FEATURE:
The Crystal Ship
IN THIS PHOTO: Desert Island Discs host Lauren Laverne with castaway Isabella Tree (conservationist and writer) in November 2019/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC Radio 4/PA Wire
Lauren Laverne, Desert Island Discs and a Source of Inspiration for Me
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LOOKING at what there is to write about at the moment…
PHOTO CREDIT: @nickmorrison/Unsplash
and I have a list of things that I want to tick off! There is nothing specific in regards new albums and news, but there is quite a bit to cover relating to next year. I want to address themes like homelessness and how music can help; streaming in the 2020s and whether the landscape of music has changed. I also want to have a think about the artists that we need to look out for next year. As the last few days of 2019 are upon us, we are rounding up this year and thinking about the cream of the crop. It is a quiet time and I think we are all sort of preparing for what is to come and how the industry will change. I am putting Desert Island Discs and Lauren Laverne under the spotlight for the final time this year – I will ration my features in 2020! There are two reasons why I am doing yet another article about Desert Island Discs. For one, I am still in the process of formulating a podcast relating to Kate Bush. It is a matter of having the money to do this. After an expensive Christmas, the money supply is a bit (read: very) short and I might have to put things off until later next year. I have a fond desire to produce a forensic and passionate podcast that dissects and heralds one of the most captivating and popular artists of all-time.
IN THIS PHOTO: Laverne alongside comedy actor/writer Ruth Jones, who was a Desert Island Discs castaway in January this year/PHOTO CREDIT: Amanda Benson/BBC Radio 4/PA Wire
Being a journalist that does not do many interviews (not any more), I have been a bit out of practice regarding the lost art of conversation. I would say most of my work has involved sitting in front of a laptop and not really getting out into the world! Not that a podcast would result in a riot of sociability and human connection – it is something I need to do and, alas, finance is an issue! I mention this as I have been dubious regarding my interviewing prowess and whether I could helm a podcast. It is a big responsibility steering a project by yourself and making it popular and accessible. I have written about Lauren Laverne and Desert Island Discs specifically more than once this year. In fact, back in August of last year, I commented on Laverne taking over from Kirsty Young – who had to step down due to illness; Laverne is the permanent host now. I wrote about my Desert Island Discs dream selections earlier this month and, in between these two bookmarks, I have lauded Lauren Laverne as an accomplished and intelligent interviewer. This will, as I say, be the last post I write about Lauren Laverne for a while – as I wonder whether she is getting tired of my features! -, but the second reason I wanted to pop in another feature was to come to her defense. That sounds a bit patronising but, really, there has this been this split between some members of the press and a wave of support from listeners and rational-minded folk!
IN THIS PHOTO: Lauren Laverne took over from Kirsty Young (right), who stepped down presenting Desert Island Discs in 2018 - due to the health problems associated with fibromyalgia -, having presented the series since 2006/PHOTO COMPOSITE: Press/Getty Images
I will bring in an interview Laverne conducted recently, where she was the subject of unfair scrutiny and rudeness. I listen to her BBC Radio 6 Music show every weekday, and one of my favourite aspects (of the show) is the interviews. Whether it is a figure from comedy, music or another area of life, she can adapt expertly and delivers a warm and interesting interview. Maybe there were some reservations – from the media or BBC Radio 4 diehards – that she would not be able to step into Kirsty Young’s shoes and would be a bad fit. There was snobbishness regarding Laverne’s northern roots and interview style; a hatchet-piece in The Spectator was especially condescending and belittling. I can understand why some would take a while to re-tune their ears considering Lauren Laverne and Kirsty Young are different presenters. Their style is different but, whereas The Spectator implied Laverne was taking Desert Island Discs in a bad direction, the obstreperous tide of love and support that came her way after that article was published (back in August) proved the public (the vast majority of them) were behind her! She is about to take one of radio’s institutions into a new decade and, following a busy 2019, she must be basking in the peace and relaxation at the moment; prepared and excited to see which castaways come her way!
IN THIS PHOTO: Louis Theroux talked to Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs back in May/PHOTO CREDIT: Press
I know she has come out and said that she will get better and more confident in her role. To be fair, there is a huge difference between traditional radio interviews and the special cuisine of Desert Island Discs. Whereas one might seek something different from a music interview on BBC Radio 6 Music, maybe a more inquisitive and pressing style is required in some Desert Island Discs interviews. Maybe a couple of answers from castaways begged for a little bit of follow up and nudging, as opposed the question sort of trailing…or leaving the subject unexplored. I think some media sources highlighted a case where Louis Theroux talked about his anxiety when he was on the show (back in May) and, perhaps, some firmer steering from the captain could have resulted in a fuller answer where Theroux opened up more. It is hard to please everyone because, whilst follow-up questions and guidance would have resulted in a different interview, I think a less intrusive and firm style of interview can actually allow a castaway a sense of comfort; they open up when they feel like it and are not being directed. One case where this is true is the recent interview with Stephen Graham, who talked about a suicide attempt when he was younger. Graham himself thanked Laverne for a great interview and, accordingly, so many other people echoed his compliments. So much of Desert Island Discs is about the music and the eight discs the castaways choose.
Was an absolute pleasure... 🙏 https://t.co/xCVNYtNKbK
— Stephen Graham (@StephenGraham73) November 17, 2019
I am a fan of the show and I feel Lauren Laverne has added her own stamp, whilst not changing the format needlessly. I wanted to highlight a great captain who is sailing a golden, crystal ship forward. Maybe a crystal ship suggests something fragile and flashy, but I mean – as it is also a song by The Doors – Laverne’s Desert Island Discs is this beautiful thing where guests can feel safe and secure. I can appreciate Laverne herself is improving and knows there are little touches and tweaks she can make, but there is a disrespect and attitude from some members of the press that is beyond the pale! Exactly two weeks ago, another big article was rude towards Lauren Laverne. One can say that middle-class, middle-aged women in the press have this attitude issue – The Spectator feature was written by Melanie McDonagh-; the interview published in The Times was conducted by Decca Aitkenhead. I will omit some of the ruder extracts from the interview because, to me, they are just plain bitchy and snobbish. Maybe it a class thing: upper-middle-class journalists feeling Desert Island Discs has been the victim of a P.C. move at the BBC; Laverne the embodiment of the all-inclusive style of broadcaster that many resent. I don’t know. I am grabbing at straws here, as I cannot really fathom journalism like this:
“…Then there’s the other version, spat all over Twitter and shared by almost every Desert Island Discs fan I know. While everyone agrees Kirsty Young was a tough act to follow, Laverne’s critics despair of her interview style. “There’s no getting away from it,” declared a damning Spectator columnist, “Lauren is lightweight and uncerebral. Her capacity to come up with the forgettable phrase is quite something.” Out of her depth, lacking gravitas or warmth, as one Twitter critic put it, “Laverne’s only contribution to Desert Island Discs is to occasionally say ‘Time for some more music (insert name). Tell us about your (nth) disc.’ She’s the broadcasting equivalent of a self-service checkout.”
IN THIS PHOTO: The legendary Bob Mortimer appeared on Desert Island Discs in February this year/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC Radio 4/PA Wire
I really want the first version to be true. Seeing someone monstered for trying to do their job is never edifying, and Laverne’s career success is hugely admirable. As well as Desert Island Discs she hosts BBC Radio 6 Music’s breakfast show; she has also written a novel, been a newspaper columnist, presented Late Night Woman’s Hour, co-hosted the satirical news programme 10 O’Clock Live, appeared on practically every TV panel show you can name and fronted TV coverage of everything from Glastonbury to the National Comedy Awards.
So my heart sinks when she appears at the restaurant and the energy in the room plummets like a stone before she has even sat down. For the next two hours I try everything to rev it up again, but am comprehensively thwarted. I strike up more of a rapport with the woman who checks in my coat than I ever manage with Laverne, and as our lunch goes on, I’m horrified to hear myself becoming equally flat. By the time we leave, the cloakroom attendant seems considerably more charismatic than either of us.
She is so self-effacing, the show risks becoming less a conversation than a monologue. “I see my job as allowing other people to shine,” she says, but admits she’s having to learn to “lean in to the end of a question. I’m quite stand-back. It’s been a question of stepping forward and taking up a bit more space”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Sophia Spring for The Sunday Times Magazine
“I hope she does more of that, but I suspect her background of interviewing musicians, who are not always famously eloquent, doesn’t help. Presented with Desert Island guests who can talk for England, it’s easy to see why she sits back and lets them. The trouble is, distinguished high achievers tend to have a well-trodden story of their life, and, left to their own devices, will happily trot it out again, like hackneyed old raconteurs. Listeners want an insightful archaeological dig, not a brisk retread of a familiar biography, and this requires a host with the temerity to get guests to pause, think and say something fresh”.
I think, as many will reiterate, Lauren Laverne has taken over a very high-profile and much-loved radio show and made it her own, without copying anyone else. In doing so, I feel she has attracted a wider demographic of listener and brought a lot out of her castaways. I would implore people to listen back to all of her Desert Island Discs broadcasts – if you have the time free! -, because she has evolved and strengthened and, to contradict The Times’ Decca Aitkenhead, I feel the natural warmth and understanding Laverne applies to her interviews is a reason why so many, castaways included, have come out in support and praised her. Tune in tomorrow at 11:15 a.m. to hear Laverne and castaway Kimberley Motley (an American international attorney, author; a philanthropist, comic book writer, beauty queen and human rights activist of African-American and Korean descent) chat - the episode was originally broadcast in November. I know there are small steps to be taken and little improvements that can be made, but I hope Lauren Laverne takes heart from the love out there for her and views the bits of negative press as…
PHOTO CREDIT: Independent Talent
ANNOYING digital paper cuts.