Monty Python star Eric Idle impersonating “Whispering” Bob Harris, the host of The Old Grey Whistle Test, which was broadcast for the 1st time #OTD in 1971.

From Rutland Weekend Television a sketch series he did with Neil Innes. Here's the end of the sketch with the real Bob.

You have to be honest...... Toad The Wet Sprocket are far from the WORST prog band you've ever heard.

One of the best television parodies of all time: like Spın̈al Tap, they only had to exaggerate by 2-3%.

I used to have a Toad The Wet Sprocket t-shirt. Bought it off the indoor market when i was 16 (1980), cheap as chips. Only my cousin got the reference. All the lettering fell off in the second wash, covered everything in little gritty bits of white.

Yessssss!

Two bands would take that name Here's the British one

Good grief I can hear some young kids furiously scribbling notes for a future programme called The Fast Show.

Toad the wet sprocket.... marvellous stuff 🤣

@MarkHam80780803 RWT was hugely underrated. Of the former Pythons I still have a lot of time for Eric and Michael. Cleese has lost his mind.

Listen, no offence, but I want to hear more of Toad the Wet Sprocket.

@MrTimeform Forgot the full sketch - brilliant.

That looks like Henry Woolf on the right. He left the UK in the late 1970s and ended up teaching Drama at University of Saskatchewan. He was a friend of and collaborated with Harold Pinter. He passed away in 2021.

Wonderful take on the days when we used to go to gigs, sit cross legged on the floor, listen to our hair grow & smoke something calming! 😉🤣✌️ - happy daze!

This is exactly what it was like. 🤪

Did not know that this is where American alt-rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket got their name.

Gong meets Zappa !

Nice

thats not Mantra Robinson, that's Ergo the Magnificent

Though Richard Williams, (ex-Guardian chief sports writer) hosted for the first year before Bob's stint

Classic, thanks for posting 😁

I bought TTWS first two albums.

Very 1971! Hippies were such easy targets for satire.

And featured fleetingly in this sincere and quite excellent tribute to "Whispering Bob" by Mike Read

Were Ethel the Frog unavailable?

Rex Higgins🤣

I met Eric Idle last Saturday at BBC Radio in London, lovely chap, had time for everyone.

😂

I kinda liked Toad the wet sprocket. A real band took that name, featuring one Michael McDonald.

Hahaha!

Great.

Sometimes it was Lowell George and Judee Sill and sometimes it was Toad action. Since we usually watched the OGWT after an evening at The Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower it didn’t really matter

Brilliant! 🤣

Was expecting Bryan Ferry's voice to break in "You've got me girl on the run around, run around Got me all around town" Toad Sprocket were great.