The Old Grey Whistle Test The Old Grey Whistle Test The Old Grey Whistle Test (usually abbreviated to Whistle Test or OGWT) was a British television music show. It was commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco 2", which ran between September 1970 and July 1971, while continuing to feature non-chart music. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers. The original producer, involved in an executive capacity throughout the show's entire history, was Michael Appleton. According to presenter Bob Harris, the programme derived its name from a Tin
Rick Wakeman on the BBC television show, "The Old Grey Whistle Test". Much of the television audience that night planned to watch "Blue Movie", a controversial film by Andy Warhol, but it was temporarily banned from being broadcast. Wakeman explained: "It seems most of them, rather than watch repeats, switched over to "Whistle Test" and saw my preview of "Henry" ... and suddenly it seemed as if the whole country had discovered my music ... it was a tremendous break." Following its release in January 1973, the album reached No. 7 in the UK and No. 30 in the US. "Time" named