Desert Island Disks

If you are not familiar with Desert Island disks, it is a radio show where the interviewer invites a guest to select 8 pieces of music that they would take on a desert Island if they were to be marooned. Three books are also aloud, the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare and one free choice, one luxury item is also allowed. This last must not be something that could be used as a survival tool or to communicate to seek rescue, so mobile phones and the like are out. Over the years I have often played Desert Island disks with friends, usually far too late and far too relaxed to make a lot of since. Over the last few weeks the BBC have been asking us, the great unwashed British public to suggest our Desert Island Disks, and on Saturday they broadcast a special programme with the top tracks.

It was quite interesting to listen to, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr and note how English the selection was, this is the top eight
1. Ralph Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
2. Sir Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations
3. Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No 9 in D minor 'Choral'
4. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
6. Sir Edward Elgar - Cello Concerto in E Minor
7. George Frideric Handel - Messiah
8. Gustav Holst - The Planets

In my humble opinion it is only the Beethoven that does not have definite Englishness about it, this would not be my selection, although I do like all theses pieces (with the exception of the Queen which I have always found to be excessively pretentious and total nonsense)
Unless anything more interesting rears it’s head I intend to share my 8 disks over the next few days, they will be in no sort of order or preference just the order that I think of them, I am sure I will leave out some I should include and therefore include some that I will regret, but then that’s part of the fun, I would have chosen a different eight last year, and will choose a different eight next year.