Television

From Neon Boys to CBGB

Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell met as teenagers at the Sanford School in Hockessin, Delaware, and later moved to New York to write poetry. As the Neon Boys, with drummer Billy Ficca, they were active from late 1972 to March 11, 1973; their "That's All I Know (Right Now)" and "Love Comes in Spurts" 7-inch was issued only in 1980. Television reformed on March 12, 1973 with Richard Lloyd, the name devised by Hell. Wikipedia gives the first gig as March 2, 1974 at the Townhouse Theatre, which conflicts with other accounts. They held a residency at CBGB, and setlist.fm lists it as their most frequent venue, 97 shows; they also played Max's Kansas City and shared a residency with Patti Smith in 1975. Demos with Brian Eno for Island were rejected by the band, and Island passed too. Hell left in 1975 for the Heartbreakers and later the Voidoids, and Fred Smith, once in an early Blondie, replaced him. The Ork single "Little Johnny Jewel" followed in 1975, and they signed to Elektra in August 1976.

Marquee Moon was recorded in November 1976 at A and R Recording in New York, released on February 8, 1977 in the US and March 4 in the UK, and reached 28 in the UK while selling under 80,000 copies in the US and not entering the Billboard 200. Christgau gave it A-plus and made it his number one of 1977, and Rolling Stone ranks it 107th on its 2020 albums list; Pitchfork placed it third among the best albums of the 1970s. Adventure followed in April 1978, recorded in fall 1977 at Soundmixers and Record Plant with John Jansen and Verlaine, and the band broke up in July 1978. The live album The Blow-Up came out in 1982. A reunion produced the self-titled Television (September 28, 1992, Capitol), with "Call Mr. Lee", before another split in 1993. They reunited in 2001 at All Tomorrow's Parties at Camber Sands, toured irregularly, and in the 2010s played Marquee Moon in full. Lloyd left in 2007 and Jimmy Rip replaced him.

Verlaine died on January 28, 2023, aged 73, and Fred Smith on February 5, 2026, aged 77. David Fricke reported in Mojo in February 2025 on an unfinished fourth album lacking vocals and lead guitar. Pixies, Sonic Youth, U2, R.E.M., Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen are among those Wikipedia says they influenced. Bryan Waterman wrote a book on the album for the 33 1/3 series (2011), and The Ringer's Elizabeth Nelson wrote in 2022 that it sounds more like King Crimson than the Sex Pistols.