Annie Nightingale the early 1980s she presented a Friday night show and the non-music-based "Radio 1 Mailbag" and "Talkabout". In 1978, Nightingale became the main presenter of "The Old Grey Whistle Test" on BBC2 as a replacement for long-time host Bob Harris. During her tenure, the show moved away from its traditional bias under Harris towards country music, blues rock and progressive rock and embraced popular modern styles such as punk rock and new wave. She left the series in 1982. She had begun "The Sunday Request Show" in September 1975, originally on Sunday afternoons until the end of 1979. It began
The Old Grey Whistle Test the glam metal scene of the 1980s. The show became the template for many successive "serious" British music programmes, such as the BBC's "Later... with Jools Holland" and "From the Basement" as well as OGWT's independent television rivals Alright Now", "Revolver" and "The Tube". In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, "The Old Grey Whistle Test" was placed 33rd. The Arctic Monkeys referenced the show in the track Four Out of Five, from their 2018 release "Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino". A parody