Television
Television on the cover of Marquee Moon
Background information
Origin	New York, New York, USA
Genre(s)	Punk Art punk New wave
Years active	1973 - 1978, 1992 - 1993, 2001 - present
Label(s)	Elektra (first and second album) Capitol (third album)
Members
Tom Verlaine (Guitar/Keyboard/Lead Vocals) Richard Lloyd (Guitar) Fred Smith (Bass Guitar) Billy Ficca (Drums)
Former members
Richard Hell (Bass Guitar)

Television, formed in New York City in 1973, is an American rock music band. Although Television never achieved mainstream commercial success, they are widely understood as one of the key founders of punk rock. cover art from Televisions Marquee Moon (fair use; copyright held by Elektra Entertainment Group) This is an album cover. ... Marquee Moon was Televisions 1977 (see 1977 in music) debut album. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Nickname: Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1625 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area  - City  468. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Art punk is a term given to artistic, experimental, or avant garde punk bands. ... New Wave is a term that has been used to describe many developments in music, but is most commonly associated with a movement in Western popular music, in the late 1970s and early 1980s inspired by the punk rock movement. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, and today operates under Atlantic Records Group. ... Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the... Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, 13 December 1949, in Morristown, New Jersey)[1] is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best-known as the frontman for the New York Rock band, Television. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The layout of a typical musical keyboard A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers on a musical instrument which cause the instrument to produce sounds. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... Richard Lloyd (born 25 October 1951, New York City) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, probably best-known as a member of the rock band Television. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Television, formed in New York City in 1973, is an American rock music band. ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is an electrically-amplified string instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, or using a pick. ... Billy Ficca is a punk rock drummer who has played with the bands Television, The Waitresses and The Neon Boys. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Richard Hell (born October 2, 1949) is a professional name of Richard Meyers, an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is an electrically-amplified string instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, or using a pick. ... Nickname: Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1625 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area  - City  468. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ...

Television was a part of the early New York punk rock scene, contemporaries of bands like the Patti Smith Group and the Ramones. In contrast to the Ramones's focus on minimalist amateurism, Television's music was much more technically proficient, defined by the dueling guitars of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. In retrospect, Television pointed beyond punk rock to new wave, art rock and post punk. Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... The Music Scene is part of the Demoscene. ... Patty Smyth is also a musician, formerly of the band Scandal. ... The Ramones were an American rock band often regarded as the first punk rock group. ... The classical guitar typically has nylon strings. ... Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, 13 December 1949, in Morristown, New Jersey)[1] is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best-known as the frontman for the New York Rock band, Television. ... Richard Lloyd (born 25 October 1951, New York City) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, probably best-known as a member of the rock band Television. ... New Wave is a term that has been used to describe many developments in music, but is most commonly associated with a movement in Western popular music, in the late 1970s and early 1980s inspired by the punk rock movement. ... Art rock is a term used by some to describe rock music that is characterized by ambitious or avant-garde lyrical themes and/or melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic experimentation, often extending beyond standard modern popular music forms and genres, toward influences in jazz, classical, world music or the experimental avant... Post-punk was a popular musical movement beginning at the end of the 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid 1970s. ...

History

Television's roots can be traced to the teenage friendship between Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine. The duo met at St. Andrew's boarding school in Middletown, Delaware, from which they ran away. Later the two would move separately to New York in the early 1970s aspiring to be poets. Richard Hell (born October 2, 1949) is a professional name of Richard Meyers, an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. ... Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, 13 December 1949, in Morristown, New Jersey)[1] is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best-known as the frontman for the New York Rock band, Television. ... Middletown is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. ...

Their first group together was the Neon Boys, comprised of Verlaine on guitar and vocals, Hell on bass guitar and vocals, and Billy Ficca on drums. The group lasted from late 1972 to early 1973. A posthumous 7" featuring "That's All I Know (Right Now)" and "Love Comes in Spurts" was released in 1980. The Neon Boys was a band during the mid-1970s which included Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell. ... Billy Ficca is a punk rock drummer who has played with the bands Television, The Waitresses and The Neon Boys. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ...

In late 1973 the trio reformed, calling themselves Television. They recruited Richard Lloyd as a second guitarist. They persuaded CBGB's owner Hilly Kristal to give the band a regular gig at his club which had just opened on the Bowery in New York. (Kristal had planned on dedicating the space to country music, bluegrass and blues music, but punk found a home there first). Television was the first rock group to perform at the club, which was to become, along with Max's Kansas City, the center of the burgeoning punk scene. The members of Television reportedly constructed the first stage at CBGB's where they quickly established a significant cult following. Richard Lloyd (born 25 October 1951, New York City) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, probably best-known as a member of the rock band Television. ... The outside front facade of CBGB CBGB (Country, Blue Grass, and Blues) was a legendary music club located at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. ... Hilly Kristal, Founder of CBGB & Omfug This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Categories: Stub | Streets in Manhattan ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Bluegrass music is considered a form of American roots music which has its own roots in Irish, African, Scottish and English traditional music. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental musical form which evolved from African American spirituals, shouts, work songs and chants and has its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. ... Maxs Kansas City was a nightclub (upstairs) and restaurant (downstairs) between 17th and 18th Streets, on Park Avenue South in New York City. ...

Initially, songwriting was split almost evenly between Hell and Verlaine (with Lloyd being an infrequent contributor as well). However, friction began to develop as Verlaine, Lloyd and Ficca became increasingly confident and adept with both instruments and composition, while Hell remained defiantly untrained in his approach. Verlaine, feeling that Hell's frantic onstage demeanour was upstaging his songs, reportedly told him to "stop jumping around" [1], and ultimately refused to play Hell's songs (such as "Blank Generation") in concert. This led Hell to leave the group and take his songs with him, forming The Heartbreakers in 1975 with former members of the New York Dolls, and later forming Richard Hell and the Voidoids. Fred Smith, briefly of Blondie, replaced Hell as Television's bassist. Blank Generation is an early punk album by Richard Hell and the Voidoids, released in 1977 on Warner Brothers Sire Records imprint. ... Richard Hell (born October 2, 1949) is a professional name of Richard Meyers, an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. ... This article is about the protopunk group. ... The New York Dolls are a rock band formed in New York City in 1971. ... The Voidoids, also known as Richard Hell and the Voidoids, were a New York City punk rock band of the late 1970s, fronted by Richard Hell, a former member of Television. ... There have been multiple notable individuals named Fred Smith: Fred Smith, a North Carolina assemblyman and attorney Fred Smith, bassist for the 1970s New Wave band Television Fred Smith, a Memphis, Tennessee businessman who founded FedEx This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... Blondie is an American rock band that first gained fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ...

Though Verlaine and Lloyd were nominally "lead" and "rhythm" guitarists, they often rendered such labels obsolete by crafting deft, interlocking parts where the ostensible backing role could be just as intriguing as the guitar solo. Al Handa writes, "Lloyd was the guitarist who affected the tonality of the music more often than not, and Verlaine and the rhythm section the ones who gave the ear its anchor and familiar musical elements. Listen only to Lloyd, and you can hear some truly off the wall ideas being played."[2] The opening of the song "Marquee Moon", from the album of the same name, displays the band's characteristic interlocking melodic and rhythmic guitar lines. Lead guitar refers to a role within a band, that provides melody or melodic material, as opposed to the rhythm of the rhythm guitar, bass, and drums. ... Rhythm guitar is a guitar that is primarily used to provide rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment for a singer or for other instruments in an ensemble. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Tonality is a system of writing music according to certain hierarchical pitch relationships around a key center or tonic. ... Rhythm section refers to the musicians whose primary jobs in a jazz or popular music band or ensemble is to establish the rhythm of a song or musical piece, often via repeated riffs or ostinati. ...

As with many emerging punk bands, the influence of The Velvet Underground was pervasive. Television also drew inspiration from minimalist composers such as Steve Reich. Tom Verlaine has often cited the influence of The Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown" on Television's approach to the guitar, and he has also expressed a fondness for Arthur Lee's Love and the Buffalo Springfield, two groups noted for their dual-guitar interplay. Television's ties to punk were underscored by their late 60s garage-rock leanings, as the band often covered The Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction" and the 13 Floor Elevator's "Fire Engine" in concert. This article is about the American rock band. ... Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features and core self expression. ... Stephen Michael Reich (born October 3, 1936) is an American composer. ... “Rolling Stones” redirects here. ... 19th Nervous Breakdown is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones. ... Love is infact Sophie Ollig and Sam Irving! remember that folks ... Buffalo Springfield was a short-lived but influential, folk rock group that served as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina and is most famous for the song For What Its Worth. ... The Count Five were a garage rock outfit from San José, California. ... The 13th Floor Elevators was a rock music group founded in Austin, Texas in late 1965. ...

Quicksilver Messenger Service has also been posited as an influence by Lester Bangs and other Rolling Stone Magazine critics, due to the band's interlocking and psychedelic guitar playing and solos. [3] Music on Tom Verlaine's solo albums has also been compared to the playing of Quicksilver Messenger Service. [4] Tom Verlaine however has downplayed the comparison, citing the Ventures as a more apt reference point. [5]. Music critics, however, continue to see the influence of the late 60s San Francisco scene in the band, often comparing Verlaine's guitar playing to that of Jerry Garcia. [6] Quicksilver Messenger Service was one of San Franciscos original psychedelic bands of the late 1960s. ... Quicksilver Messenger Service was one of San Franciscos original psychedelic bands of the late 1960s. ... Walk Dont Run (1960) The Ventures are a rock instrumental band formed in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, two Seattle masonry workers. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Television made their vinyl debut with the "Little Johnny Jewel" 7" on the independent label Ork Records in 1975. The song was split into two parts, one on each side of the single. Richard Lloyd apparently disagreed with the selection of this song (preferring the never-released "O Mi Amore") for their debut to the extent that he seriously considered leaving the band. Reportedly Pere Ubu guitarist Peter Laughner auditioned for his spot during this time. [7]) Pere Ubu are a rock music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. ... Peter Laughner pioneered the primitive punk-rock genre, the new wave genre, and also the post-punk genre. ...

Television's first album Marquee Moon was received positively by music critics and audiences, despite limited sales. Upon its initial release in 1977, Roy Trakin wrote in the SoHo Weekly, "forget everything you've heard about Television, forget punk, forget New York, forget CBGB's...hell, forget rock and roll--this is the real item." Recently, critics ranked it number 83 on cable music channel VH1’s 2000 list of "the 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll" and number 128 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was ranked number two on Uncut magazine's 100 Greatest Debut Records. Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes the album was "revolutionary" and "comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group's long, interweaving instrumental sections."[8] Marquee Moon was Televisions 1977 (see 1977 in music) debut album. ... VH1 (VH-1: Video Hits One until 1994) is an American cable television channel that was created in January 1985 by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communications and owners of MTV. VH1 and sister channel MTV are currently part of the MTV Networks division... This article is about the magazine. ... Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that enjoyed its original period of wide success in the United States and Canada, from 1963 to 1967. ...

Television's second album, Adventure was issued in 1978 to less fanfare. The band members had very independent and strongly held artistic visions, and this, along with Richard Lloyd's alleged drug abuse [9], led to the band's break-up in 1978. Both Lloyd and Verlaine pursued solo careers. Adventure is the follow up album to Televisions critically acclaimed debut, Marquee Moon. ... Richard Lloyd (born 25 October 1951, New York City) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, probably best-known as a member of the rock band Television. ... Richard Lloyd (born 25 October 1951, New York City) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, probably best-known as a member of the rock band Television. ... Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, 13 December 1949, in Morristown, New Jersey)[1] is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best-known as the frontman for the New York Rock band, Television. ...

Television reformed in 1992, recording an eponymous third album, and have performed live sporadically thereafter. Since being wooed back onstage together for the 2001 All Tomorrow's Parties at Camber Sands, England, they have played a number of dates around the world, and continue to perform occasionally in New York while touring on an irregular basis. All Tomorrows Parties is a music festival which takes place in the United Kingdom at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and the United States in Los Angeles, CA. Named after a song by The Velvet Underground, it was founded by Barry Hogan and Helen Cottage in 1999... Camber Sands is an important seaside resort in Camber (Near Rye), East Sussex. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area...

In 2007, Richard Lloyd announced he would be amicably leaving the band after a midsummer show in New York City's Central Park [10]. Central Park is a large public, urban park (843 acres or 3. ...

Members

• Tom Verlaine — lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Richard Lloyd — guitar, vocals
• Richard Hell — bass, lead vocals (left in 1975)
• Fred Smith — bass, vocals (joined in 1975), ex-Blondie bassist
• Billy Ficca — drums

Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, 13 December 1949, in Morristown, New Jersey)[1] is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best-known as the frontman for the New York Rock band, Television. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... Richard Lloyd (born 25 October 1951, New York City) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, probably best-known as a member of the rock band Television. ... Richard Hell (born October 2, 1949) is a professional name of Richard Meyers, an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. ... Television, formed in New York City in 1973, is an American rock music band. ... Blondie is an American rock band that first gained fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Billy Ficca is a punk rock drummer who has played with the bands Television, The Waitresses and The Neon Boys. ...

Discography

Albums

• Marquee Moon - (1977) UK #28
• Adventure - (1978) UK #7
• The Blow-Up - (1982) [Recorded Live 1978]
• Television - (1992)
• Live at the Academy, 1992 - (2003) [Recorded Live 1992]
• Live at the Old Waldorf - (2003) [Recorded Live 1978]

Marquee Moon was Televisions 1977 (see 1977 in music) debut album. ... Adventure is the follow up album to Televisions critically acclaimed debut, Marquee Moon. ... Live at the Academy, 1992 was an album by Television sold by the band at USA gigs during March, 2003. ...

Singles

• "Little Johnny Jewel" - (1975)
• "Marquee Moon" - (April, 1977) #30 UK
• "Prove It" - (July, 1977) #25 UK
• "Foxhole" - (April, 1978) #36 UK
• "Glory" - (July, 1978)

References

• Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, "Marquee Moon", Allmusic.com,
• Handa, Al, "Television's Marquee Moon", May 1996, Furious.com,
• Trakin, Roy, "Artificial Paradise", SoHo Weekly News, March 24, 1977, pg. 41.
• Bangs, Lester, "Free Jazz Punk Rock", Musician Magazine, 1979, http://www.monoculartimes.co.uk/monomusic/freejazzpunkrock_2.shtml