Michael Heath
Kirsty Young interviews cartoonist Michael Heath.
Kirsty Young's castaway is the cartoonist Michael Heath.
He's been working for newspapers and magazines for sixty years and sold his first drawing to the Melody Maker in the 1950s. For the past twenty five years he's been the cartoon editor of The Spectator magazine.
Born in London in 1935, his early schooling was interrupted by the Second World War and by the age of twelve he was still unable to read and write. Both his parents drew professionally and after one unhappy year at art college, Michael left to pursue a freelance career as a cartoonist.
During his prolific career, Michael has created many cartoon strips including 'Great Bores of Today' which ran for nearly thirty years in Private Eye and 'The Regulars' which was centred on his Soho drinking crowd who included the writer Jeffrey Barnard and the artists Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud.
Producer: Sarah Taylor.
Last on
Clip
-
Michael Heath: 'I didn鈥檛 know when my birthday was'
Duration: 01:51
Music Played
-
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE
-
Thelonious Monk
Criss Cross
- Genius of Modern Music, Volume 2.
- Blue Note Records.
-
-
Bud Powell
Dance of the Infidels
- The Best of Bud Powell on Verve.
- Verve.
-
Henry Hall & His Orchestra
The Teddy Bear聮s Picnic
Singer: Val Rosing.- The Children聮s Classics Collection.
- Unknown.
-
Max Miller
Max In An Air Raid (I Never Slept A Wink All Night)
- The Cheeky Chappie.
- EMI Comedy Classics.
-
Jack Buchanan
Take a Step
- Jack Buchanan with Elsie Randolph.
- Pavilion Records.
-
The Quintet
All The Things You Are
- Jazz at Massey Hall.
- Decca.
-
Fred & Adele Astaire & Julian Jones & His Orchestra
Funny Face
- Crazy Feet!.
- Living Era.
-
Charlie Parker with Strings
Lover
- The Master Takes.
- Verve.
-
BOOK CHOICE
Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith
LUXURY ITEM
Artist's painting set
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Kirsty Young |
Interviewed Guest | Michael Heath |
Producer | Sarah Taylor |
Broadcasts
- Sun 7 Aug 2016 11:15大象传媒 Radio 4 FM
- Fri 12 Aug 2016 09:00大象传媒 Radio 4
Featured in...
Desert Island Discs Archive: 2016-2018—Desert Island Discs
Guests are invited to choose the eight records they would take to a desert island.
Listen to over 2,000 programmes
Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.
Articles
Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.
Podcast
-
Desert Island Discs
Castaway guests share the soundtrack of their lives.