Back in the day when three TV channels were your entertainment lot, viewing choice was limited. This limitation was further exacerbated by a household pecking order where the viiewing was dictated by parents or older siblings. And something that Generation Z will struggle with... nine times out of ten, there was only one 'device' available for viewing in the house... imagine that! For all of those limitations though I think it was the case that music programming was better than it is today.
I do have some sympathy for television network music programmers that are tring to cater for a music consuming audience that is scattered to the wind, those that still buy physical forms of music, streamers to those that get everything from social media and Youtube. Televisionwise. what we are then left with footage of the Glastonbuty Pyramid Stage each year with people vying to get on television with the help of their oversized flags or yet another series of 'Later...'. Alternatively, there is a BBC4 music thread on a Friday night that seems to be for the large part reuns of the good stuff from the 1970's, the kind of programming that I am on about!
In the 1970s, Top of the Pops was there serving as The Rezillos put it so suscinctly as a 'stock market for your hi-fi' whilst on the other side and late at night, 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' offered musical entertainment for a slightly older audience. With 'Whispering' Bob Harris at the helm, the programme focussed on 'serious' music combos... bands that released albums not singles. The new music hardly got a look in and when it did Harris seemed to have a wry smile that seemed to say 'Sorry, this is shit but I have to feature it'. All that changed with the arrival of Annie Nightingale who had the gumption to realise that there was more to this music than a three chord thrash.
Under her, punk bands were invited, Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Damned, Public Image Limited. Some of these OGWT appearances were pivotal in band's careers, 'Tubeway Army's' apperance in '79 being a case in point.
Here then is some very good quality footage of one such appearance from the winter of '78 when 999 (minus drummer Pablo Labritain) graced the Old Grey Whistle Test stage for storming renditions of 'Homicide' and 'Let's Face It' from their second studio album 'Separates'.
I hope that this is OK, it is the first authoring that I have done for a number of years and it was a struggle to remember everything!
DVD Disc image: https://we.tl/t-24pHKuD8xV
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-on9CSjIrzG
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