31-511: The Old Grey Whistle Test (sometimes abbreviated to Whistle Test or OGWT ) is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers , commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. It took over the BBC2 late-night slot from Disco 2 , which ran between September 1970 and July 1971, while continuing to feature non-chart music. The original producer, involved in an executive capacity throughout
62-543: A "pure" girl, which Sounds magazine commented is "always an important symbol". Oh baby you're the only thing in this whole world That's pure and good and right And wherever you are and wherever you go There's always gonna be some light In the Bat Out of Hell Musical Steinman confirmed that the "pure girl" is a character called Raven, who was based on the Neverland character Wendy Darling . The protagonist singing to her
93-540: A one-off live three-hour special of The Old Grey Whistle Test was broadcast on BBC Four , hosted by Harris to mark 30 years since the final episode had been broadcast. Launched on BBC2 , the show focused on albums, rather than chart hits covered on BBC1 by Top of the Pops . It was originally produced in a studio at BBC Television Centre in west London known as "Pres B", which had been originally designed for shooting weather forecasts and in-vision continuity . The studio
124-429: A real boy’s choir but he insisted. But it didn’t work out so we weren’t able to use it. You see, I’d heard this symphony by Mahler and I really wanted a boy’s choir. There’s nothing more beautiful than the sound of 20 boy sopranos singing. Steinman insisted that the song should contain the sound of a motorcycle , and complained to producer Todd Rundgren at the final overdub session about its absence. Rather than use
155-409: A recording of a real motorcycle, Rundgren himself played the section on guitar, leading straight into the solo without a break. In his autobiography, Meat Loaf relates how everyone in the studio was impressed with his improvisation. Meat Loaf commends Rundgren's overall performance on the track: In fifteen minutes he played the lead solo and then played the harmony guitars at the beginning. I guarantee
186-550: A single on 26 October 1987 but failed to chart in the UK. Sounds magazine described it as "heavy metal thunder with Bruce Springsteen overtones (it's L-O-U-D, but this fellow sang with Ted Nugent ...), a lyrical, white-noise tale of screaming sirens, silver black phantom bikes, the Ultimate Girl and her purity (always an important symbol), ending in the final death crash when his heart tears out of his chest and flies away." The song
217-406: Is "Strat" who is based on Peter Pan . Steinman says that Rundgren vetoed two of his ideas. The first idea involved this section (the second concerns a later part of the song). In the soft section, I wanted to have a boy’s choir... Todd wanted to do it with the existing vocal backup section and then speed up the tape and use other technical tricks to get the boy’s choir sound. I said that we needed
248-412: Is also represented musically through bass guitar, a section devised by Kasim Sulton . Steinman says "I don't think there's ever been a more violent crash... the guy basically has his body opened up and his heart explodes like a bat out of hell." Throughout the song, the chorus "I'll be gone when the morning comes" is a double entendre of leaving his lover and of his impending death. The song ends with
279-466: The 1960s. Bat Out of Hell (song) " Bat Out of Hell " is a song written by Jim Steinman for the 1977 album Bat Out of Hell and performed by Meat Loaf . In Australia, the song was picked as the second single from the album in May 1978, accompanied by a music video. In January 1979, the song was released as a single in the UK and other European countries, and re-released in 1993. Like most songs on
310-627: The BBC, where he had served as assistant head of presentation and run the BBC community programmes unit, in 1974 he moved to Australia where he joined the national Channel 9 network. Ayers launched Abbey Road , the Beatles' last recorded album, on his show Late Night Line-Up to rapturous applause in late 1969. He was the father of Kevin Ayers , a founder member of Soft Machine , and a very keen Merlin Rocket sailor in
341-500: The album, the song was written about Peter Pan and the Neverland story. Steinman had intended for the song to appear on "a rock 'n roll sci-fi version of Peter Pan". Steinman finally completed the musical (which he started writing in 1968) in 2017. The song was also inspired by teenage tragedy songs such as " Leader of the Pack ", " Terry " and " Tell Laura I Love Her ", the latter being
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#1732852572790372-704: The comparison." According to Meat Loaf, the song is "constructed from" a shot near the beginning of Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho in which the viewer looks down a valley and sees the lights of a city. He says all the clients in the Bates Motel "wish they would have left like a bat out of hell... It had nothing to do, believe it or not, with Bruce Springsteen. It had to do with Alfred Hitchcock and Psycho ." The song, along with "Heaven Can Wait" and "All Revved Up with No Place To Go", originally featured in Steinman's Peter Pan -inspired 1977 un-finished musical Neverland , which
403-451: The first chorus, Wendy screams "Don't leave me." There is some rapid dialogue after the second chorus between Tink , Baal and Wendy, concluding: Baal yells "Destiny", and continues into the motorcycle part of the song. The song opens with an instrumental section lasting nearly two minutes, predominantly featuring piano and guitar . The lyrics begin to set the scene of evil, guns, knives and "blood shot streets." The song then focuses upon
434-430: The first single Jim Steinman had ever bought. Steinman wanted to write the "most extreme crash song of all time": There is something so thrilling to me about that operatic narrative that involves a cataclysmic event, especially one so perfectly intune with a teenager's world, and rock and roll, as a car or motorcycle crash. On a musical and thematic level, "Bat Out of Hell", both single and album, are often compared to
465-399: The great vocal performances on record." This song placed third of Top Gear 's Top 5 Ultimate Driving Songs, as voted by the audience of the show. It was ranked below Queen 's " Don't Stop Me Now " and Golden Earring 's " Radar Love ". The song was viewed negatively by the show's hosts, Jeremy Clarkson , James May , and Richard Hammond , who implored viewers of the show to not vote for
496-515: The highest-charting song off the Bat Out of Hell album and was reissued in December 1993 following the huge chart success of " I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) " in 1993. This time it reached number 8 giving Meat Loaf two singles in the UK Top Ten at the same time - a feat not repeated by any artist until 2002. A live version of the song, from the album Live at Wembley , was released as
527-403: The line "like a bat out of hell" repeated three times, each ending on a high C . The video intersperses shots of a motorcyclist riding through a graveyard, lit by a full moon , with shots of Meat Loaf and backing singers at microphones. Despite being released more than a year after the album became available, the single reached number 15 in the UK in 1979, becoming his first top 20 UK hit and
558-691: The long-running Points of View . He was also responsible for the BBC's Open Door . Born in Essex and educated at Dulwich College , Ayers served in the Royal Navy in the Second World War , reaching the rank of lieutenant and serving in the Battle of the Atlantic , and began his career as a journalist on Fleet Street as the television editor for Radio Times before moving to television. After several years with
589-438: The programme's early days, before the advent of the music video , tracks that could not be performed live by musicians were accompanied by old film footage, edited especially for the programme by film collector and archivist Philip Jenkinson . After Harris's departure Annie Nightingale took over as host. In December 1980 Nightingale presented a special edition immediately after the murder of John Lennon (who had appeared on
620-531: The series as a presenter in 1984. The same four presenters co-presented the BBC's television coverage of Live Aid in 1985. The series was cancelled in early 1987 by Janet Street-Porter , who had been appointed head of Youth Programmes at the BBC. The series ended with a live New Year's Eve special, hosted by Bob Harris, broadcast through to the early hours of New Year's Day 1988: material included Hotel California by The Eagles , live from 1977, and Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf . Owing to technical issues during
651-443: The show caused his latest album Savage (Songs From A Broken World) to re-enter the charts the following week at number 60. Rowan Ayers Rowan Ayers (16 June 1922 – 5 January 2008) was a British television producer and executive. He was best known as producer of BBC 's Line-Up and Late Night Line-Up in the 1960s. He was the originator of BBCs influential late night rock music show The Old Grey Whistle Test and
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#1732852572790682-439: The show in 1975). This particular episode consisted almost entirely of interviews with various people about Lennon's life and career. Following the departure of Nightingale in 1982, Mark Ellen , David Hepworth and Richard Skinner also took turns as presenters. In 1983 the programme was moved to a live mid-evening slot. The title was abridged to Whistle Test and the title credits and music were changed. Andy Kershaw joined
713-870: The show's early years and the need to ensure performances were controlled, the bands often recorded the instrumental tracks the day before. The vocals were then performed live "99 percent" of the time. After 1973 the show changed to an entirely live format. On 23 February 2018 the BBC broadcast a special programme, hosted by Bob Harris, to mark 30 years since the series was last broadcast. This live studio show featured music, special guests and rare archive footage. It featured live performances from Gary Numan , Kiki Dee , Peter Frampton , Wildwood Kin , Richard Thompson , Albert Lee and Robert Vincent . Harris chatted to Whistle Test alumni, including Gary Numan, Dave Stewart , Joan Armatrading , Ian Anderson , Toyah Willcox , Dennis Locorriere , Chris Difford and Kiki Dee, as well as fan Danny Baker . Gary Numan's performances on
744-492: The show's entire history, was Michael Appleton . According to presenter Bob Harris , the programme derived its name from a Tin Pan Alley phrase from years before. When they got the first pressing of a record they would play it to people they called the old greys – doormen in grey suits. Any song the doormen could remember and whistle, having heard it just once or twice, had passed the old grey whistle test. On 23 February 2018,
775-423: The track was already six minutes long. He knew that he had to do the crash. The lyrics describe how the biker is riding "faster than any other boy has ever gone." He is so involved that he "never [sees] the sudden curve till it's way too late." Drums and a roaring guitar indicate the crash. The biker lies fatally injured, "torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike." He can see his "heart still beating", which
806-566: The whole thing didn't take him more than forty-five minutes, and the song itself is ten minutes long. The most astounding thing I have ever seen in my life. Steinman also wanted a choir in this section of the song, but Rundgren vetoed it. Steinman says that he wanted it to sound "just like in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey , they used a choir sounding like it was singing whole clusters of notes. I wanted to use an entire orchestra, and I wanted to use them viciously." Rundgren and Meat Loaf were angry with Steinman when he refused to stop writing when
837-457: The work of Bruce Springsteen , particularly the Born to Run album, and especially the song " Thunder Road ". Steinman says that he finds that "puzzling, musically," although they share influences. "Springsteen was more an inspiration than an influence." A BBC article suggested, "...the fact that Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan from Springsteen's E Street Band played on the album only helped reinforce
868-494: Was Richard Williams , features editor of Melody Maker , the music weekly. From 1972 the programme was presented by disc jockey Bob Harris (nicknamed ‘Whispering Bob Harris’ because of his quiet voice and laid-back style). He later became notorious among the younger generation for distancing himself on air from Roxy Music 's first performance on the show and calling the New York Dolls "mock rock" and left OGWT in 1978. In
899-430: Was finally completed in 2018 and renamed Bat Out of Hell . Steinman and Meat Loaf, who were touring with The National Lampoon Show , felt that the three songs were "exceptional" and Steinman began to develop them as part of a seven-song set they wanted to record as an album. In the musical, the character of Baal describes to Wendy what Neverland feels like: " The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling..." After
930-420: Was honored at the Q Awards 2008 with the "Classic Song" award. Paul Rees, Q 's editor in chief, said: "There are some songs that transcend such things as time and genre, and "Bat Out Of Hell" is assuredly one of them. It sounded extraordinary when it was first released, and it appears no less so now—like something beamed in from another planet. Extraordinary, and magnificent too, thanks in large part to one of
961-434: Was only 32 by 22 feet (10 m × 7 m). Due to the lack of technology that accommodated live performances, bands mimed to tracks in early episodes. The series' opening titles theme was an animation of a male figure made up of stars (known as the 'Star Kicker') dancing. The programme's title music, with its harmonica theme, was a track called Stone Fox Chase by a Nashville band, Area Code 615 . The first host