Eric Coates’s By the Sleepy Lagoon [Desert Island Discs signature tune]: the composer conducts.

Roy Plomley, 1914-85, the creator and first presenter of BBC Radio’s Desert Island Discs, from January 1942

3 Comments

Andrew Keener on July 26, 2021 at 8:54 pm

Desert Island Discs. A trusted formula which has rightly stood the test of time, and a simple idea which has ensured Roy Plomley’s secure place in the foothills of radio history. Let’s not forget him. His little grave in Putney Vale Cemetery down the hill from the London Borough of Wandsworth is a sad affair: faded, neglected and subsiding. Some kind soul left a small bunch of flowers on it last May, the anniversary of his death in 1985, but he’s largely forgotten now. A Roy Plomley Appreciation Society, anyone?
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- canderson on July 28, 2021 at 7:55 am
  
  Sad to read about Mr Plomley’s grave, Andrew.
  Reply
EDWARD CLARK on July 27, 2021 at 7:38 am

Is it the longest running radio show? 1942 to today.
If so Mr Plomley’s grave deserves BBC recognition surely in its upkeep. Probably best for volunteers. Any takers at the Beeb?
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