Last Word

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BBC Radio 4 LW

Factual: Life Stories

Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently

BBC Radio 4 FM

Last Word: Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (pictured), Sidney Alford, Alison Lurie, Chris Barber

Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (pictured), Chris Barber, Alison Lurie, Sidney Alford

Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (pictured), Sidney Alford, Alison Lurie, Chris Barber

BBC Radio 4 - Last Word, Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (pictured), Sidney Alford, Alison Lurie, Chris Barber

Matthew Bannister on an oil minister, an explosives expert, an author and a jazz musician.

Matthew Bannister on oil minister Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, explosives expert Sidney Alford, author Alison Lurie and jazz musician Chris Barber.

Matthew Bannister on

Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, the Saudi oil minister who presided over the 1970s embargo that caused crises for Western economies. 

Sidney Alford, the maverick explosives expert who created methods of defusing improvised explosive devices used in Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and the Middle East. He also demolished large buildings and created spectacular effects for film makers. 

Alison Lurie, the American novelist whose biting satires on academic life and manners have been compared to Jane Austen.

Chris Barber, the jazz trombonist and band leader who was a leading figure in the trad boom of the 1960s.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Dr Mai Yamani
Interviewed guest: Javier Blas 
Interviewed guest: Jeffrey Robinson
Interviewed guest: Roland Alford
Interviewed guest: Prof Judith Newman


Archive clips used: Panorama: BBC One, TX 20.11.1973; Book at Bedtime – Foreign Affairs: Radio 4, TX 11.10.2004; Desert Island Discs: Radio 4, TX 9.3.1985; 15 Minute Drama - Imaginary Friends: Radio 4, TX 11.7.2011; Chris Barber - Leader of the Band: Radio 2, TX 20.4.2011

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Last Word

Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (pictured), Sidney Alford, Alison Lurie, Chris Barber

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