Desert Island Discs: Ian Rankin

The BBC programme page describes the Ian Rankin edition of Desert Island Discs (Radio 4, first broadcast Sunday 16 July 2006 at 11:15; repeated Friday 21 July at 9:00; 45 minutes). Sue Lawley's castaway is the award-winning crime writer and creator of the Scottish detective John Rebus, who had featured in 17 novels to date. Born in Fife into a working-class family in a coal-mining town, Rankin, the blurb says, spent most of his childhood trying to "look like he fitted in"; in his bedroom he lived out a fantasy life, writing poems and stories and creating strip cartoons. He admits many parallels with Rebus: they lived at the same Edinburgh address, both are fond of a drink and now even share the same taste in music, though unlike Rebus, Rankin has never smoked. That is about to change, the text adds, since Rebus has reached retirement age and Rankin's next novel will be the last in the series.

The track list ends with Jackie Leven and "Linseed Oil" from Jackie Leven Said (Cooking Vinyl), the joint audiobook-and-concert album by Leven and Rankin. Before it come Dave & Ansel Collins ("Double Barrel"), Mogwai ("Rage: Man"), John Martyn ("Solid Air", his favourite track), Joy Division ("Atmosphere"), Van Morrison ("Snow in San Anselmo"), the Rolling Stones ("You Can't Always Get What You Want") and Belle and Sebastian ("The Boy with the Arab Strap"). His book is Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time and his luxury a traditional American pinball machine. The page says nothing about what Rankin says of Leven in the programme; the recording itself was not heard.