Its not often that one can see a show by an original UK punk musician where they have lost nothing over the years. July 1st is such an opportunity. UK '77 punk legend TV SMITH (x-Adverts) returns to NYC for the first time since his 2005 tour with the Midnight Creeps. This is an EARLY SHOW with 8.00 PM doors, and TV hits the stage at 8:30.
Visit www.tvsmith.com or www.myspace.com/tvsmith
TV SMITH first came into prominence in 1976 – at the very beginning of British punk rock’s first wave – as the founder, lead singer and chief songwriter for the Adverts. The band – favorites at London's infamous punk ground zero, the Roxy club – signed a one-off deal with Stiff records at their second-ever gig and quickly released the “One Chord Wonders” single to rave reviews. Within months, the group toured with both the Damned and the Clash as co-headliners. The group’s second single, “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” – dubbed no. 12 on MOJO magazine’s top 100 punk singles of all time – was a massive smash and thrust the band into national prominence, earning the band headlining tours of their own and television appearances on both Top of the Pops and Old Grey Whistle Test programs. The Adverts’ two albums – Crossing the Red Sea (Bright, 1978) and Cast of Thousands (RCA, 1979) – are now considered timeless classics of any era in rock.
Sadly, the band disintegrated in 1979, leaving Smith to embark on a solo career that’s now entering its fourth decade. Now an incendiary solo acoustic performer, he’s toured the world-over playing hit-filled sets that often span two to three hours in length. Occasionally, he performs with a like-minded band, playing Adverts songs to generations of old and new fans. The Valentines (Italy), Suzy & Los Quatro (Spain), Punk Lurex OK (Finland), Midnight Creeps (USA) and Die Toten Hosen (Germany) have all served. Smith’s latest CD, the critically acclaimed, In the Arms of My Enemy (Boss Tuneage, 2008), is considered to be the most accomplished record of his career and shows him at the peak of his songwriting powers. Recorded with his long-time studio band – guitarist, Tim Renwick (Elton John/Roger Waters/Alan Parsons), keyboardist, Tom Cross (Adverts/Mike Oldfield) and drummer Vom Ritchie (Zodiac Mindwarp/Die Toten Hosen/the Boys) – his latest effort is at once an incendiary and sublime affair that puts him in the same class as Billy Bragg and Bob Dylan. Where so many of his generation have either sold out, retired or passed away, Smith remains a vital figure whose best work is yet to come.
Here are the Adverts as they appeared on Top of the Tops in August 1977:
2 comments:
One hears Gaye Advert is working as a social worker for her local Council. Sigh.
Do I sense a little crush there? I think her & TV are still together.
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