Desert Island Discs Revisited

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BBC Radio 4 Extra

Factual: Life Stories

Selected castaway gems from the BBC Desert Island Discs archive.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: British Music Makers: Thom Yorke

Thom Yorke, musician

Thom Yorke

British Music Makers

Desert Island Discs

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Desert Island Discs Revisited, British Music Makers, Thom Yorke

Radiohead's Thom Yorke is cast away by Lauren Laverne.

From Nina Simone to Talking Heads. Radiohead's front man, Thom Yorke shares his choices with Lauren Laverne. From 2019.

Radiohead's frontman, Thom Yorke, shares his castaway choices with Lauren Laverne. 

Thom has been the lead singer of Radiohead, one of Britain’s most successful British bands, for over numerosu decades. They've sold over 30 million albums worldwide, and have won three Grammys and four Ivor Novello awards. Their debut studio album, Pablo Honey, was released in 1993, with their debut single, Creep, becoming a big international success. 

Thom decided on his career at the age of seven, when he lay on the floor between large speakers at a friend’s house and listened to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.  He made his own electric guitar when he was 10, and wrote his first song at 11.  At his secondary school he joined up with fellow pupils and they formed a band called On a Friday, as that was the only day they were allowed to rehearse.  They all went their separate ways as university students, but then signed to Parlophone in 1991 and renamed themselves Radiohead.  

Thom has collaborated with artists including PJ Harvey and Björk and has composed for film and theatre. His first feature film soundtrack, Suspiria, was released in 2018. His first classical piece, Don’t Fear the Light, was premiered in Paris in 2019, and he toured with his solo album Anima.  

He is an activist on behalf of human rights, animal rights, environmental and anti-war causes. 

DISC ONE: Maurice Ravel’s Ma mère l'oye, M.60: 5. Le jardin féerique - Marielle Labèque and Katia Labèque
DISC TWO: It's Raining Today - Scott Walker
DISC THREE: Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) - Talking Heads
DISC FOUR: Freeman Hard And Willis Acid - Squarepusher & AFX
DISC FIVE: After The Gold Rush - Neil Young
DISC SIX: Talk About the Passion - R.E.M.
DISC SEVEN: Blue Horizon - Sidney Bechet and His New Orleans Feetwarmers
DISC EIGHT: Lilac Wine - Nina Simone

BOOK CHOICE: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
LUXURY CHOICE: Solar-powered recording studio
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) - Talking Heads

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2019.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: British Music Makers

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

4 Extra's castaway collection of influential British musicians from the 1990s.

4 Extra's  castaway collection of influential British musicians from the 1990s.

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