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Oliver Postgate

Kirsty Young's castaway is animator Oliver Postgate.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the animator Oliver Postgate. As the creator of Noggin the Nog, The Clangers and Bagpuss, Oliver holds a special place in many childhoods. So it may come as something of a surprise that he never thought about how his programmes would be received by children; instead he says he simply focussed on making the stories great - everything else was secondary. For 20 years he toiled in a converted pigsty in Kent, animating the characters Peter Firmin drew, churning out 120 seconds of film a day. He says a respectable average for an animation company now would be two seconds!

Oliver's own childhood was a lonely one; ignored by his busy parents and sent to an experimental school he hated. He says that to this day, he has no meaning unless he is doing something, and this is a direct legacy of his desperation to be noticed as a child.

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

Favourite track: When the Saints Come Marching In by Pete Fountain
Book: Huge book of English Poetry
Luxury: A comfortable bed.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 20 Jul 2007 09:00
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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Music Played

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major

    Orchestra: The Bath Festival Orchestra Conductor: Yehudi Menuhin

    • Brandenburg Concertos Nos 1- Bath Festival Orchestra.
    • EMI Classics.

  • Josh White

    The Lass with the Delicate Air

    • Ballads & Blues.
    • Brunswick.

  • Frederick Delius

    Summer Evening

    Orchestra: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Sir Thomas Beecham

    • Delius - Orchestral Works.
    • EMI Classics.

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Pete Fountain

      When the Saints Come Marching In

      • Pete Fountain’s New Orleans.
      • Coral.

  • The Vernon Elliot Ensemble

    Graculus's Memory Music

    • Graculus’s Memory Music.

  • Pyatnitsky State Russian Folk Choir

    Steppe, Oh Steppe Around

    • Moonlight Over Moscow.
    • BMG.

  • Thijs van Leer

    Introspection Two

    • Thijs Van Leer/Introspection.
    • CBS.

  • Γ‰dith Piaf

    Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien

    • Edith Piaf: Legends of the 20th Century.
    • EMI.

  • Book Choice

    • Huge book of English Poetry

  • Luxury Choice

    • A comfortable bed

Credits

Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Oliver Postgate

Broadcasts

  • Sun 15 Jul 2007 11:15
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
  • Fri 20 Jul 2007 09:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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