<description>&lt;p&gt;Sir Salman Rushdie is a writer who has written over 20 books, seven of which have been nominated for the Booker Prize. In 1981 he won with his novel Midnight’s Children which also topped the polls for the 25th and 40th anniversaries of the prize, making it the most lauded novel in Booker history.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He was born in Bombay in 1947 and educated at Rugby School in Warwickshire. After studying history at the University of Cambridge he worked as a copywriter at various advertising agencies before publishing his first novel Grimus in 1975. His breakthrough came with Midnight’s Children and he was one of 20 writers named on Granta magazine’s inaugural list of Best Young British novelists alongside writers including Martin Amis and AN Wilson.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He attracted considerable controversy with his fourth novel the Satanic Verses which won the Whitbread Award and was shortlisted for the Booker. Some Muslims considered the subject matter blasphemous and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Salman and the publishers of the book. Salman spent the following decade in hiding under police protection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In 2022 he was stabbed multiple times while on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York. He had been invited there to talk about keeping writers safe from harm. He survived devasting injuries – including the loss of his right eye – and wrote about the attack and its aftermath in his memoir Knife.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That same year he was awarded a Companion of Honour for services to literature.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Salman is married to the poet and novelist Rachel Eliza Griffiths and they live in New York. He has two grown up sons and two grandchildren.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;DISC ONE: Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed 
DISC TWO: Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan - Mohammed Rafi and Geeta Dutt 
DISC THREE: Blowin’ in the Wind - Bob Dylan 
DISC FOUR: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones 
DISC FIVE: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston
DISC SIX: Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard - Paul Simon 
DISC SEVEN: Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder
DISC EIGHT: For the Love of You, Pts. 1 &amp;amp; 2 - The Isley Brothers &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;BOOK CHOICE: Homer’s Odyssey (Translated by Emily Wilson)
LUXURY ITEM: A bed with a mosquito net 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: For the Love of You, Pts. 1 &amp;amp; 2 - The Isley Brothers &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Sir Salman Rushdie, writer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Sir Salman Rushdie is a writer who has written over 20 books, seven of which have been nominated for the Booker Prize. In 1981 he won with his novel Midnight’s Children which also topped the polls for the 25th and 40th anniversaries of the prize, making it the most lauded novel in Booker history.He was born in Bombay in 1947 and educated at Rugby School in Warwickshire. After studying history at the University of Cambridge he worked as a copywriter at various advertising agencies before publishing his first novel Grimus in 1975. His breakthrough came with Midnight’s Children and he was one of 20 writers named on Granta magazine’s inaugural list of Best Young British novelists alongside writers including Martin Amis and AN Wilson.He attracted considerable controversy with his fourth novel the Satanic Verses which won the Whitbread Award and was shortlisted for the Booker. Some Muslims considered the subject matter blasphemous and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Salman and the publishers of the book. Salman spent the following decade in hiding under police protection.In 2022 he was stabbed multiple times while on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York. He had been invited there to talk about keeping writers safe from harm. He survived devasting injuries – including the loss of his right eye – and wrote about the attack and its aftermath in his memoir Knife.That same year he was awarded a Companion of Honour for services to literature.Salman is married to the poet and novelist Rachel Eliza Griffiths and they live in New York. He has two grown up sons and two grandchildren.DISC ONE: Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed 
DISC TWO: Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan - Mohammed Rafi and Geeta Dutt 
DISC THREE: Blowin’ in the Wind - Bob Dylan 
DISC FOUR: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones 
DISC FIVE: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston
DISC SIX: Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard - Paul Simon 
DISC SEVEN: Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder
DISC EIGHT: For the Love of You, Pts. 1 &amp; 2 - The Isley Brothers BOOK CHOICE: Homer’s Odyssey (Translated by Emily Wilson)
LUXURY ITEM: A bed with a mosquito net 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: For the Love of You, Pts. 1 &amp; 2 - The Isley Brothers Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley

Sir Salman Rushdie, writer

<description>&lt;p&gt;Sir Tim Berners-Lee is a computer scientist and the inventor of the World Wide Web. 
He was born in 1955, a golden year for technology innovators. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were also born in the same year. 
A curious child, he learned about electronics from his train set and spent his pocket money on transistors. His first significant connecting invention was building an intercom as a teenager for the family home before moving on to build his first computer. 
His parents were both mathematicians and coders who met whilst building one of the first commercially available computers in the early nineteen fifties. 
Sir Tim came up with the idea of the World Wide Web whilst working at CERN and insisted that the technology be released to the world without commercial reward so that it would be free for everyone to use. 
He was knighted for his world changing invention and also appointed to the Order of Merit. In 2016 he was given the Turing Award.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee divides his time between the US, the UK and Canada with his wife Rosemary, who is also a technology entrepreneur.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Desert Island Discs has cast many computer scientists away over the years including Dame Wendy Hall and Sir Demis Hassibis. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, computer scientist, shares his music with Lauren Laverne.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee is a computer scientist and the inventor of the World Wide Web. 
He was born in 1955, a golden year for technology innovators. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were also born in the same year. 
A curious child, he learned about electronics from his train set and spent his pocket money on transistors. His first significant connecting invention was building an intercom as a teenager for the family home before moving on to build his first computer. 
His parents were both mathematicians and coders who met whilst building one of the first commercially available computers in the early nineteen fifties. 
Sir Tim came up with the idea of the World Wide Web whilst working at CERN and insisted that the technology be released to the world without commercial reward so that it would be free for everyone to use. 
He was knighted for his world changing invention and also appointed to the Order of Merit. In 2016 he was given the Turing Award.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee divides his time between the US, the UK and Canada with his wife Rosemary, who is also a technology entrepreneur.Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah TaylorDesert Island Discs has cast many computer scientists away over the years including Dame Wendy Hall and Sir Demis Hassibis. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Computer Scientist

<description>&lt;p&gt;Sally Mann is a photographer and a New York Times bestselling writer. She is best known for making large-format black and white photographs of the people and places in her immediate surroundings: her children, her husband, and the rural landscape of her home state and the American South.
Sally was born in Lexington, Virginia, the youngest of three children to Robert and Elizabeth Munger. Her father was a doctor and gave Sally his old Leica camera to play with. 
After university, she wanted to be a poet but she spent more than a decade as a commercial photographer while starting a family of her own and exhibiting her work on a small scale. She published her first book of photographs in 1984. That same year, she began taking pictures of her three children for a series called Immediate Family, which brought her both renown as well as infamy for touching on ordinary moments in their daily lives – playing, sleeping, and eating, sometimes while naked – but also speaking to larger themes such as death and cultural perceptions of childhood, rendering familiar subjects “both sublime and disquieting”. 
In the mid-1990s, she began to move away from the family pictures in favour of photographing the landscape around her. 
Much of Sally’s body of work comes from observing what is closest at hand because, she says, “The things that are close to you are the things that you can photograph the best.”
She has explored the identity of the American South, and her relationship with her place of origin, as well as mortality and decay, and the effects of muscular dystrophy on her husband. In her latest book, Art Work, she considers the challenges and pleasures of the creative process.
Sally continues to live on the 800-acre family farm near Lexington with her husband Larry and a number of dogs. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;DISC ONE: Köln, January 24, 1975, Part I - Keith Jarrett 
DISC TWO: Take This Hammer - Odetta 
DISC THREE: Trustful Hands - The Dø 
DISC FOUR: O Holy Night. Composed by Adolphe Adam and performed by Concert Choir of St Andrew’s School, Delaware and Virginia Mann (Soprano)
DISC FIVE: Moby Dick (an extract of Chapter 3) Written by Herman Melville and narrated by Frank Muller 
DISC SIX: County Seat - Emmett Mann
DISC SEVEN: Vivaldi: Oboe Concerto in C major, RV 452: 2. Adagio. Performed by Heinz Holliger (Oboe), I Musici (Ensemble)
DISC EIGHT: You Are My Friend (Live) - Sylvester &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;BOOK CHOICE: In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
LUXURY ITEM: Paper and a pencil
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: You Are My Friend (Live) - Sylvester &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Desert Island Discs has cast many photographers away over the years including Eve Arnold, Val Wilmer and Vanley Burke. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Sally Mann, photographer and writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne

Sally Mann is a photographer and a New York Times bestselling writer. She is best known for making large-format black and white photographs of the people and places in her immediate surroundings: her children, her husband, and the rural landscape of her home state and the American South.
Sally was born in Lexington, Virginia, the youngest of three children to Robert and Elizabeth Munger. Her father was a doctor and gave Sally his old Leica camera to play with. 
After university, she wanted to be a poet but she spent more than a decade as a commercial photographer while starting a family of her own and exhibiting her work on a small scale. She published her first book of photographs in 1984. That same year, she began taking pictures of her three children for a series called Immediate Family, which brought her both renown as well as infamy for touching on ordinary moments in their daily lives – playing, sleeping, and eating, sometimes while naked – but also speaking to larger themes such as death and cultural perceptions of childhood, rendering familiar subjects “both sublime and disquieting”. 
In the mid-1990s, she began to move away from the family pictures in favour of photographing the landscape around her. 
Much of Sally’s body of work comes from observing what is closest at hand because, she says, “The things that are close to you are the things that you can photograph the best.”
She has explored the identity of the American South, and her relationship with her place of origin, as well as mortality and decay, and the effects of muscular dystrophy on her husband. In her latest book, Art Work, she considers the challenges and pleasures of the creative process.
Sally continues to live on the 800-acre family farm near Lexington with her husband Larry and a number of dogs. DISC ONE: Köln, January 24, 1975, Part I - Keith Jarrett 
DISC TWO: Take This Hammer - Odetta 
DISC THREE: Trustful Hands - The Dø 
DISC FOUR: O Holy Night. Composed by Adolphe Adam and performed by Concert Choir of St Andrew’s School, Delaware and Virginia Mann (Soprano)
DISC FIVE: Moby Dick (an extract of Chapter 3) Written by Herman Melville and narrated by Frank Muller 
DISC SIX: County Seat - Emmett Mann
DISC SEVEN: Vivaldi: Oboe Concerto in C major, RV 452: 2. Adagio. Performed by Heinz Holliger (Oboe), I Musici (Ensemble)
DISC EIGHT: You Are My Friend (Live) - Sylvester BOOK CHOICE: In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
LUXURY ITEM: Paper and a pencil
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: You Are My Friend (Live) - Sylvester Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah TaylorDesert Island Discs has cast many photographers away over the years including Eve Arnold, Val Wilmer and Vanley Burke. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Sally Mann, photographer and writer

<description>&lt;p&gt;Lorraine Kelly is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a mainstay of daytime television for over 40 years. She has hosted her own show Lorraine since its launch in 2010 and she was awarded a lifetime achievement BAFTA in 2024.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Lorraine was born in Glasgow and later moved with her family to the new town of East Kilbride. She became a junior reporter at the East Kilbride News when she was in her teens and in 1983 joined the BBC as a researcher. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In 1984 she started at TV-am as a reporter covering Scottish news. During her time there she reported on some of the biggest stories in the UK including the Piper Alpha disaster and the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In January 1990 she became a co-presenter of Good Morning Britain on TV-am alongside Mike Morris. In 1996 Lorraine and Eamonn Holmes reported for GMTV on the Dunblane school shooting in which sixteen pupils and their teacher were killed. The tragedy left a lasting impact on Lorraine, who formed a lasting bond with several affected families. She returned to Dunblane in 2021 to mark the 25th anniversary with a commemorative documentary.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Lorraine lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband Steve.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;DISC ONE: Starman - Davie Bowie
DISC TWO: Mama Said - Dusty Springfield
DISC THREE: Careful - Horse
DISC FOUR: Rock the Casbah - The Clash
DISC FIVE: Truth - Hue &amp;amp; Cry 
DISC SIX: Warm Leatherette - Grace Jones
DISC SEVEN: Love is All Around - Wet Wet Wet
DISC EIGHT: That’s When He Told Her - The Proclaimers&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;BOOK CHOICE: South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance by Sir Ernest Shackleton 
LUXURY ITEM: A solar-powered digital photo album 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Careful - Horse &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There are more than 2000 programmes in our archive available for you to listen to. We have cast away other journalists and presenters including Sir Terry Wogan, Christiane Amanpour, Lindsey Hilsum and Clive Myrie. You can find their episodes on BBC Sounds or on our Desert Island Discs website.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Lorraine Kelly, broadcaster, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Lorraine Kelly is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a mainstay of daytime television for over 40 years. She has hosted her own show Lorraine since its launch in 2010 and she was awarded a lifetime achievement BAFTA in 2024.Lorraine was born in Glasgow and later moved with her family to the new town of East Kilbride. She became a junior reporter at the East Kilbride News when she was in her teens and in 1983 joined the BBC as a researcher. In 1984 she started at TV-am as a reporter covering Scottish news. During her time there she reported on some of the biggest stories in the UK including the Piper Alpha disaster and the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie. In January 1990 she became a co-presenter of Good Morning Britain on TV-am alongside Mike Morris. In 1996 Lorraine and Eamonn Holmes reported for GMTV on the Dunblane school shooting in which sixteen pupils and their teacher were killed. The tragedy left a lasting impact on Lorraine, who formed a lasting bond with several affected families. She returned to Dunblane in 2021 to mark the 25th anniversary with a commemorative documentary.Lorraine lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband Steve.DISC ONE: Starman - Davie Bowie
DISC TWO: Mama Said - Dusty Springfield
DISC THREE: Careful - Horse
DISC FOUR: Rock the Casbah - The Clash
DISC FIVE: Truth - Hue &amp; Cry 
DISC SIX: Warm Leatherette - Grace Jones
DISC SEVEN: Love is All Around - Wet Wet Wet
DISC EIGHT: That’s When He Told Her - The ProclaimersBOOK CHOICE: South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance by Sir Ernest Shackleton 
LUXURY ITEM: A solar-powered digital photo album 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Careful - Horse Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinleyThere are more than 2000 programmes in our archive available for you to listen to. We have cast away other journalists and presenters including Sir Terry Wogan, Christiane Amanpour, Lindsey Hilsum and Clive Myrie. You can find their episodes on BBC Sounds or on our Desert Island Discs website.

Lorraine Kelly, broadcaster

<description>&lt;p&gt;Lennie James is a British actor and writer. In 2025, he received the BAFTA for Leading Actor for his portrayal of Barrington Walker in the TV adaptation of Bernadine Evaristo’s novel Mr. Loverman.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This award adds to his collection, which also includes accolades for writing. At seventeen, he wrote Trial and Error and won the National Youth Theatre–Texaco Playwriting Competition, earning the title of Most Prominent Playwright Under 21.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For a decade, Lennie played Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead and its spin-off Fear the Walking Dead, gaining such global recognition that he was even recognised by Vatican guards.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He also created and starred in the critically acclaimed Sky Atlantic drama Save Me, which premiered in 2018. Its second season, Save Me Too, won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series in 2021.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Raised by his mother Phyllis, who emigrated from Trinidad to work as a nurse, Lennie faced hardship after her death when he was eleven. He and his brother Kestor were placed in a children’s home, and later Lennie moved into foster care after the home was sold by Wandsworth Council.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Encouraged by a youth theatre group, Lennie pursued acting and later trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He met his wife, Giselle, at seventeen in the same youth theatre group. They have three daughters and divide their time between the US and the UK.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;DISC ONE: Touch The Hem Of His Garment - Gene Martin 
DISC TWO: I Found Lovin’ - Fatback Band 
DISC THREE: Doesn't Make It Alright - The Specials 
DISC FOUR: Living For The City - Stevie Wonder 
DISC FIVE: Any Old Time - Artie Shaw and his Orchestra with Billie Holiday 
DISC SIX: For me... Formidable - Charles Aznavour 
DISC SEVEN: Champagne Supernova - Oasis 
DISC EIGHT: Try a Little Tenderness - Otis Redding &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;BOOK CHOICE: The Collected Novels of Toni Morrison
LUXURY ITEM: A guitar
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: For me... Formidable - Charles Aznavour &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Sarah Taylor&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Desert Island Discs has cast many actors and writers away including the author of Mr. Loverman, Booker Prize winner Bernadine Evaristo and the creator of Line of Duty, Jed Mercurio. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Lennie James, actor and writer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Lennie James is a British actor and writer. In 2025, he received the BAFTA for Leading Actor for his portrayal of Barrington Walker in the TV adaptation of Bernadine Evaristo’s novel Mr. Loverman.This award adds to his collection, which also includes accolades for writing. At seventeen, he wrote Trial and Error and won the National Youth Theatre–Texaco Playwriting Competition, earning the title of Most Prominent Playwright Under 21.For a decade, Lennie played Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead and its spin-off Fear the Walking Dead, gaining such global recognition that he was even recognised by Vatican guards.He also created and starred in the critically acclaimed Sky Atlantic drama Save Me, which premiered in 2018. Its second season, Save Me Too, won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series in 2021.Raised by his mother Phyllis, who emigrated from Trinidad to work as a nurse, Lennie faced hardship after her death when he was eleven. He and his brother Kestor were placed in a children’s home, and later Lennie moved into foster care after the home was sold by Wandsworth Council.Encouraged by a youth theatre group, Lennie pursued acting and later trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.He met his wife, Giselle, at seventeen in the same youth theatre group. They have three daughters and divide their time between the US and the UK.DISC ONE: Touch The Hem Of His Garment - Gene Martin 
DISC TWO: I Found Lovin’ - Fatback Band 
DISC THREE: Doesn't Make It Alright - The Specials 
DISC FOUR: Living For The City - Stevie Wonder 
DISC FIVE: Any Old Time - Artie Shaw and his Orchestra with Billie Holiday 
DISC SIX: For me... Formidable - Charles Aznavour 
DISC SEVEN: Champagne Supernova - Oasis 
DISC EIGHT: Try a Little Tenderness - Otis Redding BOOK CHOICE: The Collected Novels of Toni Morrison
LUXURY ITEM: A guitar
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: For me... Formidable - Charles Aznavour Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Sarah TaylorDesert Island Discs has cast many actors and writers away including the author of Mr. Loverman, Booker Prize winner Bernadine Evaristo and the creator of Line of Duty, Jed Mercurio. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Lennie James, actor

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Desert Island Discs

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