OGWT
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OGWT
For my sins I have a vested interest in 1970s music and have a few questions. How popular was The Old Grey Whistle Test in the 70s? Did anyone watch it? Top of the Pops was the main music show that I know but a number of bands now insist that their appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test was instrumental in them achieving popularity in the UK. One such example is The New York Dolls, whom went on it in 73 I think. It's very hard for me to believe that can possibly be true but they are not alone in stating that The Old Grey Whistle Test brought them notoriety. Was it ever a popular show? I didn't think it was ever. Who do you remember seeing on it?
Last edited by MJMcCready on Thu Mar 21, 2024 8:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: OGWT
I watched TOWGT avidly. I recall being mesmerised by the video for Trampled Underfoot by Led Zeppelin in 1975.MJMcCready wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 11:22 pmFor my sins I have a vested interest in 1970s music and have a few questions. How popular was The Old Grey Whistle Test in the 70s? Did anyone watch it? Top of the Pops was the main music show that I know but a number of bands now insist that their appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test was instrumental in them achieving popularity in the UK. One such example is The New York Dolls, whom went on it in 73 I think. It's very hard for me to believe that can possibly true but they are not alone in stating that The Old Grey Whistle Test brought them notoriety. Was it ever a popular show? I didn't think it was ever. Who do you remember seeing on it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKv4goxIR1Q
and also by this incredible Frank Zappa video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr1FchF4opE
and a whole lot more.
Sadly, not all episodes survived.
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Re: OGWT
The shorter-lived precursors (of which I knew nothing, just like this one) included the fascinating 'Colour Me Pop':
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour_Me_Pop
Apparently it was designed to "celebrate the new introduction of colour to British television".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour_Me_Pop
Apparently it was designed to "celebrate the new introduction of colour to British television".
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Re: OGWT
My Dad refused to purchase a colour television receiver on the grounds that if we waited long enough the price would then become affordable.Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:21 amThe shorter-lived precursors (of which I knew nothing, just like this one) included the fascinating 'Colour Me Pop':
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour_Me_Pop
Apparently it was designed to "celebrate the new introduction of colour to British television".
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Re: OGWT
OGWT was on fairly late on BBC2 I think, so probably did not have a massive audience. I watched occasionally, and saw Meat Loaf (1978), which featured the first TV broadcast of "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", (performed live), I think he did "Bat out of Hell" and another track also. Needless to say, I rushed off to buy the album the next day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogXDWdqew2Y
Some of the bands featured disappeared without trace of course!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogXDWdqew2Y
Some of the bands featured disappeared without trace of course!
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Re: OGWT
OGWT had much more of a cult following. It did prog rock, avant garde stuff with the occasional legend from the USA thrown in. TOTP was chart driven, much more poptastic (think Smashy and Nicey). TOTP was on BBC1 at 7.30pm, OGWT (BBC2) was in the graveyard shift (11.15 or later, after the nightly BBC2 current affairs prog).
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Re: OGWT
... and some decent stuff too.
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Re: OGWT
Another memorable example of the above was Pink Floyd's "One Of These Days" to the now famous Ian Emes animation French Windows - I think the first time it was ever shown on TV.John Upham wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 11:29 pmI watched TOWGT avidly. I recall being mesmerised by the video for Trampled Underfoot by Led Zeppelin in 1975.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKv4goxIR1Q
and also by this incredible Frank Zappa video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr1FchF4opE
and a whole lot more.
Sadly, not all episodes survived.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)
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Re: OGWT
I am not sure asking on a chess forum will get you a credible answer. There are actually archives and sources out there that may help. The University of Reading is a good place to start for this sort of thing.
The BBC Television Audience Research Reports, 1957-1979: recorded opinions and invisible expectations
The BBC Television Audience Research Reports, 1957-1979: recorded opinions and invisible expectations
Sadly, on a quick look through, nothing really that would be of use, I don't think. It is an overview by that author suggesting what may be of use in the area they were looking at. You may want to try and look at the "700 Audience Research Reports". They are apparently at the "BBC Written Archives in Caversham" (or at least they were in 2014). Whether OGWT was considered something worth doing audience research on is another matter.Smart, B. (2014) The BBC Television Audience Research Reports, 1957-1979: recorded opinions and invisible expectations. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 34 (3). pp. 452-462. ISSN 0143-9685 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01439685.2014.937187 Available at https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/71886/
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Re: OGWT
My guess would be that OGWT didn't have all that many viewers, but those that it did have were serious music fans, so the bands who appeared on it knew they were likely to get a lot of potential customers from those viewers. The TOTP audience was probably a lot more casual.