Television - Marquee Moon (1977)

There was a time early in Sex Pistols's lifetime when they had all the core members but still needed a lead singer/front man to really sell the group. Before they settled on John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), whom they picked (much like Sid Vicious a couple years later) more for his look than his singing ability, Malcolm McLaren tried to use his connections in New York to bring over Richard Hell, one of the major players in the New York punk scene, to no avail.

Richard Hell's first contribution to the nascent punk scene is in the formation of the short-lived band The Neon Boys in 1972 with Tom Verlaine and Billy Ficca. The Neon Boys reformed in 1973 as Television and recruited new member Richard Lloyd. Lloyd and Verlaine played guitars, alternating between lead and rhythm and developing a dueling style together. Ficca manned the drums, and Hell supplied the bass. Hell and Verlaine, both once-aspiring poets, provided material and alternated on lead vocals. However, conflict between Hell and the rest of the group soon festered as Ficca, Verlaine, and Lloyd's skill developed on their instruments while Hell remained obstinately untrained and manic in his approach to performing. The divergent views and a lack of a solid recording contract ended up forcing Hell out of the group. Television recruited Fred Smith as a replacement on bass.

They were one of the founding bands of the New York punk scene, and they were by far the most technically proficient, but they never met the commercial success due to them that their contemporaries (Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie,...) earned. Their 1975 debut single "Little Johnny Jewel" failed to chart as did their debut album Marquee Moon released two years later. Still, the album earned universal praise from critics and fared well in European markets. Although Television were figureheads of the NY punk movement, their music does not sound punk. They transcend the genre, absorb others (new wave, art rock) and get lost in headier sonic territories. Each song from the album features guitar solos from either Verlaine or Lloyd (sometimes both). While Lloyd's solos are marked by sturdier tones, Verlaine's are spacier and more ethereal. Both, however, improv solos that intertwine with the rhythm section rather than stand above and alone.

Here is the discography surrounding Television's debut album:

That's All I Know (Right Now) (1973 demos as The Neon Boys)
Fairland (1974 demos)
Double Exposure (1975 demos)
Little Johnny Jewel (1975 single)
Marquee Moon (1977 single)
Marquee Moon
Prove It (1977 single)



If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. Remember this band/artist and the next one have to be connected in some way.

Pass the Headphones!!