Breaking records

As the 70th anniversary of Desert Island Discs approaches, Kate Chisholm charts its enduring success

Ed Miliband should be worried. He’s not as yet been invited to choose eight ‘favourite’ pieces of music for that staple of the Radio 4 diet, Desert Island Discs (or DID to those in the know). Nick Clegg, David Cameron and even Alex Salmond have all been cast away, but not Miliband. Perhaps he’s not being taken seriously enough as the leader of the Labour party? Perhaps he’s not yet ready to reveal his Top Eight records?

It’s 70 years since the soaring strings and screeching seagulls of ‘By the sleepy lagoon’ were first heard on British radio, setting the scene for an hour of whimsical chat with an invited guest who’d been instructed to imagine what it would be like to be marooned with only eight pieces of music for company. Since then 805 women and 2,084 men (what an imbalance) have been landed on that no-longer-so-deserted isle.