I have very vivid memories of me sitting in the kitchen when I was a kid eating breakfast, possibly Frosties, and the transistor radio would be tuned to the BBC. If I remember correctly, there was sometimes a bit of an argument as to what station we should listen to. Mum was more Engelbart Humperdinck and we were more radio one, which played the latest and greatest pop songs of the 60’s and 70’s.
In September 1971, the Old Grey Whistle Test began on BBC2, this was a new kind of music program which would often highlight only one or two bands instead of playing all the music of the day.
The running order included:
Theme music: Area Code 615 – “Stone Fox Chase”
Lesley Duncan performing:
Sing Children Sing
America
Riverside
Children
Studio rehearsal footage from America performing:
Riverside
Children
Film clips featuring:
Alice Cooper – Hallowed Be My Name
Jimi Hendrix – Wild Thing (from Monterey)
Bob Dylan – Maggie’s Farm
Clyde McPhatter – You’ll Be There �
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The first song ever performed on the programme was “Sing Children Sing” by Lesley Duncan, making her the first artist to appear on OGWT.
Bob joined the OGWT in 1972 and was called “Whispering Bob” because of his very quiet and nervous delivery as host. He has been a pillar of the music industry since.
Due to the time difference between the UK and Australia, I was able to listen to “Bob Harris Sunday” on a Sunday morning instead of having to wait up until midnight. His eclectic music taste introduced many of us to new and amazing music and then he would play a blast from the past to bring us back to our roots.
He hosted “Sounds of the 70’s” in 1970, however I don’t recall listening to him on radio back then, I was introduced to Bob on the “Old Grey Whistle Test” For many years “Sounds of the 70’s” was hosted by Johnnie Walker, and I was never a fan. He was a long time staple of the BBC and the industry and I listened to him here at night time, but I was never really a fan, however I love the music from the 70’s. I personally think Johnnie Walker stayed on way to long, he was ill with cancer and praise to him for battling on, but the play list each week was becoming predictable and stale. There is only so much Status Quo you can listen to.
Bob returned to the show in November 2024 and it was such a breathe of fresh air, he was far more skilled and his music was fantastic. Yes he played some of the staple songs but they were few and far between, instead he once again introduced many of us to the vast array of music that was the 70’s. His stories and anecdotes are second to none. He is 80 years old and he lived through the best years that music has had to offer and he has been gracious and consistent and always able to blow your mind. He is part of the DNA, the fabric of music.
https://www.instagram.com/whisperingbob
Bob stepped away from the Sounds of the 70’s in March this year due to ill health. He has been battling cancer for sometime, although you would never know it. He said that if he could not give 100% to each program he did, then it was unfair on the listeners. Such a sad day, the world is not the same without Bob Harris on your radio. He recently turned 80, although he certainly doesn’t act like it. He is currently resting at home getting over the latest regime of treatment and I’m sure everyone that knows him or just heard him on the radio like me, wishes him all the best and we hope that maybe he might just return to the mike once in a while to let the world hear his dulcet tones.
