For better and for worse, The Old Grey Whistle Test was probably the most resolutely serious music programme ever broadcast on television. During its 16-year run it showcased only the most earnest exponents of whichever musical style was currently popular, and given that the programme's heyday coincided with the early 70s, some of the footage included here will provide mirth as exquisite as only unintentional comedy can!
Features these performances: Alice Cooper "Under My Wheels", Elton John "Tiny Dancer", Curtis Mayfield "We Gotta Have Peace", Randy Newman "Political Science", Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge "Help Me Make it Through the Night", Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine", Focus "Sylvia/Hocus Pocus", Rory Gallagher "Hands Off", John Martyn "May You Never", The Wailers "Stir it Up", Roxy Music "Do the Strand", The Edgar Winter Group "Frankenstein", New York Dolls "Jet Boy", Tim Buckley "Dolphins", Captain Beefheart "Upon the My O My", Little Feat "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor", Dr Feelgood "Roxette", John Lennon "Stand By Me", The Sensational Alex Harvey Band "Give My Compliments to the Chef", Lynyrd Skynyrd "Freebird", Emmylou Harris "Amarillo", Bonnie Raitt "Too Long at the Fair", Tom Waits "Tom Traubert's Blues", Otway & Barrett "Really Free", Talking Heads "Psycho Killer", XTC "Statue of Liberty", Blondie "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear", Val Doonican & Charlie McCoy "Stone Fox Chase", Meatloaf "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers "American Girl" The Police "Can't Stand Losing You", Bruce Springsteen "Rosalita" Iggy Pop "I'm Bored", Tubeway Army "Are Friends Electric", The Specials "Message to You Rudi", The Damned "Smash It Up/I Just Can't Be Happy Today", The Ramones "Rock 'n' Roll High School", PL "Careering" The Teardrop Explodes "Reward", U2 "I Will Follow", Nine Below Zero "Stone Fox Chase", Japan "Ghosts", Robert Wyatt "Shipbuilding", REM "Moon River/Pretty Persuasion", Simply Red "Holding Back the Years"