Cadbury Saxophone Band

Kim’s Desert Island Discs
You may remember I asked for any contributors to the Desert Island Disc conceit. Well Kim D is the only one so far. Here is her selection

Beethoven – Moonlight sonata

Yes, I know this has been over-exposed over the years, but when I discovered it back in the 60s, it wasn’t. My father had a record that had this painting (Fatata de Moua) by Paul Gauguin on the cover, and some blurb on the back said how Beethoven and Gauguin were alike because they were aloof from society.

I was always fascinated by the fact that Beethoven was deaf and yet could hear so much in his head. They neglected to point out that Gauguin was generally a pretty horrible man, and I only found this out in later life, but hey. They were both geniuses, and that’s what counts. Anyway, I used to spend hours as a child sitting by the radiogram speakers listening to the Moonlight and looking at the picture.

Acker Bilk – Stranger on the Shore

There is something so haunting and yet comforting about this tune. My grandfather was a huge fan of Acker, and I learned to play this on the clarinet for him.

Andrea Bocelli – Mille lune, mille onde
I never used to be in the habit of listening to Italian opera singers and only discovered ‘a man called Andrea’ (as my sister put it) last year. It must be a sign of old age, although we sometimes had opera on in the house when I was a child. I loved Pavarotti, and could have put in his ‘Panis Angelicus’ too, but there’s just not enough space…

Sky – Toccata

Otherwise known as Bach’s Toccata, of course. The first time I heard this, I’d gone to a concert with my friend Tim at the Colston Hall, and he’d raved about this instrumental band he’d heard on the radio called Sky. The guitarist and band leader was no less than John Williams (yes, THE John Williams!) ( Not the Star Wars one – Ed) and it was their first tour. This was their opening number and when they had to come back for the encore, JW said ‘Would you mind if we played Toccata again, because we can’t play anything else?’ Oh, and just so you know, I was kissed after a later concert by JW and the gorgeous Herbie Flowers, who remembered seeing me at the first concert! (Once seen never forgotten – Dave)

K-Passa – Goodbye my Love

Several of K-Passa’s songs I could have chosen, but I only have room for one… In case you haven’t heard of them, K-Passa are a local band (Simon (singer & songwriter) hails from Cheddar and in the 80’s, barely a month went by when I didn’t see them in the Fleece & Firkin, acoustic gigs in pubs, Ashton Court and many other festival-type gatherings. A real feel-good band, slightly manic folk with a fabulous violinist called Brian, who I believe is dead now. I chatted to them a few times, too – ooh, I’m almost a groupie! ( Only almost! You must tell us more sometime – Dave)

Roy Orbison – I Drove All Night

Just wonderful. I love this track and his beautiful, beautiful voice. He wrote some great songs and sang with a lot of other famous people, notably Bruce Springsteen, kd lang and of course, was part of the Travelling Wilburys. See – right there, so many songs come to mind!

Fine Young Cannibals – Suspicious Minds

Purists would obviously prefer the Elvis version, but I love this. Strangely, when FYC were big, in the 80’s, I didn’t ‘get’ them. It took me about 15 years. I could so easily have put ‘She Drives Me Crazy’ in here.

Everybody Hurts – REM

One of my all-time favourite bands. Such a waste that Michael Stipe is gay! I know this song is almost a cliché it is so famous, but however famous this one is, it’s still brilliant. Anyway, from the album ‘Automatic for the People’, I could have chosen almost any of them. My favourite album ever.

So there we are. And I suspect that on a different day (I have got this list down from 52 songs), the final 8 would have been different. There’s no Jacques Loussier, no Springsteen, no Semisonic, Who, Stones, Jools Holland, Elvis, Van Morrison, Beautiful South, Elvis Costello, Simon & Garfunkel….the list goes on and on.

However, I had great fun doing this, and have the true number of 35 of my favourites in a playlist on my iPod. I’m sure they too will change – Razorlight’s ‘Wire to Wire’ may well become a stayer, but I think they have to be around a while to make sure you love them properly!

Thanks for the challenge, Dave!

Kim Davies April 2009