If Lanarkshire charity worker Wendy Russell can’t be marooned on her desert island with Take That frontman Gary Barlow, at least she would have his music for company.
Wendy, who is social enterprise manager with the award-winning Lanarkshire LEAP Project, fell for Take That at the age of 12, and would skip school with her friends in the hope of catching a glimpse of her boy band idols when they played sell-out gigs in Glasgow.
Even now, for a 41-year-old Wendy, Take That – and Gary, in particular – 'Rule the World'; hence her choice of Desert Island Disc.
“Now as an adult, my best friend, Nicki, and I follow them everywhere we can," Wendy, queued outside Cameron House Hotel for eight hours in the bitter cold in 2015 for a brief encounter with Gary and Mark Owen, told Lanarkshire Live.
"From Aberdeen to London, we go the length and breadth of the country, taking in numerous cities and shows by the boys or Gary Barlow.
“In 2019, we travelled to London to Gary’s book signing and got to meet him there, too. They say never meet your idol, but Gary is such a lovely person and a true entertainer.”
As a castaway, Wendy would choose 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho as her desert island read.
“My sister, Lynsey, bought me this book for Christmas. I had been going through some hard, life-changing decisions and this book landed on my lap just at the right time,” she explained.
“I’m not much of a reader, but I just couldn’t put this one down – the right book at the right time that made me see life through a different lens. As soon as I read it, I called her, and we spoke for hours about what it meant to us. Very inspirational.”
And, for her little luxury, she’d feel compelled to take to her desert island a taste of home in the shape of a delicious brunch from Rutherglen café and community hub, Vin 18.
Another lover of all things gourmet is Selina Cairns, owner of Carnwath-based Errington Cheese and founder of Scotland’s newest regional food group, Lanarkshire Larder, which showcases the area’s producers of the finest food and drink.
She would take with her Fleetwood Mac’s track, 'Go Your Own Way'.
“Fleetwood Mac are timeless and I never tire of listening to them while driving,” said Selina.
“The song reminds me that everyone is different and you should follow your own path and believe in yourself.”
She would dust down the set of language books and discs she’s had for years, yet never used, in the hope of using the rare commodity of time to learn to speak and comprehend French.
“I really regret not trying harder with it at school and I wish my French skills were better for both holidays and work.
"When buying cheese cultures and equipment from France, it would come in useful, as I feel very rude speaking in English,” admits Selina, who said the one thing she couldn’t cope without is the humble tea bag, as she needs a brew to get her up in the morning.
Les Hoey MBE, founder of DreamMaker Foundation – the Wishaw-based charity that makes wishes come true for children with life-limiting conditions – chooses a disc that transforms him to the carefree days and holidays of the 1980s.
Tight Fit’s 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' from 1982 is uplifting and happy and reminds Les of good times. His desert island read would be Muhammad Ali’s autobiography, ‘The Greatest: My Own Story.’
Inspired by how the boxer championed the rights of people of colour, Les said: “I remember watching his bouts on TV, the predictions he made before a fight, and the interviews he gave afterwards.
“What always sticks in my mind was all that he came through and how he stood up for all he believed.”
And his little luxury? Much to the dismay of wife, Mandy, that would be his mobile phone.
“It doesn’t matter where we are in the world – the Dominican Republic, the USA – It goes with me everywhere,” said Les.
‘Hounds of Love’ by Kate Bush, is another 1980s track of choice, this time for Lanarkshire librarian, Zen Boyd.
“I found that, especially during the past two years of lockdown, I have gravitated even more to music, themes, TV and films from the 1980s as a comfort and an escape,” said Zen, who is based at Rutherglen Library’s Heritage Centre.
“Having grown up in the ’80s, those soundtracks feel familiar and somehow like a safe place to return to.
"Despite the major turbulence of the 1980s, in nostalgic memories it feels somewhat carefree. The adverts of what to do if nuclear war began occupy my memory, right beside the soundtrack for the ‘Glens, Hutchison, Robertson and Stepek’ adverts.
“Right in the middle of the decade in 1985 came the iconic ‘Hounds of Love’ album by Kate Bush.
"I first discovered her music in the early 1990s at art school and adopted her as my spirit mother.”
Zen selected as her island reading material ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy by Philip Pullman.
“Never before have I related more to a plot, characters and fantasy world than the books created by author Philip Pullman,” she explained.
“I loved the fact the hero in this modern fairy tale is a young girl called Lyra: the more female leads in stories the better, especially as I now have a daughter who I would read this story to.
"It is the kind of story you can get lost in and while away the hours on the island.”
And Zen’s desert island luxury? “A barrel of red wine,” she said.
The choices of Coltness High School head teacher, John McGilp, may raise a few eyebrows among his pupils past and present.
“Maybe one you wouldn’t expect but one that always puts a smile on my face every time I hear it is ‘Bits n Pieces’ – but it would have to be the GBX remix version,” said John.
“My oldest son always starts dancing around to it every time he hears it, so this would remind me of home.
"It’s also such an uplifting tune.
“The book would have to be ‘The Gruffalo’ in Scots. It would also remind me of home and, in particular, my children.
"It’s a book I still enjoy reading to the younger one, and one we pick up quite often. I am also a strong advocate of the Scots language coming from Ayrshire, so it would definitely have to be the Scots dialect version.”
Resisting the temptation to plump for the comforts of pizza, coffee and his mobile phone, family man John instead chose to take to his desert island a photograph of his nearest and dearest back home.
Jane Cowan, manager of Rutherglen Exchange Shopping Centre, loves the modern twist Paulo Nuttini has given jazz classic, ‘Let Me Down Easy’ – the track that would accompany her while stranded.
“My book would be ‘The bonfire of the vanities’ by Tom Wolfe. It is a salutary lesson on one’s own code of conduct.
"It is the kind of read which is difficult to pick up, as you know you are going to be put through your paces but having started to read it you then cannot put it down,” said Jane, and avid listener over the years to the Desert Island Discs interviews.
“My luxury would be my golf club sand wedge. Clearly with it being a desert island, there would be plenty of opportunity to practice getting out of bunkers and hopefully by the time I was rescued, I would be proficient.”
Brendan Rooney is executive director of the award-winning South Lanarkshire-based Healthy n Happy Community Development Trust.
He turns the clock back to the 1950s with his choice of disc: 'Buona Sera', performed by the charismatic Louis Prima and his Swing Band.
“It just makes smile, dance and feel good,” said Brendan, who selected Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown as his book of choice.
“It reminds me of the treachery of people to their fellow people and to our environment – and this is something we should not forget or ignore,” he said.
“My luxury item has got to be my electric blanket. I just love it and it’s my (no longer) guilty pleasure and it makes me smile and feel good at the end of a cold winter’s day.”
It would be remiss to spin a few Desert Island Discs in its 80th anniversary year without polling the opinions of Lanarkshire’s own radio presenters.
CamGlen Radio broadcaster Robert Fields presents ‘The Knowledge’ rock show on Sundays at 7pm.
Although introduced in 1957 to Elvis Presley’s ‘Jailhouse Rock’ by jiving big sister, Ruby, the one disc that would be packed in Robert’s suitcase is The Beatles’ Revolver.
“In 1963, my other big sister, Joyce, brought into the house the debut album ‘Please Please Me’ by The Beatles and, once I heard that intro: ‘Well, she was just 17,’ I was hooked and The Beatles became, and remain, my band.
“I picked ‘Revolver’ as my favourite album because they had stopped touring by then and they were recording and, along with George Martin, producing music that had never been done before.
"The way music was recorded would never be the same again and it still sounds superb over 50 years later.”
Robert’s book of choice is Stephen King’s ‘11/22/63’ – the tale of a school teacher who has the chance to go back in time to stop Lee Harvey Oswald killing JFK and all the barriers time presented to block his journey.
The inspiration behind his choice of luxury dates back to 1973 when, as a time-served welder, Robert sat next to a boiler company’s giant air compressor.
By the time he and his associates opened The Cathouse in 1990, he was left with no hearing in his right ear – and now has only 80 per cent hearing in his left.
He discovered that when wearing over-ear headphones, his classic Apple iPod was his lifeline to music.
Following advice from a friend, he replaced it with an American iPod Touch, which is more than a quarter louder than its European counterpart – and the little luxury from which he’s inseparable.
Robert’s CamGlen colleague presents ‘Steve Warner’s Big Weekender’ dance music show on Thursdays at 7pm.
“When I was growing up in the 1970s, I loved electronic music. Although popular with the likes of David Bowie, synthesisers were never truly accepted as a true musical instrument,” explained Steve.
“Jean Michel Jarre changed that with his albums, Oxygene, Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, Zoolook and Rendez-vous.
“I discovered Jarre when he played his concert title Rendez-vous Houston in 86. The spectacle, the sound – I was hooked.
“Part 4 in Houston was awesome. The following Lyon concert introduced saxophone to the track and blew me away.
“He has been, quite rightly, hailed as the Godfather of Rave. All electronica that followed was thanks in no small part to his inventiveness and perseverance. To this day, it is my favourite version of the track, and the one I’d take to my desert island.”
For its imagery and poignant themes, Steve chose JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings – a book he says has been dissected and analysed by generations of scholars in order that they can stand on the shoulders of a giant.
“It is, at its heart, a book about good overcoming adversity and evil,” said Steve.
“What other message do you need? And, if I was castaway on a desert island, I’d need something this long so I could forget how it started and it would read fresh the next time I picked it up.”
Never been one to blow his own trumpet, being a castaway would give Steve Warner the perfect opportunity to do just that.
“I’ve never owned, played or wanted a trumpet.
"But if I was castaway I would surely want a musical instrument that would last forever, take me forever to learn, mean I eventually would have music to listen to and scare away any indigenous predators,” he explained.
“Louis Armstrong never complained about being hounded by wild animals or demons in the night. Got to be something in that, right?”
Eddie McFadden produces and presents Kiss That Prog – Scotland’s first dedicated prog rock radio show, which you can catch each Thursday on Listen Lanarkshire from 8pm to10pm.
“‘Life on Mars’ by David Bowie needs no introduction. I was well and truly captivated by the piano part,” said Eddie.
“I subsequently found out that prog rock legend Rick Wakeman had played it and I started listening to his solo albums. From there I found out that he was the keyboard player in Yes and even now almost 50 years later, they are still one of my favourite bands.
“I’ve seen David Bowie live a couple of times, but his keyboard players can’t quite seem to get the original melody, so it’s always a pleasure to hear the song when it pops up on radio or on my own playlist.”
A huge fan of Scottish crime fiction, Eddie would pick ‘Runaway’ by Peter May, which tells the tale of five Glasgow boys in 1965 who run away from home to find fame and fortune as a band in London and return to the capital 50 years later to confront the demons that have haunted them since the first trip south.
A music lover who’s been attending concerts for more than 40 years, Eddie laments the soaring costs of today’s big show tickets and would take with him the luxury of seeing live acts without having to choose between paying for a ticket or paying the rent.
Now for a final word from Radio Lanarkshire’s drive time presenter, Andrew McGregor.
The disc Andrew, who’s nicknamed iPod Andy, would spin on his desert island is Now 80s, as a nod to his love of music from that decade.
He’d also while away the hours by poring over a book on local transport, and has a passion for the romance of vintage buses.
His indulgence would be to continue to listen to a range of radio stations, while marooned – particularly the community-run Radio Lanarkshire, which would keep him abreast of local information from back home.
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