Desert Island Discs

Debbie Harry

First broadcast: Sun 22nd May 2011, 11:15 on BBC Radio 4 FM
Repeat broadcast: Fri 27th May 2011, 09:00 on BBC Radio 4 LW

Kirsty Young’s castaway is the singer Debbie Harry.

Songs edited out due to youtube blocking

Her group Blondie started out in seedy New York bars and went on to achieve international success – selling tens of millions of albums along the way. She was ultra cool – a striking beauty with platinum hair and a sneer. Now aged 65, her trademark look continues to serve her well, she says: “As far as ageing goes it’s rough – I try my best – I’m healthy and I exercise like a fiend. I’m glad that I’ve had all the radical experiences in my life – it suits me.”

Record: Mahler’s Symphony No.5 in C sharp Minor – 4th movement
Book: War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
Luxury: Paints and papers

Tracklist:

1. Gossip – Heavy Cross
2. Nina Simone – Strange Fruit
3. Calvin Harris – Merrymaking at My Place
4. The Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat
5. Fever Ray – When I Grow Up
6. Nino Rota – La Passerella from the film 8 1/2
7. Peaches – Talk To Me
8. Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor – 4th Movement