On September 21, 1971, The Old Grey Whistle Test premiered on the UK's BBC2 channel, a weekly music program featuring live performances — like if KEXP's YouTube channel was broadcast on TV. Unlike its trendier predecessor Top of the Pops, OGWT focused more on rock, welcoming guests like The Who, Queen, Dire Straits, and other more "classic" artists. But in its later years,The Old Grey Whistle Test was also where many punk and new wave acts got their first television exposure. On the anniversary of the show's debut, KEXP looks back at some of these breakthrough performances featuring some of our favorite artists:
Siouxsie & the Banshees, 1978
XTC, 1978
The Cars, 1978
The Buzzcocks, 1978
Talking Heads, 1978
Blondie, 1978
The Damned, 1979
Blondie, 1979
The Ramones, 1980
P.I.L., 1980
U2, 1981
Siouxsie & the Banshees, 1982 (featuring robert smith of the cure on guitar!)
