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

This edition may be slightly different from what was actually broadcast, but it is the only version we have.

It comes from the British Library's radio collection.

The recording didn't contain the guest's eight music choices, so we've rebuilt the

original show by using discs from the BBC Gramophone library.

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

Full details can be found on the Castaways page

on the Desert Island Discs website.

The program was originally broadcast in 1977 and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. on our Desert Island this week is a very distinguished actor Sir Alec Guinness.

Sir Alec with what degree of dread would you view a long sardjourn alone on a desert island?

Well I suppose I'd fear for my mental stability

on the other hand that times when I've thought I would like to be alone

for a long time so I don't quite know.

How important to you is music?

I'm not musical at all.

Have you studied it?

Do you play an instrument?

No, I don't play an instrument.

I was put to the piano at about the age of eight, I think, or nine at my prep school, and after about

a year they begged.

I'm going to be taken away from it. I've never attempted anything else, but I enjoy listening

to music very much.

...