Paul Conroy

Available for 26 days

Clive Myrie is in conversation with news correspondents about the music they’ve heard whilst reporting from the front line. With his own extensive experience of covering wars and conflicts, and his personal love of opera and jazz, Clive and Paul Conroy share stories to reveal something of the power and significance of music when working in extreme conflict situations. Paul was an award-winning photojournalist who worked extensively in combat zones such as the Balkans, the Middle East, and Libya. He worked alongside Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin. His many musical memories whilst working include hearing Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis whilst filming the Kosovo border exodus. Having Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre in his head whilst smuggling himself from Budapest into Belgrade under a bus when NATO where bombing Serbia. He listened to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherezade on a loop during the Iraq invasion. And during an illegal nighttime border crossing with Marie Colvin and the Free Syrian Army, he remembers having Grieg’s In The Hall Of The Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite rattling through his brain as they tiptoed through land mines. Paul died on 28th February 2026. Producer: Rosie Boulton A Must Try Softer Production