Top Of The Box

John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett - Really Free, The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1977

In 1977 I would stay up on a Tuesday night and watch live performances from many familiar and some not so familar artists. Some of the performances would stay with me for the rest of my life. This is one of those performances.

John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett performing their hit single, Really Free. Two hippies, two guitars and two pedals - cor baby! that’s really free - perfect.

This turned out to be the commercial peak of John Otway’s career though he has never stopped gigging, and recently toured once more with the fantastic Wild Willy Barrett. In fact, the last time I saw John Otway he was giving a very amusing lecture / presentation on why he failed in the music business. The presentation was very amusing and very interesting.

I love John Otway and I love this performance. A true classic Whistle Test moment.