Private Passions broadcast for over 30 years

Private Passions BBC book cover
Private Passions published by Faber & Faber

Michael has presented one of BBC Radio 3’s most popular and successful programmes, Private Passions (Sunday at 12 noon), for over 30 years. For many years, the programme was recorded in his house and has included an extraordinarily constrasting list of guests, ranging from Isaiah Berlin to Stewart Copeland, the drummer of the Police, and from the Archbishop of Canterbury to John Bird and Stephen Fry.

April 2025 saw the show’s 30th anniversary. Michael writes, “As a composer I’ve always been intrigued by the way people who are not professional musicians talk about music and how they tend to reveal things about themselves when they do. And so, 30 years ago, when Radio 3 was looking for a new programme in which a huge variety of people talked about their passion for music, I felt very excited about the possibilities. We called the programme ‘Private Passions’ because we’ve largely avoided professional musicians.”

“I’ve always loved talk, and music is a wonderful way of getting people to reveal things … the odd pop song, piece of jazz, folk music, ethnic music — all these are in the mix, but the driving force has to be a love of classical music.”

“Private Passions is different from Desert Island Discs in that we would never have someone who is not passionate about classical music. I always loved John Freeman's Face to Face [on TV in the 60s] and wanted to do something similar on radio, which is ideal for allowing people to tell their stories.”

“Music seems to connect us with what really matters, beyond the daily busyness of our lives, so when we talk about it we soon come to love and death. Over the years, acts of seduction, weddings and funerals have all loomed large; nonetheless, I can honestly say I haven’t regretted any of my guests. I enjoy the way they confound all the established musical categories, mixing up classical and jazz and rock music. Indeed they have sometimes made me overcome my own prejudices.”

Terry Gilliam
Olivia Harrison
Ursula Jones

From left to right: Michael with Terry Gilliam, Olivia Harrison and Ursula Jones

After 30 years of asking others to choose, Michael made his own selection:

The show’s signature tune is The Wakeful Poet from Michael’s Music From Chaucer.

Private Passions resources