The People's Desert Island Discs

A BBC radio programme was first aired on the 29th January 1942. Desert Island Discs was the brainchild of a freelance broadcaster Roy Plomley. The programme is still being made today. 75 years after its original conception. Each castaway gets to choose 8 tunes that mean something to them. They get the bible or religion/philosophical appropriate book, the complete works of Shakespeare and a luxury item.
The programme has had thousands of guests over its 75 years, drawn from the great and the good. The famous, the successful, celebrities, captains of industry, leaders in science and the arts.
The ordinary people get a glimpse into the inner world of these folk. That however is all they get. They never get to share their 8 songs, choose their luxury item.
The ordinary people however probably have as fascinating lives as the rich and famous. They will have experienced as vast array of life events. Been subjected to all manner of upbringings, witnessed momentous if not nationally/internationally important.
The conscript who witnessed the nuclear testing on Christmas Island in 1957/8. The nurse who cared for the famous Battle of Britain Air Chief Marshall in his final days. The teenager who got to meet his musical heroes at his first ever gig. All small people who had moments that will live with them. They didn't discover a new wonder drug, play for England or win a gold medal at an Olympics.
They all have 8 songs that will mean something very special to them. Eight songs that tell their story.

I would like you to share your songs with me. Leave a comment and tell what they are and why. I shall with your permission, share them in the next post.

However to start the process I shall share mine with you. they will go in chronological order but there will be no long autobiographical content. Each tune will have a brief explanation.

1.

The Who - I Can See For Miles

I am 9 years old. I have grown up with two older siblings, both very into music. My first ever album was Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy by The Who. It was a compilation of their sixties hits released in 1971. The album had all their big hits from their early days just after they transformed from the High Numbers to The Who; stretching to Pinball Wizard from their hit rock opera Tommy in 1969. The one track that stood out for me on first listening was I Can See For Miles. It had a brooding, aggressive feel, almost threatening. The guitar was powerful yet not flashy. It sounded like whoever was playing it had something to prove. It stood head and shoulders on that first ever listen in my bedroom in Tonbridge, Kent way back in 1973. They instantly became my band. The band all others would have to measure up against. I hear this and I am 9 again. I have someone who can be angry for me.


2.

La Calinda composed by Frederick Delius

I attended Woodlands Junior School in Tonbridge. 

Every assembly, we would file into the hall to the sounds of a classical piece of music. I was used to hearing and enjoying classical music from a very young age as my parents were avid music fans. At home the sound of Elgar, Beethoven, Handel were everyday. My mother sang in a choir who would perform at the prestigious Tonbridge School chapel. My grandfather was an organist and conductor. Classical music was and is in my blood. One particular piece stuck in my mind on first hearing. I remembered the title and asked my mum about it. She told me the composer had something in common with my parents, being that he was from Bradford in West Yorkshire. Frederick Delius wrote some enchanting compositions but this one stuck in my 10 maybe 11 year old mind. It still moves me profoundly even though some classical purists may find it a little lightweight. I am so grateful for my school for their appreciation of good music and its value to developing young people.

3.

The Overture to the Mikado composed by Gilbert & Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan composed some of the finest comic operas ever. WS Gilbert was witty and touching with his words but the music of Arthur Sullivan I believe to be highly underrated. His music is complex, rich, romantic. As a youngster I would listen to various recordings of their operas.  I was lucky to perform in The Yeoman of the Guard at Hugh Christie School in Tonbridge at the age of 13. As part of the prep for our performance, we got to see the D'Oyly Carte Company perform Yeoman at the Sadlers Wells theatre in London. However the highlight was getting to a touring company perform The Mikado at the Assembly Halls in Tunbridge Wells. We had a copy of the Mikado at home; my great uncle had played the tenor lead in an amateur company in Bradford and I remember seeing photos of him in costume. This reminds me of my early teens more than any other piece of music. A bit odd you may think for a 13 year old at the height of the Punk revolution.

4.

XTC - Senses Working Overtime

The year is 1984. I am on holiday in North Wales and Yorkshire with my brother, his girlfriend and her friend. We are driving around in an orange Austin 1300 getting very drunk and occasionally stoned. We have very few cassettes to play on our journeys. English Settlement by XTC was one of the few. I had heard XTC on Top of The Pops many times prior to this holiday and was quite taken by them. This album however entranced me. Senses Working Overtime was the main single released from what was a double album released in 1982. The band had quit live performance and its style marked a change in writing from Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding. The edgy new wave punk was metamorphosing into a more thought provoking melodic style. This track reminds me of standing on the roof of the car as we drive across the field in the dark to our tents. The mountains of North Wales, the misty cliffs of Whitby, The uncharted lands of Pembrokeshire. I have every XTC album released and met my ex wife through a mutual love of XTC. After our split up, I found it hard to listen to them because they were a shared love. Then one day I remembered I fell in love with XTC long before I ever met her and have now claimed them back. 

5.

Nick Drake - Time of No Reply 

The 1990's were taken up with my burgeoning family and my work as a Mental Health nurse. there didn't seem much time for anything else. Even music took a relative backseat. One artist however I rediscovered and got back into. I have written extensively about the tortured genius that was Nick Drake. His music gains popularity as the years pass since his death in 1974. I listened to an awful lot of the Nick Drake back catalogue and towards the end of the 90's Radiohead. In fact to hear my music choices at that time, I must have been germinating the seeds of the depression that cost me my career and nearly my life. Strangely enough, I don't find his music depressing whatsoever. It has a magical otherworldly quality to it. Intensely beautiful and often very simple. Time Of No Reply is a track I love and fell in love with instantly. I played it over and over trying to get others to understand why it was so great. Some didn't get it but a colleague Kevin was an equally big Nick Drake fan. We took some patients on holiday to the Lake District for a week. We listened to pretty much nothing else. There was a night staff at the hotel who heard us playing Nick Drake. He went on to tell us that he was a folk singer and had played on the same circuit with him and John Martyn in the late 60's early 70's around London. He said he was a bit of a miserable sod (an understatement given his eventual suicide). It didn't deter my love of Drakes music. 

6.

The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations

The early 2000's were a difficult time for me and my family. I descended into, struggled with and eventually recovered from depression. In the summer of 2004 , we went on holiday to Boscastle in Cornwall. A flood had us trapped in our house for several days without power. We were let out of the village four days after the flood and resumed our trips to the beach. Cornwall became a favourite location for holidays in the next few years and I still have a great affection for it. The Beach Boys were and remain a favourite 'go to the beach' soundtrack. Good Vibrations also takes me back to long summers doing back garden bike stunts whilst listening to the Beach Boys with my childhood friend Neil. His dad had The Beach Boys 20 Golden Greats which was the No 1 choice. I've always had a soft spot for them. To a boy brought up in suburban Kent in the 1970's, the Beach Boys painted a wonderful image of West Coast USA. 

7. 

We Are Augustines - Augustine

Just occasionally a band comes along that blows your mind. We Are Augustines released their debut album 'Rise Ye Sunken Ships' in 2011. I heard them on Steve Lamacq's show on BBC 6 Music. They moved me like few others have done. I had the privilege to see them on the album tour the following year. My personal life wasn't brilliant but my love of music had flourished mainly thanks to 6 Music and going to gigs again. They were a remarkable three piece band live who had power, presence and engaged with the crowd like few others I've ever seen. They fed me when I needed feeding. This track stands out because it has intensity, a mixture of melody and power that very few bands can manage. I have had the good fortune to see them four times before they disbanded in 2016. They never cease to transport me back to that sweaty night in 2011 at the Cockpit in Leeds. 

8.

Superstition - Stevie Wonder

A song for all seasons. A song that lifts me up whatever and whenever the need arises. A song that is impossible to sit still to. Superstition by Stevie Wonder has been in my head from not long after it was released in 1972. It was for many years a guilty secret ( along with Le Freak by Chic). It didn't look cool for a prog rock/ folk rock fan to like soul or disco. I am however proud of my love of this track. He is a consummate songwriter and performer with a groove to envy. 

I will always remember my daughter and I simultaneously dancing to the song in a shop. We clocked each other at opposite ends both dancing and laughed out loud. 

Superstition is for me, the epitome of a timeless classic. 

I don't have a luxury item but if I could take someone, I'd take my partner in crime Katie. She is better than any luxury. Mind you, I would miss coffee. Not sure what philosophical book I'd take but I would insist on replacing the Complete Works of Shakespeare with those of Terry Pratchett. 

Please have a think about your 8 Desert Island Discs and if you feel like it, let me know. 

Out of all of the tracks I have listed and to have to choose one, it would probably be The Beach Boys. I'm assuming the beach would be sandy and with a touch of surf so what better soundtrack!