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Kirsty Young's castaway is musician Paul Weller.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the musician Paul Weller. As the lead singer of The Jam, the founder of The Style Council and a hugely successful solo artist, he is one of the most revered music writers and performers of the past 30 years and is cited as an influence by countless other singers.

In a rare interview, he describes the chronic shyness he had to overcome; how he is still gripped by fear before each performance and how, after he had been dumped by his record label, he was unable to write songs and found that even picking up a guitar felt alien to him. His father has been a constant support to him - as his mentor as well as his manager - and has always believed that his son had something special.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Tin Soldier by The Small Faces
Book: Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes
Luxury: A settee to sit on.

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45 minutes

Last on

Fri 21 Dec 200709:00
BBC Radio 4 FM

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Music Played

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Small Faces

      Tin Soldier

      • 1967 The Soundtrack.
      • Castle Music.

  • Dinah Washington

    September in the Rain

    • The Best of Dinah Washington: Mad About the Boy.
    • Mercury.

  • Charles Mingus

    Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul

    • Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus Impulse.
    • MCA.

  • James Brown

    Don't Be A Dropout

    • Don’t Be a Drop Out/Tell Me That You Love Me.
    • PYE.

  • Claude Debussy

    Arabesque No. 1

    Soloist: Branford Marsalis Orchestra: The English Chamber Orchestra

    • Romances for Saxophone: Branford Marsalis.
    • CBS.

  • Declan O’Rourke

    Galileo (Someone Like You)

    • Since Kyabram.
    • V2 Music.

  • Nick Drake

    River Man

    • Five Leaves Left.
    • Island.

  • Roscoe Robinson

    That's Enough

    • That’s Enough/One More Time.
    • Wand.

  • Book Choice

    • Absolute Beginners - Colin MacInnes

  • Luxury Choice

    • A settee to sit on

Credits

PresenterKirsty Young
Interviewed GuestPaul Weller

Broadcasts

  • Sun 16 Dec 200711:15
    BBC Radio 4
  • Fri 21 Dec 200709:00
    BBC Radio 4 FM

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