desert island discs « Labour Uncut

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‘The road to Manchester’ a mixtape

23/09/2010, 12:00:10 PM

The votes are cast. All that’s left is to jump in the car, hop on the train or fire up the battle bus for one last leadership road trip.

We asked the leadership contenders for their desert island discs. The eight tracks they couldn’t live without. They tell you something about them, about where they’re going and where they’ve been. So what better mixtape for the leadership groupies’ journey to Manchester?

Grab yourself a couple of TDK 90s, squeeze into the car share, and hit the road.

Uncut – The road to Manchester

(You need Spotify to access this playlist. Unfortunately a few songs aren’t listed.)

The candidates’ selections were:

Diane Abbott

Harry Belafonte – Scarlet Ribbons

The Beatles – Things We Said Today

The Temptations – Ain’t Too Proud to Beg

Bob Marley – Exodus

Buju Banton – Driver A

D:ream – Things Can Only Get Better

Paul Roberts – Reflections in the Water

Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Nkosi Sikelel ‘IAfrika

Ed Balls

Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling in Love – (live, Madison Square Gardens 1972)

Joshua Redman – Blues for Pat (Wish)

Herbert Howells – Like as the hart (St Paul’s cathedral choir, Hyperion)

Spandau Ballet – True (12? version)

Bach – Partita No. 2 in D Minor for violin – Itzhak Perlman, EMI

Dolly Parton – I will always love you

Handel – Ariodante Act 3, Dopo Notte atra e funesta (Janet Baker, Philips)

Billy Bragg – Saturday Boy

Andy Burnham

How soon is now – The Smiths

There is a light – The Smiths

The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn – The Pogues

Dirty Old Town – The Pogues

Ten Storey Love Song – Stone Roses

Every day is like Sunday – Morrissey

Bones of you – Elbow

Protection – Massive Attack

David Miliband

Sting – Englishman in New York

Elvis Costello – Oliver’s Army

Fritz Kreisler – Liebeslied

Sibelius – Violin Concerto

Shostakovich – Symphony No.10

James Taylor – How sweet it is (to be loved by you)

Elton John – Your Song

The Beatles – All you need is love

Ed Miliband

Paul Robeson: The Ballad of Joe Hill

Billy Bragg: A New England

Josh Ritter: Good Man

Hard Fi: Stars of CCTV

Housemartins: Caravan of Love

Robbie Williams: Angels

A-ha: Take on Me

Beethoven: Ninth Symphony

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Ed Balls’ desert island discs

22/09/2010, 12:30:03 PM

It’s a metaphor for the whole campaign. Ed Balls’ desert island discs are the coolest. No question.

But they’ve come too late. Even the shouting is over. The avalanche of taste-esteem that will engulf the shadow education secretary this afternoon cannot save him from electoral oblivion. Not even the hardcore Labourista’s luxury of choice can save him now.

Nobody is surprised that he has turned out to have an immense appetite and aptitude for the brutal business of opposition. Less predictable was the warmth and “normalness” which was reported in the second half of his campaign.

Had it been a six month campaign, Ed Balls would have done better. But three was too long already.

On St Helena, he would have had Dolly Parton’s astonishing voice, Elvis Presley’s unabating coolness, Billy Bragg’s best song and Bach’s most difficult violin piece to console him. Which might have been quite nice.

In real life, whoever wins will expect Ed to do most of the work.

Elvis Presley – ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ – (live, Madison Square Gardens 1972)

Joshua Redman – ‘Blues for Pat’ (Wish)

Herbert Howells – ‘Like as the hart’ (St Paul’s cathedral choir, Hyperion)

Spandau Ballet – ‘True’ (12″ version)

Bach – Partita No. 2 in D Minor for violin – Itzhak Perlman, EMI

Dolly Parton – ‘I will always love you’

Handel – Ariodante Act 3, ‘Dopo Notte atra e funesta’ (Janet Baker, Philips)

Billy Bragg – ‘Saturday Boy’

Luxury: Karaoke machine

Book: Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome

Film: Some Like it Hot

Posted in Inside | 3 Comments »

Andy Burnham’s Desert Island Discs

27/08/2010, 02:16:24 PM

In case you missed it: Andy Burnham is a working class Roman catholic from the north of England. Not the midlands. And certainly not the south. The north.

He has no aversion to posh people. Nor to protestants. Not at all. But he is not one of them. And it is important that you know that. Weirdly, Burnham has put his ‘ordinary’ northern origins at the centre of his Labour leadership campaign.

His desert island discs are parodically reflective of this. The only tune he’ll hear in paradise which hasn’t been recorded by either a Manc or a Roman catholic or both will be “Protection”, by the Bristol “trip hop” duo, Massive Attack. (more…)

Posted in Inside | 9 Comments »

Diane Abbott’s desert island discs

06/08/2010, 03:10:56 PM

A woman of conviction, Diane Abbott presented us with the same list she gave to our namesake in 2008. Any flirtations with post ’08 tunes have been put to the back of her mind. She has stayed true to the mix tape which had accompanied her life up to that point. The lady’s not for turning.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo make the list. The Temptations make the list. Bob Marley makes the list. Buju Banton – the (convicted) weed growing, (awaiting trial) alleged coke smuggling, (on/off) gay bashing, (confirmed) Jamaican – singer, makes the list.

But the one song that really stands out from the rest is D.ream, with the Blairite crowd pleasing, conference-electrifying classic Things can only get better. Abbott isn’t a Blairite. Abbott wasn’t a Blairite. We can’t imagine Abbott was one of the many uncomfortable middle class lefties shuffling on the spot and mouthing the words at conference ’97.

(more…)

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Ed Miliband’s desert island discs

05/07/2010, 03:41:17 PM

Ed Miliband has cool-blitzed his brother’s desert island discs. It may be that he is cooler. It may be that he took a lot longer to reflect; that he agonised and focus-grouped.

Whatever the explanation, David’s desert island discs were defiantly uncool. Ed’s is a clever selection of thirty something and socialist hat tips.

We speculated in advance on how the candidates would deal with the Billy Bragg dilemma: too obvious, or impossible to omit if you want to resonate with any Labour member under 50? (more…)

Posted in Inside | 9 Comments »

David Miliband’s desert island discs

25/06/2010, 01:00:08 PM

We asked each of the leadership candidates to choose 8 favourite tracks, a book and a luxury which they might take to a desert island.

We will be publishing them one candidate at a time.

David Miliband is first because he sent his back first. (more…)

Posted in Inside | 11 Comments »

Labour leadership desert island discs

18/06/2010, 10:16:54 AM

Next week sees the start of Uncut’s Labour leadership desert island discs series. Eight music tracks, a book, a film, a website and a luxury. One of the Miliband brothers to kick off, depending which gets his answers in first.

It would be interesting to hear your predictions. Will any of them actually just pick the 8 records they like best? Is there any real chance they will come clean with the Tina Turner and the Mantovani?

Or are they cloistered with their top aides as we speak, agonising over whether Billy Bragg is de rigeur, de trop, passé or just beyond the pale?

And what single book can the boffiny Miliband boys possibly elevate above all others? All those years of wonking, all that policy. How can they possibly fit it all into one book? Will they even try?

Two years ago almost to the day, Ed Balls did a dry run when he hosted a one-man show in his father’s Norfolk village featuring “music, readings and reminiscences” which gave a “personal insight into the life of a high-profile politician”. It was titled: “With Great Pleasure”. Really.

Diane Abbott is the only one of the five who has actually been on BBC Radio 4’s desert island discs programme. Which raises difficult editorial questions for Uncut: should she be allowed to pick different tunes? Or obliged to? Or disqualified? Or what? This playing field is not level. And modern politics abhors – more than anything – an unlevel playing field.

All contributions gratefully received below.

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