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Andy Kershaw

Kirsty Young's castaway is broadcaster Andy Kershaw.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the broadcaster and journalist Andy Kershaw. His career to date is as distinctive as his delivery - he combines an evangelical enthusiasm for world music with a fascination for reporting from the planet's most unstable places. He says he is happiest when marinated in mosquito repellent and living out of a rucksack - and although he is best known for unearthing unfamiliar tunes and bringing them to a wider audience it is his current affairs reporting that has brought him the greatest acclaim.

Rwanda, Burundi and Haiti are among the 81 countries he has visited; his front line dispatches vividly conveying the true horror of conflict. His reporting and his music broadcasts have won him many, many awards and both careers are, he says, the result of his insatiable nosiness.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Hupenyu Hwangu by Bhundu Boys
Book: The collected works by Ryszard Kapuscinski
Luxury: Lots of toilet roll.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 16 Mar 2007 09:00

Music Played

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Bhundu Boys

      Hupenyu Hwangu

      • Shabini.
      • DiscAfrique.
  • Bob Dylan

    Like a Rolling Stone

    • Live 1966.
    • Legacy.
  • The Clash

    White Man in Hammersmith Palais

    • The Story of the Clash Volume 1.
    • Columbia.
  • Warren Zevon

    Lawyers, Guns and Money

    • The Best of Warren Zevon: A Quiet Normal Life.
    • Asylum.
  • Loudon Wainwright III

    One Man Guy

    • Loudon Wainwright III - I’m Alright.
    • Rounder.
  • Joni Mitchell

    Carey

    • Blue.
    • Reprise Records.
  • Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris

    Return of the Grievous Angel

    • GP/ Grievous Angel.
    • Reprise Records.
  • Tinariwen

    Matadjem Yinmixan

    • Aman Iman: Water is Life.
    • Independiente.
  • Book Choice

    • The collected works - Ryszard Kapuscinski

  • Luxury Choice

    • Lots of toilet roll

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Andy Kershaw

Broadcasts

  • Sun 11 Mar 2007 11:15
  • Fri 16 Mar 2007 09:00

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