Desert Island Discs

When I arrived on Gough Island in 1980, I had seven LPs in my luggage. In the Gough House living/dining room was a radio and a hi-fi with turntable and speakers. Not having brought my own sound system with me, as had the other team members, I was obliged to listen on the equipment in the base. 

My reclusive disposition made me resentful of any interruption to my listening experience. To minimize the chances of having to exchange small talk with fellow humans I chose to get up at 5am, make haste to the kitchen and prepare breakfast, and then eat it in leisurely solitude while listening to my records. If one of the met boys or the radio operator happened to pass through, I was taciturn and monosyllabic in response to their greetings, making it clear that I had no wish to engage in conversation.

In the course of the year I must have listened to each of the records at least twenty times, and they became imprinted on my memory. After forty years they remain indelibly familiar, if not immediately identifiable when I happen to hear one of them playing on the radio. 

None of my six companions on the island showed much interest in classical music and, for the most part, I was also indifferent to what they enjoyed. I did, however, develop an appreciation of reggae after overhearing Bob Marley coming from Thys’s room at full volume on numerous occasions. I was also introduced to Van Morrison, for which I am most thankful, but I can’t remember who used to play him.

The only live music on Gough was provided by Peter Stockwell and Ray Holland, who sometimes played their guitars and sang together in the living room.

Here is a list of the desert island discs that I still possess but have not played since my old turntable gave up the ghost more than a decade ago:

JS Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti Nos 1, 2 and 3 performed by the Wurttenberg Chamber Orchestra under Jorg Faerber.

Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique performed by the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 1 and Liszt’s Todenttanz performed by Alexander Brailowsky with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

Mozart’s Piano Concertos No 20 K466 and No 27 K 595 performed by Clifford Curzon with the English Chamber Orchestra under Benjamin Britten.

Mahler’s Fourth Symphony performed by the New York Philharmonic under Bruno Walter.

Mozart’s Flute Concerto No 1 and Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra with James Galway, Frits Helms and Andreas Blau and the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan.

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major Opus 61 performed by Zino Francescatti with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra under Bruno Walter.

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