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BBC Radio 4


Celebrating the music that special guests cherish and would like to bestow to future generations.


Inheritance Tracks

After working at Pizza Hut in his twenties, Mackenzie Crook suddenly shot to fame playing the hapless paper salesman Gareth Keenan in the smash-hit BBC comedy “The Office” 

Since then, he’s starred in blockbuster franchises including Pirates of the Caribbean and Game of Thrones, as well as Shakespeare, Dickens and his beloved Worzel Gummidge. 

He also created, directed and starred in the charming comedy-drama Detectorists, playing one half of an eccentric metal-detecting duo, alongside Toby Jones, which prompted Mackenzie to take up the hobby and search for real-life treasure.

So – headphones on – let's start scanning – and see what we can uncover among Mackenzie Crook’s Inheritance Tracks... 

Inherited: Big Yellow taxi by Joni Mitchell 
Passed on: River Man by Nick Drake

Producers: Ben Mitchell and Anna Bailey

Mackenzie Crook

Alex James became famous as the bassist in Blur, indie rock icons who helped define the sound of English guitar music in the 1990’s. 

Born in Bournemouth and now living in Oxfordshire with his wife and five children, Alex discovered a love of farming, and in particular, cheese, during a quiet period in Blur’s history. The cheese he produces is award winning, among them Blue Monday and Good Queen Maude. 

His latest book is Over the Rainbow, recounting how Blur staged their comeback and surprised everyone, even themselves.

But will his Inheritance Tracks surprise us?

Inherited: Good King Wenceslas sung by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
Passed on: Rasputin by Boney M.

Producer: Ben Mitchell and Lowri Rhiannon-Morgan

Alex James

Josh Widdicombe is a comedian who many will know from his hit parenting podcast with Rob Beckett – and as one of panellists on Channel 4’s The Last Leg. 

Raised in a small village on Dartmoor, his love of all things Devon, Plymouth Argyle and the 90’s has informed much of his work – and his new tour is sure to be steeped to perfection. 

Before becoming a comedian he worked as a bookseller, in a petrol station, and as a sports journalist. And much like Danny Dyer, he found out that he too was related to Royalty on ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and Elizabeth the first no less. 

He’s set to hit the Strictly dancefloor this Christmas for their festive special – so make sure there’s some room around you to chachacha along to his Inheritance Tracks. 

Inherited: All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
Passed on: Mis‐Shapes by Pulp

Producer: Ben Mitchell and Minnie Harrop

Josh Widdicombe

Russell Howard is a familiar face on television having hosted Russell Howard's Good News and The Russell Howard Hour, and has been a regular on Mock the Week. He is now of the UK’s most successful comedians, and there’s not a panel show worth its salt that he hasn’t been on over the years, each won benefitting from his unique perspective.

Born and raised in Somerset, he studied economics at university before starting to write for BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 4. And Russell Howard presents his brand-new stand-up special, Russell Howard Live at The London Palladium, as an exclusive global stream on the 15th of January at 8pm which will then be available On Demand.

We asked him for his inheritance tracks. 

Inherited: Fast Car by Tracy Chapman 
Pass on: The Picture by Loudon Wainwright III

Producer: Ribika Moktan

Russell Howard

Professor Alice Roberts is an anatomist, broadcaster and author famous for making science accessible and captivating. 

Initially she wanted to be a doctor and studied medicine and anatomy at Cardiff University and developed an interest in biological anthropology, looking at what ancient skeletons can tell us about human evolution…getting human remains to give up their secrets. 

The clavicle is her favourite bone in the body...but what else can we learn about Alice Roberts from unearthing her Inheritance Tracks?

Inherited: A Whiter Shade Of Pale by Procol Harum 
Passed on: Girl from Mars by Ash

Producer: Ben Mitchell

(This episode is a repeat from 15th June 2019)

Alice Roberts

The double BAFTA Cymru winning Welsh actor Eve Myles was born to a Scottish father and a Welsh mother and grew up in Powys.

Choosing three films from the video shop on a Saturday and watching them on repeat all week is how young Eve fell in love with the possibilities and escapism of acting. 

Her compelling role in Keeping Faith saw her not only having to learn Welsh, act alongside her real-life husband, but most importantly it inspired a trend for bright yellow waterproof coats. 

Her latest drama, The Crow Girl, is executive produced by Slash, but there's no Guns N' Roses in her Inheritance Tracks then.

Inherited: Pearl's a Singer by Elkie Brooks
Passed on: Faith's Song by Amy Wadge

Producers: Ben Mitchell and Catherine Powell

Eve Myles

Jonathan Joseph, DJ Spoony to his friends, is someone who spends his life selecting music – and has just taken over the late-night slot on Radio 2. 

Born in Hackney in the early 1970s to British West Indian parents, he loved music from an early age and quickly moved from underground pirate radio stations in the 90's before bringing garage music to Radio 1. 

At Christmas he revealed that he’d recently undergone emergency surgery for a bleed on the brain. He says music helped him recover.

So what then has he chosen as his Inheritance Tracks.

Inherited: Time is the Master by John Holt
Pass on: Gabriel by Roy Davis Jr. 

Producers: Ben Mitchell and Catherine Powell

DJ Spoony

For some of you, before Wicked's Elphaba and Glinda entered our consciousness...there was Felicity Jones in the TV series The Worst Witch...the double Oscar nominee's first starring role before spending a decade as Emma Carter in The Archers. 

Born in Birmingham, down the road from Ambridge, it was in a galaxy far, far, away that she cemented her place in Hollywood in Rogue One: A Stars War Story 

Her most recent role in The Brutalist has earned her a supporting actress BAFTA and Oscar nomination and she credits her drive to being raised by a working single mother. 

As a mother herself now...her Inheritance Tracks have charmingly familial feel. 

Inherited: Love and Affection by Joan Armatrading
Passed on: Pressure Drop by Toots and the Maytals

Producer: Ben Mitchell and Anna Bailey

Felicity Jones

The acclaimed actor Jesse Eisenberg was born in New York, and raised in New Jersey, in a secular Jewish home, by his parents and two sisters. 

His latest film A Real Pain, honours that heritage, and alongside Succession's Kieran Culkin they play Jewish American cousins who travel to former Nazi German-occupied Poland to honour their late grandmother. 

The film is tipped to do well at this years Oscars and Baftas, but it was his big break playing Mark Zuckerburg in the 2010 film The Social Network that brought him his first taste of fame and accolades, a role he recently told The Today Programme he’s keen to distance himself from. 

He’s gone onto use magic to perform an audacious heist, killed Bill Murray during a zombie apocalypse and even fought Superman. 

And his Inheritance Tracks are a charmingly unique insight into the man behind the roles. 

Inherited: Variations by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Passed on: Étude Op. 25, No. 1 "Aeolian Harp" by Chopin

Producers: Anna Bailey and Minnie Harrop

Jesse Eisenberg

Musician Olly Alexander was born in Harrogate, and discovered a love of acting at school, where tread the boards in Guys and Dolls and the bug had bitten. 

His role as Ritchie in Russel T Davies' acclaimed Channel 4 drama It's a Sin, bringing to life the horrors of HIV/Aids in the Gay community in the 1980's, brought him serious attention and plaudits, earning him a Bafta TV nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category amongst others. 

But it was as a musician where he originally made his mark as the vocalist for the band Years and Years, reaching number one in the UK album charts twice, and releasing a series of super catchy singles that made series dents in the mainstream charts. 

He went solo in 2024 in a big way by representing the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest last year and his debut solo album is Polari, recently released to rave reviews. 

Inherited: Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell
Passed on: Honey by Robyn

Producers: Ben Mitchell and Catherine Powell

Olly Alexander

The best-selling crime-writer Sir Ian Rankin began his life surrounded by food. His dad ran a grocery store in Fife, his mum worked in a school canteen, and Ian's early writing saw him reviewing wine.

He says he never intended to turn to crime, so to speak, but it was his creation of the hard-drinking and stubborn Edinburgh detective Inspector John Rebus which changed his writing style – and his life. 

Beginning with Knots and Crosses in 1987, there have now been 25 Rebus novels - as well as the tv dramas and stage plays – mainly dealing with Scotland’s dark and dangerous underworld. 

What then will he reveal as his Inheritenace Tracks?

Inherited: Seven Drunken Nights by The Dubliners
Pass on: Another Man's Rain by Jackie Leven

Producers: Ben Mitchell and Noa Dowling

Ian Rankin

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