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

For rights reasons we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1979 and the presenter was Roy Plumley.

On our Desert Island this week is the writer Evan Hunter, who is also another writer, Ed McBain.

Now, Evan, are you a musical sort of man? I mean, does music mean a lot to you?

I used to play with a swing band when I was a kid.

Did you? I played piano very badly.

For money?

For money, of course, for money. One doesn't play piano, not for money.

Yeah, it was more a group of friends who got together and some of them were good musicians.

I was not, but because they liked me they tolerated me in the band.

Have you kept it up?

Not at all.

Not at all.

Do you play at discs while you're working?

Never.

When I get home at night I play.

I work in a studio, some hundred yards from a house and when I get home at night I put on music and relax, have a drink or two.

What was your plan of campaign in choosing just eight records to take to your island?

Is this nostalgic?

Some of them in the nostalgic, some of them are to me literary choices.

What do we start with?

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