Personalities | Television | Seventies | Rock

(Vocal/instrumental group, 1973–78, 1992–93, 2001–present)

An art punk group formed in New York in 1973, Television originally included Richard Hell (bass), who later formed The Heartbreakers and The Voidoids, along with guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, and Billy Ficca (drums). Hell soon left due to friction with Verlaine. Fred Smith, briefly a member of Blondie, took over on bass. Television became part of the nascent punk scene in New York, which centred on the legendary venues Max’s Kansas City and CBGB’s. The interlocking guitars of Verlaine and Lloyd provided the band’s trademark and set them apart from their peers.

Television’s first release was a pioneering independent single, ‘Little Johnny Jewel’. The debut album Marquee Moon (1977) was immediately hailed by critics as a classic but the band split after the disappointing follow-up, Adventure (1978). Television reformed in 1992 for a third, eponymous album and have performed together occasionally since.

Styles & Forms | Seventies | Rock
Personalities | 10cc | Seventies | Rock

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

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