Desert Island Discs
One of the best things on British radio
I’ve enjoyed listening to BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs for as long as I can recall.
Perhaps the most memorable episode I ever listened to was with Diana, Lady Mosley, one of the Mitford Sisters, for her gravely, voice and trenchant views, some of which are rather shocking to our modern ears.
I’ve always thought my dear old father, Reverend Professor Ian Campbell Bradley, would make an excellent guest, given his lifelong love of Gilbert and Sullivan, who were referenced by Hamilton-creator Lin Manuel Miranda in his outing on the show, and books on Carols, Hymns and Musicals.
For those of you unfamiliar with the format, each guest is asked to select 8 recordings, a book & a luxury item they would take if they were to be cast away on a desert island.
In the highly unlikely event that I’d ever be asked on the show, here is what I’d pick…
1. ‘Mozart’s Oboe Concerto’, the music my parents played as I was born.
A beautiful piece, one I still listen to when I'm in need of a little revival.
2. ‘Marie's Wedding - Van Morrison with The Jim Condie Band 1988’, at Fife Aid, just outside St Andrews, the year I was born.
I love the mix of Scottish tradition and American spirit — it’s a real toe-tapper!
3. Cornershop - Brimful of Asha, the first music cassette I ever bought aged 9 in 1997. I think the first CD I bought was 'Aquarium' by Danish band Aqua the same year.
4. ‘Sam O’Nella and his Irish Stew’, Pinafore Pirates (Malcolm Sircom), the first solo I remember performing on stage at St Katharine’s School in St Andrews, aged 11 or 12, a nod to my Irish heritage. I forgot my lines half way through, but still carried on!
5. ‘Suddenly I See’, KT Tunstall, an inspiring and upbeat song by one of St Andrews’ most successful recent citizens, from her album Eye to the Telescope, named, I believe after the University observatory I have happy memories of visiting as a child.
6. ‘Concrete and Clay’ Unit 4 + 2, the first love song I truly understood, aged 17.
I first came across it in the Wes Anderson film Rushmore, yet this British Pathé music video filmed on the construction site of the Barbican in London in 1965 is also great.
7. ‘Nigel Kennedy: The Lark Ascending (Vaughan Williams)’, I was lucky to be in the Royal Albert Hall when Kennedy played this iconic piece during The Last Night of the Proms in 2013. I was there with my German flatmate at the time, who was amused by all the various flags being waved, like a football game-cum-classical music concert.
I grew up with this piece, as my Great Aunt Pearlie would play it to us as children, when we visited her in Bridport, Dorset. Pearlie spent much of her life in a wheelchair with a prosthetic leg, which can’t have been terribly pleasant, so I like to think that the soaring, uplifting nature of the music lifted her spirts. It did mine.
8. ‘Only Remembered for What We Have Done’, a rather sobering message for those of us still lucky enough to be alive and a beautiful tribute to those who came before.
I was very moved when I first heard this song in War Horse on stage in London.
In addition to The Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare, I think I would probably choose The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde, as I have always enjoyed his poetry, plays and also his children’s stories.
As for a luxury item, I reckon I’d go for Phlump Gourmet Marshmallows or Braes O' Gowrie Sparkling Elderflower, both available from the beautiful Balgove Larder.