Tom Sharpe
Desert Island Discs
BBC
4.3 • 14.3K Ratings
🗓️ 3 November 1984
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tom Sharpe spent much of his early career in South Africa doing social work, teaching and finally running a photographic studio, until he was deported. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks about his experiences in South Africa and how, after lecturing in History at Cambridge, he finally became a full-time novelist, and he chooses the eight records he would take to the mythical island.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Piano Concerto No 20 in D MInor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: The Oxford Book of English Verse Luxury: Ton of snuff
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello I'm Kirstie Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive. |
| 0:05.0 | For Wright's reasons, we've had to shorten the music. |
| 0:08.0 | The program was originally broadcast in 1984 and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. This week our castaway is the writer of comic novels Tom Sharp. |
| 0:34.0 | Tom, could you endure lendliness for some considerable time? |
| 0:37.0 | I probably could, yes. I'm not sure. |
| 0:40.0 | One's never sure until one's tried it. |
| 0:42.0 | How much does music mean in your life? |
| 0:45.0 | Well, I tend to listen to it when I'm drinking of an evening. |
| 0:49.0 | Have you any musical skilled yourself? |
| 0:51.0 | None. None at all. I sort of whistle very badly. Do you play discs? I play discs, yes. When you're |
| 0:57.8 | working? Never. Right, well you've got just eight to choose to last for a long, long time on this desert |
| 1:04.9 | energy. Do you find that difficult? Not at all there, I find it very easy. That's not the |
| 1:12.0 | answer I usually get. |
| 1:13.4 | What's the first one you've chosen? |
| 1:15.4 | The first one is Leadbelly, the Rock Island Line. |
| 1:19.0 | Why do you choose it? |
| 1:21.0 | Well, I was in New Orleans. |
| 1:23.0 | When? |
| 1:24.0 | Earlier this year. |
| 1:26.0 | And I just, I like Southern Jazz. I like New Orleans Jazz very much. The Rock on a line, on a line, it's a road to ride. |
| 1:35.0 | Or the rock on a line, it's a mighty good road, |
| 1:38.0 | if you want to ride, you got a ride, |
... |
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