Hello, I'm Krestey 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 1994, and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My castaway this week is a broadcaster and man of the arts. His father was a sailor, his mother a singer, and he

their only child enjoyed a happy and highly creative upbringing. He went to Cambridge where he

got a first, joined the BBC as a general trainee, and went on to make many successful

arts programs.

At the age of 44, he was made director of the Edinburgh Festival.

Six years later, he was back at the BBC first as controller of music then as controller of

radio three for the past two years he's directed the promenade concerts whose

hundredth anniversary falls this year passionate the arts, he remains protective of them. Music he says

shouldn't simply be heard but listen to. He is John Drummond. So the whole concept of background music is an athema to you is it John?

No I understand it. I mean all of us love music and some people like music as a background

of their lives but it's not the only place for music and I worry very much about an idea that somehow or other

that music can exist as wallpaper.

The French have a wonderful phrase for it.

They call it music d'Amblement, furnishing music.

And it's as if somehow your dinner table needs, you know,

wallpaper of Marla or something.

And I do know.

That's fine in its place.

I don't mind that, but what I want is that when people take music seriously they take it seriously

so you're saying that it's all right if we sit at home and put on a you know

...