Hello I'm Kirstie 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 1987 and the presenter was Michael Parkinson. Our castaway is a specialist in the difficult business of creating laughter.

In a career spanning more than 30 years, he's worked with Les Dawson,

Ronnie Corbett, Malcolm and Wise, Bruce Forsyth, Tommy Cooper, Kenny Everett, Dave Allen, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Billy Connolly, and many, many more.

Indeed, it's almost easy to list the comedians he's not written for.

After some of his job, he once quite simply I am a hack he is

Barry Crier now a hack of course has got a rather derogatory sense to it

Barry I think you didn't mean it that way or you describe this me itable word. No, I belong to somebody to find it rather nicely. I belong to the world and we don't want it good. We want it Monday. I'm like a journalist. Hackers of regional Grub Street sort of Fleet Street word, isn't it?

It's hacking away.

It's working to the last phone call.

Sammy Khan said, which comes first the words of the music, the last phone call.

You know, you're working to order most of the time, so I'm very proud of the word hack.

I like it.

It's good.

I'm a tradesman, a journeyman or whatever.

Well, you've been doing this and practicing this very difficult trade now for. it's good. I'm a tradesman, a journeyman or whatever.

When you've been doing this and practicing this very difficult trade now for a very

success for 30 years now, I wonder when you got to your Desert Island

therefore would you be so conditioned that you would write jokes for the rest of your

life for nobody there or just for yourself.

There might be a day or two withdrawal symptoms.

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