Until a few years ago, I thought that Desert Island Discs was one of those peculiarly British things like kippers, S&M loving members of the House of Lords, infrequent bathing and Butlins. Inaccessible and/or uninteresting to those of us ensconced in the Antipodes, despite their allure.
But the digital age has made the entire archive of DID available to the world at large. So with the click of a mouse (or the twiddle of that red buttony thing and three or four depressions of the track pad if you are stuck with a Lenovo), the world is your mussel.
This link –> here is your passport to smoking listening pleasure. The only disappointment is that “for rights reasons” you only get truncated versions of the eight musical pieces selected by the guests, many known to us down here, a great many with only appeal to a UK audience.
Nonetheless, with episodes going back to the 1940s, here’s a few names that I’ve found that might interest you lot my fellow Almanackers:
Bruce Springsteen
Morrissey
Keef
Charlie
Marianne
George Michael
Aggers
Blowers
Boycs
Colin Doubtfire
Dick Francis
John Arlott
Scobie Breasley
Bill Gates
Deborah Harry
Kylie
Rolf
Martina Navratilova
Maggie Thatcher
Barry Humphries
Tim Minchin
Dick Emery
Benny Hill
Cleese, Palin, Jones, Idle, Gilliam (but not Chapman)
Guy Garvey
Noel Gallagher
Lulu
Alice Cooper
Tom Jones
Randy Newman
Annie Lennox
Emmylou Harris
John Cale
Sir Paul
Sir George
Elvis Costello
Martin Clunes
Fry
Laurie
Rowan Atkinson
Spike Milligan
Peter Finch
By now you should get the picture. So when rain stops play (again), have a wander over to this part of the online dial. Tell ’em Swish sent you.
About Mark 'Swish' Schwerdt
Saw my first SANFL game in 1967 - Dogs v Peckers. Have only ever seen the Dogs win 1 final in the flesh (1972 1st Semi) Mediocre forward pocket for the AUFC Blacks (1982-89) Life member - Ormond Netball Club -That's me on the right
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Gotta love Kirsty.
You are right P Flynn. The current host/interviewer Kirsty Young is an absolute delight to listen to. She’s sharp and very witty, almost playful at times, while remaining very good at drawing out details from the guests. I don’t think she’d take any shit either.