John Nigel Needs
- 12
- reviews
- 4
- helpful votes
- 17
- ratings
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The Forsyte Saga (Dramatised)
- By: John Galsworthy
- Narrated by: Dirk Bogarde, Sir Michael Hordern, Diana Quick, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 89
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Story5 out of 5 stars 88
The blockbuster BBC Radio 4 adaptation of John Galsworthy’s classic family drama, featuring a star cast including Dirk Bogarde, Sir Michael Hordern, Diana Quick, Michael Williams and Amanda Redman. Galsworthy’s epic story chronicles the decline and fall of the Forsytes through almost 50 years of material triumph, emotional disaster, and a terrible feud that splits them asunder.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Haunting tale of destructive passion.
- By Alison St Pierre on 10-02-14
- The Forsyte Saga (Dramatised)
- By: John Galsworthy
- Narrated by: Dirk Bogarde, Sir Michael Hordern, Diana Quick, Michael Williams, Amanda Redman
Not to be missed!
Reviewed: 04-06-24
A superb rendition of a perfectly crafted narrative. Haunting, moving and extremely evocative. BBC radio at its very best. The acting is of the very highest quality. An unforgettable production.
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Father and Son
- A memoir about family, the past and mortality
- By: Jonathan Raban
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2
On 11 June 2011, three days short of his sixth-ninth birthday, Jonathan Raban suffered a stroke which left him unable to use the right side of his body, wheelchair-bound in a rehab facility and endlessly frustrated by his newfound physical limitations. As he resisted the overbearing ministrations of the nurses helping him along the road to recovery, Raban began to reflect not only on the measure of his own life but the extraordinary story of his parents’ early marriage, conducted for three years by letter while his father fought in the Second World War.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Writer, Great Last Book.
- By John Nigel Needs on 20-11-23
- Father and Son
- A memoir about family, the past and mortality
- By: Jonathan Raban
- Narrated by: James Langton
Great Writer, Great Last Book.
Reviewed: 20-11-23
Always pleased to have a new Jonathan Raban book. And this one is most definitely very good indeed. Will now definitely re-read all of his books, nearly all of which I first read on original publication. Narration by James Langton excellent.
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Back in the Day
- By: Melvyn Bragg
- Narrated by: Melvyn Bragg
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 98
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
In this captivating memoir, Melvyn Bragg recalls growing up in the Cumbrian market town of Wigton, from his early childhood during the war to the moment he had to decide between staying on or spreading his wings. This is the tale of a boy who lived in a pub and expected to leave school at 15 yet won a scholarship to Oxford. Derailed by a severe breakdown when he was 13, he developed a passion for reading and study - though that didn't stop him playing in a skiffle band or falling in love.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous!
- By Amazon Customer on 06-09-22
- Back in the Day
- By: Melvyn Bragg
- Narrated by: Melvyn Bragg
Brilliant Story, Beautifully Read and Narrated by the Author
Reviewed: 03-01-23
A very moving coming-of-age memoir. There could be criticism, maybe there should be, there could be comment, again perhaps it’s necessary, but it is so wonderfully written and told, that it would feel churlish to do so. Simply take it for what it is, and don’t miss out. A truly lovely book. Just read it, or better still, let Melvyn Bragg read it to you.
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Fortunes of War
- A BBC Radio 4 Full Cast Dramatisation of the Complete Balkan Trilogy
- By: Olivia Manning
- Narrated by: Joanna Lumley, Honeysuckle Weeks, James Fleet, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
1939, and naïve young newlywed Harriet Pringle arrives in Bucharest with her husband, Guy - just as Europe is about to rip itself apart. She believes she knows everything about the man she has married, but soon realises she knows nothing. Guy is oblivious to her needs and desires, seeming only to care about his job as a university lecturer, his friends and the beautiful, voluptuous Sophie. Struggling to build a life in a strange city, in the face of imminent invasion, Harriet feels bereft - and increasingly isolated.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A most excellent listen.
- By Banjoman on 20-04-22
- Fortunes of War
- A BBC Radio 4 Full Cast Dramatisation of the Complete Balkan Trilogy
- By: Olivia Manning
- Narrated by: Joanna Lumley, Honeysuckle Weeks, James Fleet, Khalid Abdalla, Alex Wyndham, John Rowe, full cast
Quality Radio Drama
Reviewed: 22-07-22
Superbly narrated by Joanna Lumley, expertly acted by an excellent cast. This was a great adaptation.
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1 person found this helpful
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Good Pop, Bad Pop
- By: Jarvis Cocker
- Narrated by: Jarvis Cocker
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 873
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 775
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 771
From a Gold Star polycotton shirt to a pack of Wrigley's Extra, from his teenage attempts to write songs to the Sexy Laughs Fantastic Dirty Joke Book, this is the hard evidence of Jarvis's unique life, Pulp, 20th-century pop culture, the good times and the mistakes he'd rather forget. And this accumulated debris of a lifetime reveals his creative process—writing and musicianship, performance and ambition, style and stagecraft.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I could have listened to this forever.
- By Rebecca Morgan on 11-06-22
- Good Pop, Bad Pop
- By: Jarvis Cocker
- Narrated by: Jarvis Cocker
Magnificent!
Reviewed: 18-07-22
So many ‘pop stars’, so many stories, but who can tell it so well as Jarvis Cocker. Magic!
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Subterranean Homesick Blues: The Complete Series 1-3
- A BBC Radio 4 Drama
- By: A L Kennedy
- Narrated by: Anna Calder-Marshall, Bill Nighy
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 149
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 150
Maggie and John had a passionate but disastrous affair in their younger days, but it didn't last. Now in their late 60s, a surprise encounter gives them another chance to take up where they left off. Will they manage to find the best in each other and finally get together? Or will old wounds and an awareness of their ageing bodies deter them? Will the treadmill created by the high-cost, high-pressure 21st century, and their endless other commitments and interruptions large and small, overwhelm them? Or will they take the final risk?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great two hander
- By rob roughley on 26-09-18
- Subterranean Homesick Blues: The Complete Series 1-3
- A BBC Radio 4 Drama
- By: A L Kennedy
- Narrated by: Anna Calder-Marshall, Bill Nighy
Wonderful Acting!
Reviewed: 14-01-22
Unfortunately the storyline does not quite work for me, but the performances by actors Bill Nighy and Anna Calder-Marshall are absolutely superb. I so wanted the narrative to work, but the slight failure and disappointment in the storyline was more than compensated for by the delivery of both actors, especially Bill Nighy, who is such a wonderful radio performer.
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1 person found this helpful
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The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Primary Phase
- By: Douglas Adams
- Narrated by: Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,029
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,610
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,604
A dynamic remastering of the original BBC Radio 4 full-cast serial - Fit the First to Fit the Sixth - which spawned a phenomenal hitchhiking legend. The original series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, remastered by Dirk Maggs (director of the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases) to give a full, vibrant sound, now with Philip Pope’s version of the familiar theme tune and specially re-recorded announcements by John Marsh.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Abridged version.
- By Derek P Tiller on 23-04-16
Superb and Magical
Reviewed: 04-08-21
Original, thoughtful, funny, sublime and touched with genius. I heard it first over four decades ago when originally broad by BBC Radio and it never fails to thrill and amuse me, no matter how many times listen to it. I also find it personally very nostalgic. Of its time, and but also of all time. Brilliant.
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The Holly and the Ivy (Classic Radio Theatre)
- By: Wynyard Browne
- Narrated by: Stephen Murray, John Samson, Jane Knowles, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 22
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22
A BBC Radio 4 production of Wynyard Browne’s classic play about a 1950s family homecoming at Christmas. It is Christmas Eve and the family are gathering at Reverend Martin Gregory’s Norfolk vicarage. A soldier son destined for Oxbridge, two elderly aunts with a passion for chatter, a cousin with a military background and a pair of daughters who are both hiding secrets join the vicar to celebrate the festive season.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A 1971 Family Values Play
- By Highlight on 12-01-15
Brilliant. Don’t Miss!
Reviewed: 04-08-21
Corny, predictable, dated and old-fashioned, but oh, so enjoyable! The acting is superb, moving and full of hope. Radio drama at its very best. Just the words BBC radio Saturday Night Theatre always give me a warm glow, though I believe this version of the stage play was actually first broadcast as recently as on Christmas Day 2005 on Radio 4. How so appropriate!
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Winter Words
- Poetry and Personal Writings (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Bruce Alexander, Janet Maw
- Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story5 out of 5 stars 7
This selection of Hardy's poetry does full justice to its humanity, integrity, humour and evocative power, ranging from charming anthology pieces such as Weathers to the great love poems he wrote after the death of his first wife and his meditations on war and phillosophy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Poet’s Poet
- By John Nigel Needs on 22-07-21
- Winter Words
- Poetry and Personal Writings (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Bruce Alexander, Janet Maw
The Poet’s Poet
Reviewed: 22-07-21
Memories of something. Beautifully read by the narrators, especially Janet Maw. I have carried Hardy’s haunting words throughout my 70 plus years of life. They never fail to move me. Hardy feels like a traditionalist writing like a modern. Sentimental for sure, clumsy at times, certainly naive, but definitely felt. Do buy and listen.
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Vile Bodies
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Robert Hardy
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 174
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 153
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Story4 out of 5 stars 152
A satiric novel by Evelyn Waugh, published in 1930. Set in England between the wars, the novel examines the frenetic but empty lives of the Bright Young Things, young people who indulge in constant party-going, heavy drinking, and promiscuous sex. At the novel's end, the realities of the world intrude, with Adam Fenwick-Symes, the protagonist, serving on a battlefield at the onset of another world war.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful narration
- By K Bright on 04-09-16
- Vile Bodies
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Robert Hardy
A Minor Masterpice
Reviewed: 25-06-21
It is over 50 years since I first read this brilliant novel. Maybe I was far too young when I first read it, to appreciate the dry wit and hidden humour. Now, I rank it as one of Waugh’s minor masterpieces. A unique book in Waugh’s worldview, and he was so young when he wrote it. Robert Hardy’s reading of it cannot not be faulted, it is masterly and sublime. Only the concluding chapter disappoints, but do not be put off by this comment, this is a truly great book.
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