The long-running BBC radio series, Desert Island Discs is well-known for the quality of its celebrity interviews, where a guest chooses 8 tracks that best described key moments in their life. Each guest also gets to pick a book, and one luxury item.

When Tracey Emin guested on the show in November 2004, her luxury item was a pen that would never run out. Her book was a copy of Spinoza’s Ethics. Tracey also gave a revealing interview to host, Sue Lawley, in which she discussed her difficult and traumatic childhood and youth, and her ambitions, the importance of art and her controversial career as an artist.

Tracey’s favorite discs were:

1. John Holt “Riding For a Fall”
2.  The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations”
3.  Donna Summer “I Feel Love”
4. The Clash “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”
5.  Middle of the Road “Chirpie Chirpie Cheep Cheep”
6.  Elvis Presley “Burning Love”
7.  Third World “Now That I’ve Found Love”
8.  David Bowie “Young Americans”
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

 
Alice Cooper guested on the classic BBC Radio show Desert Islands Discs in 2010, where he discussed the highs and lows of his long and successful career, and chose some of the records which best captured those moments from his past. Dear olde Auntie described Alice Cooper thus:

As a teenager he says it was British music that he tuned in to - listening to The Beatles, The Yardbirds and The Who. He realised that while rock music had many heroes, there were few villains - that was the territory he marked out for himself. He developed his trademark look - blackened eyes, straggly hair and glamorous clothes - and set about designing live shows that were gleefully gory and macabre.

While critics have described him as ‘the world’s most beloved heavy metal entertainer’, it took him a while to untangle himself from his creation. “For a long time I honestly didn’t know where I began and Alice ended. My friends at the time were Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and I was trying to keep up with them. And I realised when they all died that you didn’t have to be your character off stage.”

Alice’s selection:

The Yardbirds - “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago”
The Beach Boys - “I Get Around”
The Who - “I’m A Boy”
Laura Nyro - “Timer”
King Crimson - “21st Century Schizoid Man”
Jane’s Addiction - “Been Caught Stealing”
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - “Work Song”
Bob Dylan - “Ballad of a Thin Man”
 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

Alice Cooper: Black Juju, 1971

 
Special Bonus Clip - Alice Cooper live showcase 1971, after the jump…