The Old Grey Whistle Test Pan Alley phrase from years before. When they got the first pressing of a record they would play it to people they called the old greys – doormen in grey suits. Any song they could remember and whistle, having heard it just once or twice, had passed the old grey whistle test. On 23 February 2018, a one-off three hour special of The Old Grey Whistle Test was broadcast on BBC Four, hosted by Bob Harris to mark 30 years since the final episode aired. The show's focus on "serious" rock music, rather than chart hits covered on BBC1 by
The Late Show (UK TV programme) of "The Old Grey Whistle Test" the programme became one of the few spaces on BBC television for live music performances. The programme originally featured a round-table discussion hosted by Clive James on Friday nights. However this format was dropped after the second series. "The Late Show" pulled in heavyweight popular music acts live or pre-recorded, including Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Public Enemy, Joni Mitchell, The Stone Roses, Dick Dale, and Jeff Buckley. At the time, "The Late Show" came under the now defunct Music and Arts Department at the BBC, which also produced the long-form "Omnibus" and "Arena" programmes.