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Annie Nightingale, the first female presenter of a BBC Radio 1 show and co-host of The Old Grey Whistle Test, has died after a short illness. She was 83.

A statement to the press attributed from her family said she passed away yesterday at her home in London.

“Annie was a pioneer, trailblazer and an inspiration to many,” said the statement. “Her impulse to share that enthusiasm with audiences remained undimmed after six decades of broadcasting on BBC TV and radio globally.”

It added: “Never underestimate the role model she became. Breaking down doors by refusing to bow down to sexual prejudice and male fear gave encouragement to generations of young women who, like Annie, only wanted to tell you about an amazing tune they had just heard. Watching Annie do this on television in the 1970s, most famously as a presenter on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test,...

Soft Cell have announced an expansive reissue of their breakout debut album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, out October 20th via Mercury-Emi/Umr.

The release is highlighted by a 6xCD, 98-track Super Deluxe Edition featuring 40 previously unreleased tracks. In addition to a new remastering of the album by Barry Grint, the first disc includes the A- and B-sides in their original 7-inch versions. Meanwhile, the second disc features extended versions and new remixes of each of the album’s tracks, and the third is filled with BBC session highlights alongside demos, outtakes, and audio from BBC TV and radio appearances on The Richard Skinner Show, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops, and more.

Also included are a full instrumental version of the album and demos, original 12-inch A- and B-sides from 1981 and 1982, and live recordings from Soft Cell’s shows at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo in November 2021 and...

As Chick Corea witnessed for himself again and again, including on the British music series The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976, the strangest thing happened in pop during the Seventies. Music fans would buy tickets to arena or amphitheater shows by bands like Return to Forever — founded and fronted by the late jazz keyboardist, who died of an unspecified type of cancer on February 9th at 79. Then they would settle into their seats and watch, and attentively listen, as the musicians would play an hour or two of entirely instrumental music.

Arthur Buck, Arthur Buck (New West)

For two weeks in September, Arthur Buck — the newly minted duo of singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur and ex-r.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck — toured with the songs from their debut album, Arthur Buck, as a quintet with keyboard player Gregg Foreman, drummer Linda Pitmon of Steve Wynn’s Miracle Three and longtime R.E.M. sideman Scott McCaughey, looking hale and sounding hearty on bass and backing vocals after suffering a stroke last year. The effect was robust and promising, adding the bond and fortified...

Edgar Wright was, by his own account, "21 years old, living in North London, broke and on the dole – that's British for 'welfare'" in 1995 when he was struck by what he can only compare to a near-religious vision. The filmmaker was in the process of editing his first movie, a low-budget Spaghetti western homage, but the future director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz had nothing lined up and no sense of what he really wanted to do with his life. And then he put on "Bellbottoms," the first...

This eccentric, diverting film about the world of mould and its enthusiasts is as weird as they come, but it could teach us a thing or two … well, maybe

Here is a documentary that in filmic and scientific terms is the equivalent of a lengthy mandolin solo on a triple gatefold prog-rock album. It’s all about the weird world of slime mould. We hear from amateur slime mould enthusiasts who love to study time-lapse footage of the frilly, bulbous mouldy growths spreading and branching all over fallen trees, like the fractal images in those films that used to be shown on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Slime mould is part plant, part mysterious, shapeless animal.

There is an intriguing link with early cinema. In the days of magic lanterns, things like this were a favourite spectacle: the pioneering film-maker and naturalist F Percy Smith produced what he called “time magnification” films of fungi.

Queen wrapped up their 1975 A Night at the Opera tour of England with an unforgettable show at London's Hammersmith Odeon that was broadcast live on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test. The recording circulated within the fan community for decades before the band finally released it on CD late last year. On March 8th at 7 p.m., it will be screened at more than 200 movie theaters across the country via Fathom Events. Tickets go on sale this Friday and can be purchased here.

The event is called Queen: A...

The music world has been gutted by the tragic and untimely death of David Bowie, not least because many fans never had the pleasure of seeing him perform onstage. The clips below, of course, are no substitute, but rather a humble collection of some of the best Bowie performances available online today. In no way is it meant to be comprehensive, and we encourage you to add your picks in the comments."Space Oddity," Hits a Go Go (1969) Bowie serving better 'fro than Marc Bolan. "Starman," Top of the Pops (1972) Bowie's Top of the Pops debut marks the first of many examples of his fashion genius. Also seen prominently here: guitarist Mick Ronson, Bowie's go-to collaborator at the time. "Oh! You Pretty Things," Old Grey Whistle Test (1972) Bowie at the piano looking ever the class act. (Fun fact: This didn't make it to broadcast until ten years after it...

The British Soap Awards: ITV, 8.15pm

Phillip Schofield presents the annual ceremony from London's Hackney Empire, which recognises the best in the world of soap over the past year.

Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Doctors compete for the prestigious Best British Soap prize, while Helen Worth is awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for playing Gail McIntyre on Corrie for 40 years.

Quirke, BBC One, 9pm

A brand new crime drama starring The Usual Suspects star Gabriel Byrne.

Set in 1950s Dublin, Byrne plays the city's chief pathologist Quirke. In the first of three episodes, a full post-mortem on a young recently deceased woman leads Quirke to confront his adoptive brother Malachy (Nick Dunning), as a long-buried secret threatens to be uncovered.

Harry and Paul's Story of the 2s: BBC Two, 9pm

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse take a quirky look back at BBC Two's long history, parodying close to 50 different shows.

Damon Albarn and Jeff Beck are among the stars making cameo appearances in Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse's BBC Two special.

Harry and Paul's Story of the Twos will air on Sunday (May 25) as part of BBC Two's 50th anniversary celebrations.

The "unique biography" of the channel will see Enfield and Whitehouse tell the story of the last 50 years with help from stars like Albarn, Beck, Klaxons and Chrissie Hynde.

They all appear in the parody of The Old Grey Whistle Test, which has been renamed in the sketch as the The Old Grey Wrinkled Testicle.

The show will parody around 50 different BBC Two shows from the last 50 years, including Monty Python, The Office and The Apprentice.

Harry and Paul's Story of the Twos will air on Sunday at 9pm on BBC Two.

Watch a trailer for Harry and Paul's Story of the Twos below:...

BBC Two is 50 - the British Broadcasting Corporation's second eldest child hits the half-century mark today - Sunday, April 20.

Picking out the greatest shows from five decades of broadcasting seems like a near-impossible task, but never say that Digital Spy is easily cowed. These are - in our humble opinion - the channel's finest ever offerings.

BBC Two is 50: The Hour, Bottom and more shows to bring back

The rules are as follows: shows like Red Dwarf that originated on BBC Two are eligible, but shows better associated with another channel are not - say Top of the Pops, which aired on BBC One for the majority of its run but shifted to the sister channel for its final episodes.

Oh, and we're talking only original commissions - so no Us imports either. But even that barely narrows it down, so if you think there are any glaring omissions,...

BBC Two is 50 - the British Broadcasting Corporation's second eldest child hits the half-century mark this Sunday (April 20).

But which shows from those five decades on air were given short shrift? Did your favourite drama or comedy not get a fair shake?

BBC Two is 50: Share your memories and thoughts

Other channels have plundered BBC Two's back catalogue with results ranging from the sublime - Sky's Alan Partridge revival - to the disastrous - Gold's Yes, Prime Minister rehash.

But with just two days to go until Two hits 5-0, here's five more shows - from the '60s to the '00s - that deserve another shot.

The Likely Lads (1964-66)

"Oh, what happened to you? Whatever happened to me?" - Yes, its more distinguished follow-up Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? might have graduated to BBC One, but its 1960s predecessor was a BBC Two staple.

BBC Two is 50 - the British Broadcasting Corporation's second eldest child hits the half-century mark this Sunday (April 20) and, in those five decades, has delivered some phenomenally popular and powerful programming.

Kim Shillinglaw has a lot to live up to - with every channel controller from the very first, Michael Peacock, to the most recent, Janice Hadlow, serving up a range of diverse, entertaining and even groundbreaking shows.

Since 1964, BBC Two has become renowned as a home for great comedy - from the surreal The League of Gentlemen and Shooting Stars, to much-loved classics like The Likely Lads and The Goodies and modern favourites such as The Trip and The Wrong Mans.

But there's a tradition of fine drama too - running from the original The Forsyte Saga (1967) to Line of Duty (2012-present) and taking in such iconic series as I, Claudius (1976) and Edge of Darkness (1985).

Meanwhile, popular entertainment and...

After a long campaign waged by their fans, Kiss will finally be inducted into the Rock & Roll of Fame this spring. While Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott is happy for Kiss, with whom his group will tour this summer, don’t expect for him to care one iota whether he and his band mates ever make it into the hallowed halls. My colleague, Liane Bonin Starr, and I taped our CulturePop podcast with Elliott this week and he was so expansive on so many topics that we’re breaking the podcast into two parts: Part 1 will be posted next week and Part 2, the week after, but we couldn’t wait to put up his thoughts on the Cleveland-based Rock Hall. First off, like a lot of us, he’s wondering exactly which acts get in and why, but he knows for sure it’s not the fans (although the...

BBC Two has announced a series of special programmes to mark its 50th anniversary.

The channel celebrates the milestone on April 20, and will broadcast several one-off programmes featuring the likes of Dara Ó Briain and Sue Barker.

Earlier today (March 19), it was announced that Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse will star in a spoof look back at the history of the channel in The Story of the Twos, while there will also be a one-off Goodness Gracious Me reunion.

Ó Briain will host All About Two, a 90-minute quiz and celebration of BBC Two. Pointless star Richard Osman will reveal facts and figures, while celebrity teams and special guests will also appear.

50 Years Of BBC Two Comedy will look back at the channel's biggest comedy programmes and performers, including Fawlty Towers, Spike Milligan, Shooting Stars, The Office, Victoria Wood, and The Fast Show.

The two-hour special will feature Armando Iannucci,...

I gave up on a musical career after 15 years broke. It was painful at the time, but now I'm a happy software engineer

Inside Llewyn Davis, the latest film from the Coen brothers, tells the story of a musician struggling to climb one of life's hardest ladders. Anyone who has essayed a career in music will sympathise with Davis, even if they don't warm to his spiky persona. But while Hollywood has dealt extensively over the years with the blossoming of talent, it has been less penetrating in its analysis of the many careers that never flower, a lacuna that the Coens' film tries to fill.

When I was about 15, I discovered that I could write music. Worse than that, I found that I enjoyed it. Thus my academic fate was sealed – no longer was I going to drift rudderless through sixth form and university and become a second-rate solicitor...

Monster Weekend | Future Cinema Presents Dirty Dancing | Otway: The Movie & Q&A | Open Air Screenings |

Monster Weekend, London

The BFI's ambitious season Gothic: The Dark Heart Of Film casts a celebratory shadow of gloom over the next four months. Proceedings begin this weekend, as the forecourt of the British Museum hosts screenings of such monstrous classics as Jacques Tourneur's occult mystery Night Of The Demon, and Terence Fisher's definitive Hammer reworkings of Dracula and The Mummy. There's horror-themed music beforehand, and fancy dress is encouraged, though using the Ancient Egypt galleries as a prop store is forbidden.

British Museum, WC2, Thu to 31 Aug, bfi.org.uk

Future Cinema Presents Dirty Dancing, London

Somehow, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey's star-cross'd, 1960s-by-way-of-the-1980s fairytale has become the definitive summer outdoor movie, to the extent you'd have thought everyone in the country had seen it outside the comfort of a cinema by now.

Dreamers, like the worlds they inhabit, come and go, leaving a profoundly vague impression in their wake. Kevin Ayers was never a major star. His songs were simply too idiosyncratic to garner mass appeal, but like many for whom fame was largely an irritant of the creative process, he exerted a greater influence than he imagined or really cared for. 

Morrissey is now viewed as the quintessential English pop icon, but the soil he sprang from was gritty, working class, and Northern. The product of an inner city education system, his brand of Britishness is not as universal as it might appear to outsiders. There are many variations of the national characteristic, and Ayers had a colonial, distractedly comfortable middle-class one. sullied by his public school incarceration, and the memory of distant sunshine from a childhood spent abroad. A slightly surreal confection of Nick Drake, Noel Coward, and country house fop,...

Nico's fourth studio album The End will be re-released on October 1. The remastered 2Cd set features previously-unreleased John Peel Sessions and Old Grey Whistle Test performances. Also included are two live tracks from the show at London's Rainbow Theatre on June 1, 1974, which marked the launch of albums from Nico, John Cale, Brian Eno and Kevin Ayers. Nico was brought to Island by A&R man Richard Williams after regular collaborator Cale signed a new contract with the label. The End was recorded at Sound Techniques in London, with John Wood in 1973 with accompaniment from Eno and Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera. The reissue coincides with the upcoming super deluxe boxset edition of The Velvet Underground & Nico, also available from October 1. The full tracklisting (more)...

A centrepiece of the BBC and Arts Council's digital project The Space is set to blow the region away. Dan Carson takes a look

Here in the North East, we're well accustomed to music development agency Generator and Northern Film & Media stoking the region's creative fire with exciting, innovative arts projects. However that hasn't stopped eyebrows from being raised in all corners of the local creative arts industry at the sheer scale and ambition of their latest partnered project, Space Invasion, a series of experimental music, arts and film collaborations staged in abstract venues around the North East.

Space Invasion will unfold over what we're begrudgingly still calling 'the summer months' and is one of the biggest projects to receive funding from The Space, Arts Council England and the BBC's £5.5 million digital arts venture.

The partnership between Generator and Northern Film & Media has already produced the visually stunning Pallion, which...

Presenter of the BBC's Late Night Line-Up and Film Night, he was a wildly enthusiastic historian of the cinema

The broadcaster, journalist and film collector Philip Jenkinson, who has died aged 76, was for a few years one of the most popular and familiar faces on British television. His ubiquity was such that the Monty Python team saw fit to satirise him as a machine-gunned victim in a spoof on Sam Peckinpah's movies. He was also enrolled into that hall of fame accorded to guests of the Morecambe and Wise show. In a 1977 Christmas special, he and a gaggle of co-presenters, all dressed in sailor suits, performed There Is Nothing Like a Dame.

Such celebrity might not have come his way had he not been noticed, in 1967, by the BBC producer Mike Appleton, who attended a film lecture given by Jenkinson at St Martin's School of Art, in London.

After the inconvenience of working a job and the inability of transporting myself anymore, my intentions of catching The Vaccines was soon put to bed on arrival; having essentially missed their entire set. I still partially blame whoever’s bright idea it was to open doors at 6pm alongside having to earn a living.

This left me only getting to see the last two songs of the set, though The Vaccines being the stand up gentleman they are, had left two of their best songs until last for me; If You Wanna and Norgaard. Similarly to when I last/first saw them there was no stage show, just a four man guitar band leaving the songs speak for themselves, in a tight and energetic performance, lifting the songs above their already sound recorded counterparts.

Not too dissimilar from how our main event this evening started out, but the times they have changed.

A biopic of Allen Ginsberg is a good idea. But this lumpy laborious vehicle misses an opportunity to bring Beat poetry alive

Having now watched this a second time, I feel that a biopic of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg might well be a good idea. Casting James Franco might be a good idea, too. Yet this lumpily constructed and oddly negligible piece of work somehow isn't the film: more like a laborious 84-minute trailer. The action intercuts between various dramatically inert scenarios: a beautiful young Ginsberg reads his famous poem Howl in a smoky bar to a collection of cap-wearing hipsters: he reads in a (biographically accurate) sing-song drone. An older, bearded Ginsberg gives an interview to an unseen journalist. The obscenity trial of Howl takes place boringly, anticlimactically, and in Ginsberg's absence. And recitations of the poem itself are illustrated by a weird, pedantic animation, like the sort of...

Rock and blues guitarist Gary Moore has died at aged 58. It was revealed on Planet Rock radio earlier today that Moore was found dead in his hotel room in Spain in the early hours of Sunday morning. No cause of death has been revealed at this time.

Born Robert William Gary Moore in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on April 4, 1952, Moore was a prolific guitar player. Since the late 1960s, Moore contributed to many musical projects and had three spells as lead guitarist in rock band Thin Lizzy playing on their classic album, Black Rose.

Known to many as an exceptional rock guitarist and most famous for his 1979 hit “Parisienne Walkways,” Moore was also a highly respected and talented blues player. Much of his twenty-plus catalogue of solo studio albums and live albums reflect this.

My favourite performance of Gary Moore’s was on an old BBC2 music show called ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test...

Films by Roman Polanski and Martin Scorsese may be the headline-grabbers at the festival this year, but the real gems, such as Banksy's new creation, are to be found elsewhere

The star of this year's 60th anniversary Berlin film festival was crowned in his (inevitable) absence: Banksy, the British street artist, situationist, anarchist and all-round genius, presented us with his movie Exit Through the Gift Shop. The man himself only appeared in darkness, with his voice distorted. This was both tricksy self-portrait and cheeky docu-scam, satirising contemporary art craziness.

Blanked-out tongue somewhere in his pixelated cheek, Banksy tells us the story of his supposed relationship with a hyperactive French videographer, one Thierry Guetta, who has, it seems, been following him around – Boswell to Banksy's Johnson. A few years back, allegedly encouraged by Banksy, this man apparently suddenly stopped being an amateur cameraman and suddenly turned into a self-taught street artist called Mr Brainwash,...