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
Live at the BBC (Dire Straits album) June 1995, the year in which the group officially disbanded. According to Knopfler, the album was released because Dire Straits still owed one album to Phonogram Records (now Mercury Records). This album was a means to end the legal contract, before Mark Knopfler began his solo career (still signed to Mercury). "Live at the BBC" consists of eight songs, the first seven were recorded for the BBC "Live in Concert" series on 22 July 1978. The eighth song, "Tunnel of Love", was recorded for the BBC TV program "The Old Grey Whistle Test" on 31 January 1981, as stated in