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- KIKI DEE MY VIEW

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What an honour it was for me and my musical par tner Carmelo Luggeri to perform on The Old Grey Whistle Test Live: For One Night Only a few weeks ago. As you may be aware, the legendary BBC music show was revived for a single programme last month to mark the 30th anniversar­y of its last broadcast in 1988.

The special was presented by Bob Harris (who hosted the original programme on BBC2 from 1972-79) and featured performanc­es by a host of artists who were on the show first time around including Peter Frampton, Gary Numan and myself. Other music stars like Joan Armatradin­g, the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart and Toyah Willcox graced the studio sofa and talked about their experience­s of being on it.

This was a truly memorable evening that also featured appearance­s by acclaimed new acts – folk musicians Wildwood Kin and Liverpool singer-songwriter Robert Vincent.

So many people I’ve spoken to since, be it the public or fellow musicians, have said they’d love to see OGWT – or something similar – back on TV. The original, which was commission­ed by then BBC2 controller David Attenborou­gh in 1971, was a must-see for music fans, featuring memorable performanc­es from acts as diverse as Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and Bob Marley.

Incredibly, there’s now only one serious music show – Later… With Jools Holland – which has been airing for 26 years and isn’t on every week of the year. And much as I enjoy Later… I think there’s room for a show with a broader appeal.

If the Beeb does give a new OGWT the green light, I think the show could benefit from a change of name to reflect the fact it’s looking forward rather than backwards. Perhaps The New Whistle Test might fit the bill? And I think BBC4’s Friday night music zone would provide the perfect home in the schedules for a newlook Whistle Test. I’ve seen some terrific documentar­ies about the likes of Johnny Cash on Friday evenings on the channel.

Or perhaps ITV or Channel 4 could create a new music show that’s true in spirit to the Whistle Test: a serious programme offering pop and rock fans the chance to see acts old and new performing live in the studio. I can’t believe there isn’t room in the TV schedules for another OGWT-style show, can you?

The Old Grey Whistle Test Live: For One Night Only is still available to watch on the BBC iPlayer. Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri are currently touring (kikiandcar­melo.com).

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