out to lunch, to the Garrick if the guest was male, the Lansdowne if female (the Garrick had a men-only rule). Then he would let them loose on the Gramophone Library to choose their music.
‘You told me I had eight records,’ snarled Lauren Bacall in 1979, glaring at Plomley across the microphone. ‘Now you’re saying I only have one?’ Plomley had neglected to warn her that at the end of the programme she would need to choose just one of her eight records to keep when all else was washed away.
Sue Lawley told Woman’s Hour recently that she put a stop to the practice of going out to lunch. She wanted to keep her distance, and also to preserve the ‘spontaneity’ of the conversation. Hearing the music, she said, was enough. It would trigger memories and the guest would start to talk. But frustrated by Gordon Brown’s reticence, Lawley unleashed her secret stiletto: ‘People want to know whether you’re gay, or whether there’s some flaw…?’
With Germaine Greer, Lawley didn’t have to work very hard for the programme to make headlines. ‘I really envy lesbians,’ Greer declared in 1988. ‘But I’m afraid I can’t get it together.’
Rather more chilling was Lawley’s interview with Diana Mosley in 1989. What did Lady Diana feel about Hitler on first meeting him? ‘Of course at that moment he was the person making the news. And therefore he was extremely interesting to talk to…He was so interesting, fascinating.’
With barely a pause to draw breath, Lawley asked, ‘What about the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis?’
‘Oh, no. I don’t think it was that many,’ replied Mosley.
Who hasn’t drawn, and redrawn, their Top Eight, just in case they get the call? Now, with the newly released archive on the web, you can discover who chose what and when. Much of the music is disappointingly tame. I don’t think I’ve ever rushed out to buy a piece of music after hearing it on DID — except for something chosen by Christabel Bielenberg. She asked for ‘How can I keep from singing’ by Enya, the lightness and magic of which sounded so extraordinary after the amazing story she had just told — of her visit to the Gestapo to plead for the release of her German husband who had been imprisoned for plotting against Hitler.
Beware, though, of delving into the web archive. Hours will pass while you try to decide who chose the most idiotic luxury. Vera Lynn, endearingly, requested curling tongs. Sue Lawley, an iron and ironing board. Stephen Fry and Peter Nichols both plumped for a poison pill. Perhaps, though, the most bizarre was garlic, the first-ever luxury, chosen by the actress Sally Ann Howes. It was September 1951, rationing still enforced, British cooking at an all-time low. The archive is like a piece of social history. You’ll also discover plenty of names long since lost to view. Who, for instance, was Joan ‘Glamour Girl’ Jay, interviewed by Plomley in 1942? And what books did Nova Pilbeam write?
Will the programme still be going in 2042? It seems unlikely. But, then, who would have thought such a genteel programme, originally favoured because of its ‘impeccable good taste’, and reluctance to probe, could have survived the advent of punk, Big Brother and Hello!? As the latest major-domo Kirsty Young says, it’s the best job in radio. ‘I don’t have to interview a soap star about a fitness video. I’m talking to people who have had these extraordinary experiences.’ On Sunday, 29 January, the birthday guest will be Sir David Attenborough — his fourth time on the show. Ed’s still waiting.
Listeners will at last get the chance to air their dream choices at midday on the 29th when BBC local radio stations will join together for Your Desert Island Discs.
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