In the 1970s and 1980s, The Old Grey Whistle Test was Top of the Pops for grown ups and those with a more sophisticated, discerning musical palate. The good news is that it is to return for a limited period. The bad news is that it will be on radio!! The 16 part series will run from August on Radio 2 in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the programme’s inception.

The renaissance of The Old Grey Whistle Test will be on on Radio 2 rather than a late Friday night slot on BBC2, its home for 16 years before it was terminated in 1987. Surely a better fit would be for the programme to be in close proximity to BBC4’s 9pm Friday night retro music slot? However there will be some continuity with it’s original guise as original presenter “Whispering” Bob Harris will host the shows “which will comprise a mix of archive and new performances, alongside interviews with artists who appeared in the original series”. Bob Harris points out that the revived Old Grey Whistle Test will be “a massive reunion, featuring superstars of British and American music.”

Elton John and Robert Plant will help commemorate the 40th anniversary of The Old Grey Whistle Test. Paul Weller, Roger Daltrey, Mark Knopfler, Yusuf Islam ( Cat Stevens ), Emmylou Harris and Simple Minds are among the other artists who will appear.

In the 1970s and 1980s, The Old Grey Whistle Test was instrumental in launching the UK careers of overseas artists such as Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen and Steely Dan, and gave British artists such as David Bowie their first national exposure. The programme’s format differed from the mainstream Top of the Pops in that it permitted artists to perform whatever they wanted, and was more album track orientated rather than focussing on the charts and single releases like it’s BBC1 cousin.

In the BFI’s list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes in 2000, The Old Grey Whistle Test came 33rd, a not inconsiderable achievement bearing in mind its primary focus on album tracks. Although in later years it was presented by Annie Nightingale, Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, the era that is best remembered is the Bob Harris years, parodied so perfectly by John Thomson’s Jazz Club presenter Louis Balfour on BBC2’s The Fast Show.

Having avidly watched the BBC3 re-runs of Top of the Pops from 1976 on Thursday nights since April, I can imagine that in 1976 The Old Grey Whistle Test was a sane release from the insanity and dire mire that was the chart music scene in that year!! On the basis that Top of the Pops has made a return, would it not make sense to re-run old episodes of The Old Grey Whistle Test?!! After all the BBC’s remit is all about presenting a balanced diet when it comes to programming!!

But what do you think? Should it return on BBC Radio 2 or should the original series be re-run on television on BBC3 or BBC4 in tandem with the “vintage” Top of the Pops programmes from 1976? Let us know in the Reply Box below…..

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