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

Steven Spielberg is the most successful director of his generation and the highest-grossing director of all time: his films have taken more than $10 billion worldwide. From Jaws to E.T. and Jurassic Park to Schindler’s List, his storytelling has captivated audiences around the world.Steven grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where he started making films as a young boy. In 1958 he made a short Western which won him a Boy Scout merit badge. He screened it to his entire Scout troop and their laughter and applause got him hooked on film making.In 1971 he directed a television movie called Duel about a motorist who is pursued by a murderous truck driver. The film attracted good reviews from critics, and before the age of 30, Steven had directed his first global hit: Jaws grossed $471 million worldwide and is credited as heralding the arrival of the blockbuster era. He now says Jaws was ‘a free pass into my future.’He has won three Academy Awards, and has received eight nominations for best director. The Fabelmans, his most recent film, is a semi-fictionalised account of his own coming of age, drawing on his film-making experiences as a child.Steven is married to the actor Kate Capshaw, who starred in his film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and they have seven children.DISC ONE: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by Gene Pitney
DISC TWO: Fugue in G minor, BMW 578 – “The Little” arranged by Leopold Stokowski, composed by J.S Bach, performed by Philadelphia Orchestra and conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin
DISC THREE: Michelle by The Beatles
DISC FOUR: What the World Needs Now Is Love by Jackie DeShannon
DISC FIVE: Come Fly with Me by Frank Sinatra
DISC SIX: The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen
DISC SEVEN: Somewhere, composed by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, performed by Reri Grist
DISC EIGHT: Coolhand by Buzzy LeeBOOK CHOICE: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
LUXURY ITEM: H-8 Bolex camera
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Coolhand by Buzzy LeePresenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley

Desert Island Discs

Classic Desert Island Discs - Steven Spielberg

Lesley Manville made her debut on the West End stage as a teenager in 1972, and since then has taken on a wide range of roles on stage and screen, including an Oscar-nominated performance in the film Phantom Thread. She was born in Brighton and first enjoyed performing as a singer, winning competitions with her sister. When she was 15, she commuted daily to the Italia Conti stage school in London. Her first professional role was in a West End musical, and in 1974 she joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm. After two years she decided to leave, even though the work was well paid, and return to the stage. At the Royal Court in London she appeared in some of the most critically acclaimed new plays of the 1980s including Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, and Andrea Dunbar’s Rita, Sue and Bob Too. She has also enjoyed a long collaboration with the film director Mike Leigh, memorably playing the alcoholic Mary in Another Year. Her recent TV roles include starring as Cathy in the popular BBC Two sitcom Mum, for which she won a Royal Television Society Award in 2019. She has also played Princess Margaret in The Crown, including a scene in which Margaret shares her favourite records on a BBC radio progamme. She was appointed a CBE in 2021. DISC ONE: Over The Rainbow - Eva Cassidy
DISC TWO: My Brother Jake - Free
DISC THREE: O Soave Fanciulla, composed by Giacomo Puccini, performed by 
Jose Carreras, Richard Stilwell and Teresa Stratas and Metropolitan Opera Chorus, conducted by James Levine 
DISC FOUR: Sugar on the Floor - Etta James
DISC FIVE: You Don't Have To Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield
DISC SIX: Not While I’m Around - Barbra Streisand 
DISC SEVEN: Make You Feel My Love - Adele 
DISC EIGHT: Phantom Thread III - Jonny Greenwood
 
BOOK CHOICE: A Botanical Encyclopedia
LUXURY ITEM: A bed with linen, duvet and pillows 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Over The Rainbow - Eva CassidyPresenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

Lesley Manville, actor

This is an extended version of a programme first broadcast on Sunday 28 May 2023.Ronnie O’Sullivan OBE is currently ranked the number one snooker player in the world, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the history of the sport. He has won the Masters a record seven times and he jointly holds the record for winning the World Snooker Championship seven times. Since 1997 he has held the world record for the fastest 147 break, leading to his nickname 'the Rocket'. Ronnie grew up in Essex and his father gave him his first snooker cue when he was seven. He took to the game immediately: he was playing on a full size snooker table when he was just eight, and two years later he was beating adult players. By the age of 12, he was winning cash prizes in local tournaments, and was soon earning more than his teachers. Ronnie turned professional when he was 16, and quickly established himself as a star player and a fans' favourite - but he has also made headlines away from the snooker table, with accounts of his depression and struggles with alcohol and drugs. For many years he has kept his physical and mental health in check through his passion for running. He received an OBE in 2016 for services to snooker. DISC ONE: Lose Yourself - Eminem
DISC TWO: Careless Whisper - Wham! 
DISC THREE: Step by Step - Whitney Houston 
DISC FOUR: Real Gone Kid - Deacon Blue 
DISC FIVE: You’re So Vain - Carly Simon 
DISC SIX: Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics 
DISC SEVEN: Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) - Train 
DISC EIGHT: That’s All - Genesis BOOK CHOICE: Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn 
LUXURY ITEM: A painting set 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: That’s All - GenesisPresenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

Ronnie O'Sullivan - Extended Edit

This is an extended version of a programme first broadcast on Sunday 17 September 2023.Adrian Edmondson first shot to national fame in 1982, playing the studded punk Vyvyan in the TV sitcom The Young Ones, set in a seedy student flat. The cast largely came from the developing alternative comedy scene, and included Rik Mayall and Alexei Sayle. Adrian was born in Bradford in 1957. He spent time as a child in Cyprus, Bahrain and Uganda, following his father who worked as a teacher for the armed forces. He attended a boarding school in Yorkshire from the age of 11, where he often rebelled against its rules and restrictions, but enjoyed performing in school plays. He headed to Manchester University to study drama, where he soon met Rik Mayall. They bonded over their shared interests in comedy, double acts, violent slapstick and the plays of Samuel Beckett. It was the start of a long performing partnership and friendship, which included the anarchic TV comedy and long-running touring show Bottom and a production of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot on the West End stage.Adrian has also worked widely as an actor and musician, including an acclaimed appearance as Scrooge for the RSC, and performances with the reunited Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Adrian married Jennifer Saunders in 1985, and they have three daughters.DISC ONE: Downtown - Petula Clark 
DISC TWO: A Song of the Weather - Flanders & Swann 
DISC THREE: Sugar, Sugar - The Archies 
DISC FOUR: On My Radio - The Selecter 
DISC FIVE: Jole Blon - Vin Bruce
DISC SIX: Saturday Gigs - Mott the Hoople 
DISC SEVEN: I’m Bored - Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band 
DISC EIGHT: Wide Open Spaces - The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks)BOOK CHOICE: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett 
LUXURY ITEM: A tab of acid 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Wide Open Spaces - The Chicks Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio 4

Episodes