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Why The Old Grey Whistle Test’s One-Off Return Should Kickstart a Revival
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THE gods of music (gender-neutral, you understand) do like…
IN THIS PHOTO: Bob Harris during his Old Grey Whistle Test period
to tease the minds of us mere mortals! We are teased the return of some band or other; we get pumped about this and that before, too long, it gets taken away from us! I have been tossing around the idea Top of the Pops should make a permanent return but am concerned about certain things. That show, for me, resonated because it was a classic, top-of-the-charts configuration that included the best acts of the day. Maybe I am misremembering or over-romanticising the bygone show. I believe there is a whisper it will be returning for a special some point down the lines. Apart from Jools Holland’s longstanding Later…there is not really a lot to get pumped about regarding music television. I have been reminiscing – got my rose-tinted spectacles back from the shop – but there was something eventful and exciting about watching the best of the mainstream come to life. Perhaps we have become too familiar with YouTube and services where we can project our own version of music T.V. It is sad thinking we cannot return, in some way, to those halcyon days. Against the extortion and excess of modernity comes a hint of nostalgia that, to someone like me, raised my hopes. I am too young to remember The Old Grey Whistle Test and what it stood for. It was commissioned by Sir David Attenborough, oddly, and ran on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988.
I was five when it ended so my memories are dim to say the least! It was the rival and alternative to the more Pop/mainstream Top of the Pops: The Old Grey Whistle Test was more concerned with Rock and those who did not go to the allotted smoking area to burn a fat one off. Devised by the then-produced Rowan Ayers; it was a stripped-back, basic show that was the antidote to the glitzy and gaudy shows one might have seen on the box. The lineup of presenters was a varied one. Richard Williams (remember him?!) was the first incumbent – until Bob Harris took the reigns over in 1972. I shall come back to Harris when speaking about the one-off show we will see later this month. Harris left The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1978 – labelling New York Dolls ‘mock Rock’ a bit later down the line – and was replaced by Annie Nightingale. The show was cancelled by Janet Street-Porter – the Head of Youth Programmes at that time – and, as one would expect from her; common sense and reflecting the opinions of the masses not top of her mind. It was a show that saw its share of problems – especially in the earliest days. There were technical issues and bands usually recorded instrumental tracks prior to the show – the vocals, for the most part, were done live on the day.
The show transitioned to an all-live format by 1973 but, considering the lip-synch nature of shows like Top of the Pops (especially the modern incarnation); I feel there is an important place for The Old Grey Whistle Test on our screens. Bob Marley and the Wailers gave their first British T.V. performance there; Billy Joel and Heart performed on the show; New York Dolls’ performance on the show, in a way, created a Punk revolt. Not only did The Old Grey Whistle Test help usher Punk in: it has laid the bones down for modern versions like The Tube and Later…with Jools Holland. Like a lipstick-wearing flirtatious tease: the show is only going to provide brief pleasure and satisfaction. Once the doors are shut at the end of this month – the show; not the girl! – that will be it. Like TFI Friday: we know shows can age and not always recapture the same spirit that made them popular way-back whence. Three decades after its cancellation; the late-night show will feature interviews with former alumni such as Andy Kershaw and Annie Nightingale. It will show on BBC Four on 23rd February and ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris will introduce live music and talk to the former presenters. We will see rare archived footage and a view vote – where they can vote for the performance the BBC Four audience would most like to see again. Among the archived performances are legendary turns from Queen, Tom Petty and Blondie – Led Zeppelin and R.E.M. are in there, too!
IN THIS PHOTO: Joan Armatrading during her prime
On the night itself; they’ll be live music from Peter Frampton, Richard Thompson and Albert Lee – who have all played on the show before. Interviews with Dave Stewart, Ian Anderson and Kiki Dee will be included. Danny Baker, Chris Difford and Joan Armatrading will be interviewed, too. I am pumped and cannot wait to view it myself. Not only will it be a chance for 1990s children like me to connect with a show my parents would have seen: it is an opportunity for younger generations to see a show that made such an impact on music. Many people will see the show for the first time. Rather than see Old Grey Whistle Test’s one-night swansong as a nostalgia-fest for those who prefer their music older and less Pop-y: we need to see the show as a catalyst for needed change and inspiration. It is good Jools Holland has his show on the air. That show offers a platform to the best of the new and older breed: jamming genres together and providing a forum for musicians to produce some utterly fantastic sets! So many first were created and spawned during The Old Grey Whistle Test’s first foray. Not only did it direct the nature of music television and give birth to the next wave of youth-orientated music television: genres exploded and, at the time, guitar artists had a place where they could perform in a very natural space.
IN THIS PHOTO: Richard Hawley at 6 Music Live
That is not the case with modern music, really. Most of the big radio stations offer live sessions and platforms: there is not an all-out mainstream show that showcases the most innovative and gnarly acts around. We live in a time when, for a number of reasons, there is a need for revolt and regeneration. There are some great guitar bands around – but they are buried and swimming in a sea teeming with all sorts of sounds and acts. Top of the Pops has died and one would wonder, if it were to resurface, it would succeed and capture the imagination. In 2018; we are losing long-term concentration and have an accessible library of sounds at our (sore and worn) fingertips! Why would we ever consider sitting in front of the T.V. and watching the day’s biggest artists playing to us? Can we even guarantee the musicians on that Top of the Pops stage are doing it live and for real?! I wonder whether, alongside Jools Holland’s successful show, we could either revive The Old Grey Whistle Test or produce a modern sister – the title would have to go; not very modern and funky! We, now, divide ages, genres and tastes so that there is a station for each type of listener. There is really a consensus and compromise for the broad-minded listener to explore! I suggest a show that inherits the ethos and foundations of The Old Grey Whistle Test – a basic set and showcasing the most important artists of the day – but putting in established and older artists.
IN THIS PHOTO: Sigrid
We do not need something ultra-current and apropos. Music, now, is so trained towards streaming figures, radio playlists and meaningless statistics. Having a show that sticks a greasy middle-finger up at the beard-stroking digital luvvies would be perfect rebellion! You could have bands like IDLES, Goat Girl and Cabbage greasing it up alongside Wolf Alice and Field Music. In other room; Popstars like Sigrid, James Blake (who is more Electronic, I grant you) and Beyoncé. You could have titans and newcomers on the same stage: bringing in as-yet-unsigned acts with those living stars that, in turn, could learn a lot from those newer acts. Running concurrently would be an integration of classic stars and artists – such as Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder; Carole King, Aretha Franklin and the like! It would be a feast of sounds that would compel viewers and musicians alike. I feel; putting the ‘right’ acts on the bill would help bring about change and explosion. I am not intimating it would be on the same level as 1970s Punk: more a modern-day equivalent that would bring guitars and mass-unification sounds back into the charts. At the very least, we would have an authoritative and stocked music show that could run and get people away from the laptops! Maybe, then, we could think about putting music videos, classic and fresh, into the show?! Visual aspects would be important and, if we are splicing older and new; how about archived performances, interviews and turns?
PHOTO CREDIT: Unsplash
It would be a way of connecting younger listeners to the past; getting modern sounds to those who might avoid cooler radio stations – changing the game and giving us all a must-see weekly show we could all bond to. This is an imaginative leap from The Old Grey Whistle Test’s BBC Four return to a worldwide, multi-genre phenomenon that spearheads a revolution! Bob Harris, I am sure, would be the first to back such a proposition: a show where genres like Country could sit with Alternative and Punk! Whatever happens; it is wonderful having a musical institution back on the screens – if only for three hours! It will be great to see those legendary musicians back in the studio and on the BBC. What happens from there is anyone’s guess. Perhaps there will be renewed interest in the show – depending on what the viewing figures are like – and there could be a resurgence, perhaps? It is hardly a coincidence The Old Grey Whistle Test is being revived at a time when people crave something urgent, classic and vital. Anyone who assumed the grey-named T.V. show is a relic that is dredging up the (tired) bones of some faded musicians – you’d do good to remember why the show ran for so long and what it gave to music. I cannot overlook its role and what it achieved during its lifespan. Let’s hope this one-off show spawns a T.V. movement which, in time, revives the lost art of…
PHOTO CREDIT: Unsplash
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