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Desert Island Discs

Barry Norman

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.413.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 1979

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer and broadcaster Barry Norman.

Favourite track: Symphony No. 5 In C Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: The World of Jeeves by P G Wodehouse Luxury: Typewriter, paper and a desk with cricket balls in the drawers

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

0:06.3

For Wright's reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

0:09.3

The program was originally broadcast in 1979, and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. On a desert island this week is the author, journalist and broadcaster Barry Norman.

0:36.0

Barry, how well could you adjust yourself to loneliness?

0:39.0

Well, not very well to loneliness, but to solitude, I think I could adjust myself fairly well because as a child I was

0:46.1

fairly solitary person I used to spend ages in my room by myself writing the most

0:50.3

appalling short stories I came across some the other day and they really make

0:53.8

me shudder to ride them again. But so solitude and being alone, yeah, I can cope with that.

0:59.5

Tell me about your musical background. Have you any musical talent yourself? Do you play an instrument?

1:04.4

No, I have absolutely no musical talent whatsoever. And in fact, I came extremely late to any kind of appreciation of music.

1:12.0

I think largely because I was taught it

1:14.5

rather badly at school. Do you play discs while you're working while you at your

1:18.7

typewriter? Yes I do. Not so much discs. Usually the radio is on I suppose you shouldn't really use

1:25.6

music as a background sound but nevertheless yes I do like to have it about what's the

1:30.2

first one you've chosen for your island well the first one I've chosen for your island? Well, the first one I've chosen for my island is a really corny choice, I suppose.

1:35.8

It's the Vaughan Williams arrangement of green sleeves, because it would remind me of England,

1:41.6

and I'm a great angl file and when I listen to this it reminds me of

1:47.4

old green fields country pubs playing cricket on the village green if it was really

1:51.7

written by Henry the eighth I'm sure you didn't

1:53.2

have that in mind but that's what it means to me so I could sit and listen to that and think of the

1:57.6

parts of England I really love. The Oh, The The The Born WilliamsWilliams Fantasyseer on Green Sleeves, Sir Adrian Bolt conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.

2:59.0

You were brought up with a film background, weren't you?

...

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