IMPERSONALITIES – ROY PLOMLEY

Posted by Admin on 29 May 2008, 12:00 am

What has this man become, to whom there clings
an aura of urbanity and poise,
the cachet, doubtless, of his days at King’s,
supremely right for tactics he employs –
that mode of interviewing, tête-à-tête,
celebrities of diverse rank and style,
prospective castaways who nominate
eight records for a hypothetic isle?
What metamorphosis has now replaced
our playwright Plomley’s live dramatic flair
with just a formula on octaves based –
a weekly eight-disc-governed questionnaire
with prefaced ‘atmospheric’ seabirds’ notes,
(effective though a somewhat hackneyed touch)
and complementary tune by Eric Coates,
evocative of coral reefs and such?
Relaxing in a clubland rendezvous,
does he, when in a ruminative mood,
select, with us, those tiresome people who
undoubtedly should be marooned for good?