Desert Island Discs Revisited [Comic Castaways 4]

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Bill Bailey

20240310

20240311 (BBC7)

From The Undertones to Mozart, multi-talented Bill Bailey makes his choices.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the comedian, actor musician and now dancer, Bill Bailey.

Lauded for his hugely inventive stand up, he has carved out a highly successful career with an altogether atypical approach. He's a familiar face on television from his regular appearances on quiz shows Have I Got News for You, QI and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

At school he was a gifted pupil who gave up on his education and a pitch-perfect piano student who flunked his music school entrance. He started drifting as a teenager and gave up on university within days of arrival - he says he was looking for the next challenge, and that turned out to be stand-up comedy. He loved having to think on his feet and found the laughter of strangers intoxicating.

DISC ONE: King Curtis - Memphis Soul Stew

DISC TWO: The Undertones - Teenage Kicks

DISC THREE: Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime

DISC FOUR: English Chamber Orchestra, soloist Murray Perahia - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major (“Coronation ?)

DISC FIVE: David Bowie - Rebel Rebel

DISC SIX: Pretenders - Talk of the Town

DISC SEVEN: Enong Jubaedah and Mang Maman - Traditional Javanese Gamelan

DISC EIGHT: New Philharmonia Orchestra with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, conducted by Sir David Willcocks - Gabriel Fauré's In Paradisum (from Requiem), Op 48

BOOK CHOICE: The collected works - W. Somerset Maugham

LUXURY CHOICE: A pack of cards

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime

Producer: Jane Thurlow

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.

Multi-talented Bill Bailey is castaway by Kirsty Young.

From The Undertones to Mozart. Musical comedian Bill Bailey shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From 2008.

Johnny Vegas

20240317

20240318 (BBC7)

From Don McLean to Johnny Cash. Comedian Johnny Vegas talks to Kirsty Young about his music castaway choices.

As a stand-up comic he made his name as one of the most brilliant and unpredictable acts on the circuit. His stage persona was a belligerent drunk who would heckle his own audience. But the more successful he became, the more the similarities between his own life and his stage character seemed to blur. 'I found popularity through self-destruction' he says, 'and that can be quite addictive'.

In recent years, he has cut down on his drinking, lost weight and now got engaged - all part of a plan to ensure he reached his 40th birthday and could be a proper father to his young son. 'Life's actually turned around and been very good to me,' he says.

DISC ONE: Johnny Cash - Hurt

DISC TWO: Deacon Blue - Dignity

DISC THREE: The Who - Love Reign O'er Me

DISC FOUR: Pulp - Common People

DISC FIVE: Colin Hay - Waiting for My Real Life to Begin

DISC SIX: The Beautiful South - Domino Man

DISC SEVEN: The La's - There She Goes

DISC EIGHT: Don McLean - Vincent

BOOK CHOICE: The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - Robert Tressell

LUXURY CHOICE: Kiln

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Johnny Cash - Hurt

Producer: Leanne Buckle

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.

Comedian Johnny Vegas is castaway by Kirsty Young.

From Don McLean to Johnny Cash. Comedian Johnny Vegas shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From October 2010.

Ricky Gervais

20240331

20240401 (BBC7)

Kirsty Young's castaway is Ricky Gervais. In just twelve episodes, his show The Office changed the face of British television comedy. At its centre was the comic monster, David Brent, a middle-manager being filmed for a mock-documentary who saw the ever-present cameras as his route to popularity and fame. Ricky Gervais's performance was both excruciating and unmissable - one critic called the programme 'among the most affecting and invigorating works of fiction since the turn of the century'.

As he discusses with Kirsty Young, comedy was the language he grew up with - the youngest of four children, being able to come up with a gag or a smart rejoinder was the linguistic currency of his home. That, he says, is where the 'show-off performer' was born. Now with seven Baftas, two Golden Globes and an Emmy to his name, Ricky Gervais is gratified that his work is recognised and says his aim has always been to bring art into comedy.

Favourite track: Lilywhite by Cat Stevens

Book: A coffee table book of art

Luxury: Vat of novocaine - a non-addictive pain-killer.

DISC ONE: Bob Dylan - If You See Her, Say Hello

DISC TWO: Yusuf Islam - Lilywhite

DISC THREE: Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK

DISC FOUR: Neil Young - After The Gold Rush

DISC FIVE: Radiohead - Bones

DISC SIX: David Bowie - Letter To Hermione

DISC SEVEN: Jimmy Webb - Galveston

DISC EIGHT: Willie Nelson - Always on My Mind

Produced by Leanne Buckle

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.

The comedian Ricky Gervais is castaway by Kirsty Young. From 2007.

From Bob Dylan to Willie Nelson, comedian Ricky Gervais shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From 2007.

Tracey Ullman

20240324

Tracey Ullman was the first woman to be offered her own television sketch show – both in Britain and America – and has starred in film and television dramas alongside Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Hugh Grant. The Emmy-winning Tracey Ullman Show ran for four seasons in the US and provided the launch pad for the Simpsons.

Tracey was born in Slough and as a child she would impersonate people and put on shows for the amusement of her mother after the death of her father. At 12 she won a scholarship to the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London and worked in repertory theatre and the West End in London before her television career took off. She was one of the stars of the BBC's primetime sketch show Three of a Kind alongside David Copperfield and a young Lenny Henry.

In 1985 she moved to Los Angeles with her husband, the producer Allan McKeown, where her uncanny impressions of Americans from all walks of life won her acclaim and awards in equal measure.

After the death of her husband Tracey returned to the UK in 2016 and was soon back on our screens in a new sketch series, Tracey Ullman's Show, which showcased her enduring talent for sending up the powerful and the famous, including Dame Judi Dench, Angela Merkel and Theresa May.

DISC ONE: American Girl by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

DISC TWO: You Won't See Me by The Beatles

DISC THREE: Nichols and May At Work by Mike Nichols And Elaine May

DISC FOUR: That's The Way Of The World by Earth, Wind & Fire

DISC FIVE: Everyday I Write the Book by Elvis Costello And The Attractions

DISC SIX: They Don't Know by Kirsty MacColl

DISC SEVEN: You and I by Stevie Wonder

DISC EIGHT: This Is the Sea by The Waterboys

BOOK CHOICE: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend

LUXURY ITEM: Nuts

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: You and I by Stevie Wonder

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2021.

Actor and comedian Tracey Ullman, is castaway by Lauren Laverne.

From The Beatles to Stevie Wonder. Actor and comedian Tracey Ullman shares her castaway choices with Lauren Laverne. From 2021.

Episodes

Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
Bill Bailey	20240310	20240311 (BBC7)	From The Undertones to Mozart, multi-talented Bill Bailey makes his choices. Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the comedian, actor musician and now dancer, Bill Bailey. Lauded for his hugely inventive stand up, he has carved out a highly successful career with an altogether atypical approach. He's a familiar face on television from his regular appearances on quiz shows Have I Got News for You, QI and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. At school he was a gifted pupil who gave up on his education and a pitch-perfect piano student who flunked his music school entrance. He started drifting as a teenager and gave up on university within days of arrival - he says he was looking for the next challenge, and that turned out to be stand-up comedy. He loved having to think on his feet and found the laughter of strangers intoxicating. DISC ONE: King Curtis - Memphis Soul Stew DISC TWO: The Undertones - Teenage Kicks DISC THREE: Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime DISC FOUR: English Chamber Orchestra, soloist Murray Perahia - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major (“Coronation ?) DISC FIVE: David Bowie - Rebel Rebel DISC SIX: Pretenders - Talk of the Town DISC SEVEN: Enong Jubaedah and Mang Maman - Traditional Javanese Gamelan DISC EIGHT: New Philharmonia Orchestra with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, conducted by Sir David Willcocks - Gabriel Fauré's In Paradisum (from Requiem), Op 48 BOOK CHOICE: The collected works - W. Somerset Maugham LUXURY CHOICE: A pack of cards CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime Producer: Jane Thurlow First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008. Multi-talented Bill Bailey is castaway by Kirsty Young. From The Undertones to Mozart. Musical comedian Bill Bailey shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From 2008.
Johnny Vegas	20240317	20240318 (BBC7)	From Don McLean to Johnny Cash. Comedian Johnny Vegas talks to Kirsty Young about his music castaway choices. As a stand-up comic he made his name as one of the most brilliant and unpredictable acts on the circuit. His stage persona was a belligerent drunk who would heckle his own audience. But the more successful he became, the more the similarities between his own life and his stage character seemed to blur. 'I found popularity through self-destruction' he says, 'and that can be quite addictive'. In recent years, he has cut down on his drinking, lost weight and now got engaged - all part of a plan to ensure he reached his 40th birthday and could be a proper father to his young son. 'Life's actually turned around and been very good to me,' he says. DISC ONE: Johnny Cash - Hurt DISC TWO: Deacon Blue - Dignity DISC THREE: The Who - Love Reign O'er Me DISC FOUR: Pulp - Common People DISC FIVE: Colin Hay - Waiting for My Real Life to Begin DISC SIX: The Beautiful South - Domino Man DISC SEVEN: The La's - There She Goes DISC EIGHT: Don McLean - Vincent BOOK CHOICE: The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - Robert Tressell LUXURY CHOICE: Kiln CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Johnny Cash - Hurt Producer: Leanne Buckle First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010. Comedian Johnny Vegas is castaway by Kirsty Young. From Don McLean to Johnny Cash. Comedian Johnny Vegas shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From October 2010.
Ricky Gervais	20240331	20240401 (BBC7)	Kirsty Young's castaway is Ricky Gervais. In just twelve episodes, his show The Office changed the face of British television comedy. At its centre was the comic monster, David Brent, a middle-manager being filmed for a mock-documentary who saw the ever-present cameras as his route to popularity and fame. Ricky Gervais's performance was both excruciating and unmissable - one critic called the programme 'among the most affecting and invigorating works of fiction since the turn of the century'. As he discusses with Kirsty Young, comedy was the language he grew up with - the youngest of four children, being able to come up with a gag or a smart rejoinder was the linguistic currency of his home. That, he says, is where the 'show-off performer' was born. Now with seven Baftas, two Golden Globes and an Emmy to his name, Ricky Gervais is gratified that his work is recognised and says his aim has always been to bring art into comedy. Favourite track: Lilywhite by Cat Stevens Book: A coffee table book of art Luxury: Vat of novocaine - a non-addictive pain-killer. DISC ONE: Bob Dylan - If You See Her, Say Hello DISC TWO: Yusuf Islam - Lilywhite DISC THREE: Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK DISC FOUR: Neil Young - After The Gold Rush DISC FIVE: Radiohead - Bones DISC SIX: David Bowie - Letter To Hermione DISC SEVEN: Jimmy Webb - Galveston DISC EIGHT: Willie Nelson - Always on My Mind Produced by Leanne Buckle First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007. The comedian Ricky Gervais is castaway by Kirsty Young. From 2007. From Bob Dylan to Willie Nelson, comedian Ricky Gervais shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From 2007.
Tracey Ullman	20240324		Tracey Ullman was the first woman to be offered her own television sketch show – both in Britain and America – and has starred in film and television dramas alongside Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Hugh Grant. The Emmy-winning Tracey Ullman Show ran for four seasons in the US and provided the launch pad for the Simpsons. Tracey was born in Slough and as a child she would impersonate people and put on shows for the amusement of her mother after the death of her father. At 12 she won a scholarship to the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London and worked in repertory theatre and the West End in London before her television career took off. She was one of the stars of the BBC's primetime sketch show Three of a Kind alongside David Copperfield and a young Lenny Henry. In 1985 she moved to Los Angeles with her husband, the producer Allan McKeown, where her uncanny impressions of Americans from all walks of life won her acclaim and awards in equal measure. After the death of her husband Tracey returned to the UK in 2016 and was soon back on our screens in a new sketch series, Tracey Ullman's Show, which showcased her enduring talent for sending up the powerful and the famous, including Dame Judi Dench, Angela Merkel and Theresa May. DISC ONE: American Girl by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers DISC TWO: You Won't See Me by The Beatles DISC THREE: Nichols and May At Work by Mike Nichols And Elaine May DISC FOUR: That's The Way Of The World by Earth, Wind & Fire DISC FIVE: Everyday I Write the Book by Elvis Costello And The Attractions DISC SIX: They Don't Know by Kirsty MacColl DISC SEVEN: You and I by Stevie Wonder DISC EIGHT: This Is the Sea by The Waterboys BOOK CHOICE: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend LUXURY ITEM: Nuts CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: You and I by Stevie Wonder Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2021. Actor and comedian Tracey Ullman, is castaway by Lauren Laverne. From The Beatles to Stevie Wonder. Actor and comedian Tracey Ullman shares her castaway choices with Lauren Laverne. From 2021.