Sylvia (Focus song) on the "Old Grey Whistle Test", along with a number of UK gigs in late 1972, has been crediting with exposing the band and helping the single reach number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. The programme's presenter, Bob Harris, is quoted as saying that the band's appearance was so well received by the audience that the pressing plant for the single was overwhelmed and only produced copies of "Sylvia" for the following week to cater for the demand. Dave Thompson, writing for AllMusic, said that aside from the studio recording, the band's best version of the song was the
The Old Grey Whistle Test listeners to guess. In 2006, the BBC released three DVDs. The first concentrated on the early and mid-1970s. The second DVD completed the timeline, as it dealt with the late 1970s and 1980s. The third DVD, however, covered the entire history. The DVDs also featured spoken intros by the presenters introducing the songs. Billy Joel included his 1978 performance on the show as part of "The Stranger 30th Anniversary Edition DVD". Out of an original total of 445 episodes, 16 episodes are missing, a further 54 are incomplete and one exists on a format inferior to the original. From 2018,