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

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

The program was originally broadcast in 1979, and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. On I Desert Island this week is the English opera singer Josephine Baste.

Now you're from Yorkshire? I'm from Yorkshire yes I was born in Sheffield and educated

though? No I began my education in Sheffield, but the family left when I was eight on my eighth birthday in fact.

And we came down to live in North London and I continued my schooling there in North London.

Was there a lot of music in your home?

There was always music. My father sang in church choirs and we used to have musical evening singing around the piano and

there was never any professional music.

But you were put to the piano, were you?

Yes, it was recommended to me that I learned the piano from the usual age.

Unfortunately, I didn't apply myself as well as I wish I had done now. I can only just play enough well enough to teach

myself the role. I can't play enough well enough to accompany myself.

Did you go to the theatre a lot?

I went to theatre a great deal when I was in the secondary school age

after the age of about 1314 I was always going up to the old Vic as it then

was and sitting in the gallery and I saw everything that was there many many times.

That was more important than music to you at that stage.

At that stage it was, yes.

It was my first love theatre and the English language. I read a great deal as a child and

instead of doing maths I would be learning poetry or something.

Were you an only child?

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