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BBC Radio 4


Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.


Desert Island Discs

Chaka Khan’s unmistakeable voice and musical versatility have made her one of the most influential musicians of the past six decades, with an estimated 70 million records sold. Whether fronting the band Rufus or performing as a solo artist, she's moved effortlessly between funk, soul, jazz, and pop, creating era-defining hits including I'm Every Woman, Ain't Nobody and I Feel For You. 

She grew up in Chicago, in an artistic family where she was surrounded by music. As a teenager, she became involved with the Affro-Arts Theater, where she was given the Yoruba name Chaka, and a political awakening led her to join the Black Panther Party. 

By her late teens, she had joined Rufus, whose breakthrough hit Tell Me Something Good launched the band to international success and marked the beginning of her recording career. She has since won 11 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2026, been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and collaborated with some of music’s modern greats, including Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell and Prince. 

Chaka lives on a farm in Georgia, surrounded by family.

DISC ONE: What Is and What Should Never Be - Led Zeppelin 
DISC TWO: Good Times - Aretha Franklin 
DISC THREE: Tomaas - Miles Davis 
DISC FOUR: California - Joni Mitchell 
DISC FIVE: Tell Me Something Good - Rufus, Chaka Khan 
DISC SIX: A Woman in a Man's World - Chaka Khan 
DISC SEVEN: Cool Water - Joni Mitchell (duet with Willie Nelson)
DISC EIGHT: Precious Is Your Name - Richard Smallwood featuring Chaka Khan 
 
BOOK CHOICE: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
LUXURY ITEM: A gigantic sandalwood and oud candle 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Precious Is Your Name - Richard Smallwood featuring Chaka Khan 

Presenter: Lauren Laverne 
Producer: Hannah Hufford & Tim Bano

Desert Island Discs has cast away other music legends to the island over the years including Nile Rogers and Cher. Chaka Khan’s records have been chosen by previous castaways including Simon Pegg and David Harewood. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Chaka Khan, singer and songwriter

Professor Dame Pamela Shaw is a pioneering Neurologists and a leading figure in tackling motor neurone disease or MND. She is the founder and Director of SITran – the World leading Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, which is slowly but surely unlocking the secrets of MND and other devastating neurological conditions. 

Pam was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, in 1955, and at three moved to Kuwait when her father took up the position of harbour master. She lived there until she was eleven, but with no suitable secondary school available locally, she was sent back to Northumberland to board at Our Lady's Convent High School in Alnwick. 

She studied medicine at Newcastle University and began her clinical training in the North-east. Following her appointment as a consultant neurologist she developed an interest in Motor Neurone Disease. 

A chance meeting with a recently dignosed MND patient led to Pam founding the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience in 2010. She was made a Dame in 2014. 

Pam lives in Sheffield with her husband Paul. They have a grown-up daughter, Sophie. 

 DISC ONE: Messiah HWV 56, "Hallelujah Chorus". Composed by George Frideric Händel and performed by The London Philharmonic Orchestra, The London Philharmonic Chorus, conducted by Douglas Gamley
DISC TWO: Somethin’ Stupid - Frank Sinatra / Nancy Sinatra 
DISC THREE: Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell 
DISC FOUR: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622: II. Adagio. Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and performed by Thea King (clarinet), English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Alun Francis 
DISC FIVE: Sweet and Dandy - Toots and the Maytals 
DISC SIX: The Marriage of Figaro / \"Duettino\" Sull 'Aria. Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and performed by Edith Mathis, Gundula Janowitz (sopranos) The Orchestra of Deutsche Oper Berlin, conducted by Karl Böhm 
DISC SEVEN: Ashokan Farewell - The Band of H.M. Royal Marines 
DISC EIGHT: The Lucky One - Alison Krauss & Union Station

BOOK CHOICE: Kristin Hannah Collection 
LUXURY ITEM: Roses 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622: II. Adagio. Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and performed by Thea King (clarinet), English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Alun Francis 

Presenter: Lauren Laverne 
Producer: Tom Alban 

Desert Island Discs has cast away many medical scientists over the years, including Stephen Westaby, Professor Dame Lesley Regan and David Nott. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Professor Dame Pamela Shaw

Emma Grede is the businesswoman behind major fashion brands including Skims and Good American, which she co-founded with Kim Kardashian and Khloé Kardashian, respectively. Last year Forbes included her on their list of America's Richest Self-Made Women, with an estimated net worth of $405 million.

She grew up in Plaistow, East London, the eldest of four daughters. Her parents separated when she was five and she was raised by her mum, who worked long hours as a trader at an investment bank. Emma took on a lot of the responsibility at home caring for her sisters. Dyslexia meant she struggled at school, but she found satisfaction in a string of part-time jobs, from delivering newspapers to making sandwiches in a deli. She later dropped out of the London College of Fashion to pursue a career in the industry, and by her mid-twenties she had founded her first company. 

She made her name brokering deals between celebrities and brands that included signing Natalie Portman as the face of Dior. In 2016 she founded an inclusive denim brand called Good American with Khloé Kardashian, and in 2019 she launched the shapewear brand Skims with Kim Kardashian. 

Lately her success has led her out of the boardroom and into the spotlight with guest appearances on Dragon’s Den, and the US equivalent Shark Tank, as well as launching a podcast and writing a memoir. 

Emma lives in Los Angeles with her husband and business partner Jens, and they have four children.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne 
Producer: Hannah Hufford and Christine Pawlowsky

Desert Island Discs has cast away many fashion leaders to the island over the years including Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Emma Grede, businesswoman

Sir Roger Deakins is an acclaimed cinematographer who is known for his visual artistry on films including The Shawshank Redemption, 1917, Fargo, Skyfall and Blade Runner 2049. His talents have been acknowledged with a knighthood, five BAFTAs and two Oscars. 

Roger was born in Torquay, Devon in 1949. In 1968 he attended the Bath Academy of Art where he was inspired by one of his tutors, the street photographer Roger Mayne, to go out with his camera and capture what he saw. Roger Deakins followed this advice and spent his weekends shooting people and places in British seaside towns.

In 1975 Roger graduated from the National Film School in Beaconsfield and started work as a cameraman – making documentaries and music videos. His first feature film was Cruel Passion which came out in 1977. In 1984 he worked on Michael Radford’s film adaptation of George Orwell’s novel 1984, starring Richard Burton and John Hurt. 

The first of Roger’s collaborations with filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen started in 1991 with the film Barton Fink. The three of them went on to make 12 films together including O Brother, Where Art Thou? Fargo and The Big Lebowski. 

In 2018 Roger won his first Academy Award for Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve. He was knighted for services to film in 2021. 

Roger lives in California with his wife James. They also have a home in Devon. 

DISC ONE: One of Us Cannot Be Wrong - Leonard Cohen
DISC TWO: Aqaba - June Tabor
DISC THREE: 21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson
DISC FOUR: Soldier’s Song - Lucinda Williams 
DISC FIVE: Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf
DISC SIX: The Island - Paul Brady
DISC SEVEN: Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning - Cowboy Junkies
DISC EIGHT: Isn’t it a Pity - Nina Simone

BOOK CHOICE: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
LUXURY ITEM: Fishing tackle
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Aqaba - June Tabor 

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley

Sir Roger Deakins, cinematographer

Shania Twain is a singer and songwriter and one of only two artists in history to have three consecutive diamond albums. 

By the time she was eight years old, she had a repertoire of one hundred songs which she would sing in bars. She began to write her own songs at the age of ten. Her mother was convinced that she was going to be a star and took her to perform in smoky clubs. 

Off stage, all was not well in the family home and Shania grew up in a turbulent household where there was much fighting. When she was thirteen years old, she persuaded her mother to drive Shania and her sisters to Toronto to a women’s shelter. 
 
Her parents eventually reunited and then were both killed in a car accident when Shania was twenty-two years old. She then became the guardian of her younger siblings and put her music dreams on hold to look after them. 

Eventually she got a job in a golf resort singing and came to the attention of a Nashville music executive and was offered a recording contract when she was thirty. 

She was enjoying a record-breaking global musical career when disaster struck. She was bitten by a tick and contracted Lyme disease which prevented her from singing for the best part of a decade. She announced her return in 2011 and returned to the stage in 2012.

Shania lives in Switzerland with her second husband. 

DISC ONE: We’ve Only Just Begun - Carpenters
DISC TWO: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John 
DISC THREE: Dust in the Wind - Kansas
DISC FOUR: El Paso - Marty Robbins
DISC FIVE: Gabriel’s Oboe - Ennio Morricone 
DISC SIX: Gentle on my Mind - Glen Campbell 
DISC SEVEN: Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder 
DISC EIGHT: Ode to Billie Joe - Bobbie Gentry 
 
BOOK CHOICE: Life is Fair by Brian Hines
LUXURY ITEM: Insect Repellent
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Dust in the Wind - Kansas

Presenter Lauren Laverne 
Producer Sarah Taylor 

Desert Island Discs has cast other musicians away over the years including Adele, Cher, Kylie Minogue and Cyndi Lauper. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Shania Twain, musician

Paul Farmer is a charity leader who has spent his life campaigning, fundraising and changing the national conversation around some of the most challenging issues in our society. Currently at the helm of Age UK, he previously spent 16 years as the CEO of Mind, the UK’s largest mental health charity. 

Paul was born in Oxford, the son of a former Benedictine monk and a former nun. He read history at St Peter’s College, Oxford, where he met his future wife, Claire. After graduating, he found a role working for a heritage centre and fell in love with the charity sector, moving to the Samaritans. His experiences taking calls from those struggling with their mental health awakened a passion for working in the mental health sector.

In 2006 he moved Mind, where he became CEO. He led a fifteen-year campaign that helped to change legislation, and the national conversation around mental health. For the past few years, he has campaigned for older people as Chief Executive at Age UK, and encouraged the public to prepare and plan for a happier, healthier later life. 

Paul lost his wife, Claire, to cancer in 2019. He lives in West London.

DISC ONE: Think - Aretha Franklin
DISC TWO: Part of the Agnus Dei from the Mass for Five Voices, performed by The Sixteen with Harry Christophers conducting - William Byrd
DISC THREE: Don’t Leave Me This Way - The Communards
DISC FOUR: Rotterdam (Or Anywhere) - The Beautiful South
DISC FIVE: Feeling Good - Nina Simone
DISC SIX: Into My Arms - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
DISC SEVEN: Drunk Surfer - Westside Cowboy
DISC EIGHT: Sunshine on Leith - The Proclaimers

BOOK: A collection of Simon Armitage’s poetry
LUXURY: A bowling machine with a combination of cricket and tennis balls
CASTAWAY’S FAVOURITE: Sunshine on Leith - The Proclaimers

Presenter: Lauren Laverne 
Producer: Sarah Taylor and Hannah Hufford 

Desert Island Discs has cast away many campaigners to the island over the years including Marjorie Wallace, Julia Cleverdon, and Sue Ryder, Baroness Ryder of Warsaw. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Paul Farmer, charity leader

Professor Liz Morris is a glaciologist whose work in some of the earth’s most inhospitable environments has broadened humanity’s understanding of climate change and polar science. Her accolades include the prestigious Polar Medal and an OBE for services to Polar Science.

Liz was born in London in 1946 and family legend has it that she fell in love with snow and ice the following year during what was known as the Big Freeze - one of the most severe and punishing winters in British history. 

She studied physics at Bristol University and applied for a role at the British Antarctic Survey in the early Seventies. At that time the institute did not have any female scientists working in the field and her application was rejected.

Liz bided her time and eventually did get to work at the BAS, becoming head of the Ice and Climate Division in 1986. The following year she became the first British woman to undertake tent-based research in Antarctica, arriving just as the ozone hole discovery was breaking. 

Liz completed her last field trip in 2014. In 2020 the Antarctic Place-Names Committee named a glacier in her honour. 

Liz divides her time between the Cotswolds and Scotland. 

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley

Professor Liz Morris, glaciologist

Norman Cook is a musician and DJ also widely known as Fatboy Slim.

As a DJ, he has played everywhere from Bondi Beach and the Great Wall of China to the House of Commons and a fish and chip shop. His many accolades include a world record for the most number one singles by one musician in different acts. He has had a number of musical aliases including Pizzaman, Cheeky Boy and Beats International. He was also a member of the Housemartins. 

He was christened Quentin by his parents and changed his name to Norman when he embarked on his musical career. His passion for music and collecting records led him down the path of becoming a DJ and his outdoor gigs, particularly in Brighton, saw him play to crowds of over a quarter of a million people.

He has been married twice, his second wife was the DJ and radio presenter, Zoe Ball. Norman lives in Brighton

DISC ONE: The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
DISC TWO: Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight - The Beatles 
DISC THREE: Rainbow Connection - The Muppets
DISC FOUR: (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais - The Clash 
DISC FIVE: I Feel Love - Donna Summer
DISC SIX: Satisfied ‘N’ Tickled Too - Taj Mahal
DISC SEVEN: I Must Be In a Good Place Now - Bobby Charles 
DISC EIGHT: Born Slippy (Nuxx) - Underworld

BOOK CHOICE: The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell
LUXURY ITEM: A label maker 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Feel Love - Donna Summer

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

Desert Island Discs has cast other musicians away over the years including Norman’s former neighbour Sir Paul McCartney and David Bryne. His former wife, Zoe Ball is in the Desert Island archive along with his former classmate, Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Norman Cook, DJ and musician

Jo Nesbø is a writer, known as the king of 'Nordic Noir'. His internationally bestselling crime thrillers following the exploits of detective Harry Hole have been translated into fifty languages, sold over sixty million copies and have been adapted for film and TV. 

Being a bestselling author was not his first job. As a teenager, he played football professionally before an injury put paid to his sporting career. He played guitar and wrote songs for a band which then became very successful in Norway and he combined his gigging nightlife with a day job on Norway’s stock market.

His relentless schedule led to him taking time off from both the band and the stock market and whilst he was travelling on a plane to Australia, he wrote his first draft of his debut Harry Hole novel. He has since gone on to write thirteen Harry Hole novels along with children’s stories and other standalone books.

Jo lives in Oslo. 

DISC ONE: Perfect Skin - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions 
DISC TWO: Ticket To Ride - The Beatles 
DISC THREE: Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel 
DISC FOUR: I Can’t Be Satisfied – Muddy Waters
DISC FIVE: Bus to Baton Rouge - Lucinda Williams 
DISC SIX: Hand of God - Nick Cave, Warren Ellis 
DISC SEVEN: Swamp - Talking Heads 
DISC EIGHT: Independence Day - Bruce Springsteen

BOOK CHOICE: Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
LUXURY ITEM: A shoehorn
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Independence Day - Bruce Springsteen 

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Sarah Taylor

Desert Island Discs has cast other writers away over the years including Lee Child, Steven King and Martina Cole. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Jo Nesbø, writer

Anna Maxwell Martin is an award-winning actor whose versatility is evident from the breadth of parts she has played in popular television programmes including Motherland, Ludwig and Line of Duty. 

Anna was born and brought up in Yorkshire and loved acting and performing from a young age putting on shows with her friends in the cul-de-sac where they all lived. She read history at Liverpool University and then won a place at LAMDA.

She made her professional debut in the Little Foxes at the Donmar Warehouse directed by Marianne Elliott. Her breakthrough came in 2003 playing Lyra Belacqua in the National Theatre’s landmark production of His Dark Materials. 

In recent years she has become an advocate for vulnerable children and their families – especially those navigating the SEND – special educational needs and/or disabilities – system in schools. She was motivated to take on this role after struggling to get help for her daughters who were struggling with profound grief following the death of their father.

Anna lives in London with her daughters.

DISC ONE: I Love To Boogie – T. Rex
DISC TWO: The Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston 
DISC THREE: Together In Electric Dreams - Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder
DISC FOUR: Gianni Schicchi: "O mio babbino caro" (Lauretta) Composed by Giacomo Puccini and performed by Maria Callas (soprano) and Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Tullio Serafin
DISC FIVE: When A Knight Won His Spurs – The Choir of Salisbury Cathedral, directed by David Halls 
DISC SIX: Dry Your Eyes - The Streets 
DISC SEVEN: Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell
DISC EIGHT: Tell Him - Lauryn Hill 

BOOK CHOICE: Jackson Brodie Series by Kate Atkinson
LUXURY ITEM: Anna’s lucky conker
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston 

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley

Desert Island Discs has cast away many actors to the island over the years including Julie Walters, Jessie Buckley and Adeel Aktar. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Anna Maxwell Martin, actor

In this week's Desert Island Discs, one of the most eminent English poets of this century, Sir Stephen Spender, talks to Sue Lawley about his radical and often flamboyant past, and his friendships with such notable literary figures as Christopher Isherwood, WH Auden and Virginia Woolfe.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] 

Favourite track: String Quartet in A Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust
Luxury: Painting or sculpture & photograph of daughter

Sir Stephen Spender

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