Television Personalities (band)
Encyclopedia
The Television Personalities are an English group with a varying line-up. The only constant member is singer–songwriter Dan Treacy (b. June 19, 1960), who uses the band as a vehicle for his music. The band's first release (January 1978) was the single "14th Floor / Oxford Street W1", while their second, the EP
Where's Bill Grundy
Now? features one of their best-known songs, "Part Time Punks".
The Television Personalities' first album And Don't the Kids Just Love It
was released in 1981. It set the template for their subsequent career: neo-psychedelia
, an obsession with youth culture of the 1960s, a fey, slightly camp
lyrical attitude, and the occasional classic pop song. Their second album Mummy Your Not Watching Me [sic] demonstrated increased psychedelic
influences. Their third album, entitled They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles showed Treacy's sense of humour: the TVPs were never to have any major commercial success in the UK – although their albums sold respectably in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The first three albums featured Treacy and schoolmate Ed Ball
; Ball left the band to found The Times
, but rejoined in 2004.
The band were offered the support slot on Pink Floyd
guitarist David Gilmour
's 1984 UK solo dates, but were promptly dropped after reading out former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett
's home address.
The 1985 album The Painted Word was unexpectedly dark in content, reflecting Treacy's despair at Thatcherite
Britain and his personal circumstances.
Various line up changes prevented their next album (Privilege) from appearing until 1990. Their subsequent album Closer to God was a combination of fey sixties style pop and darker material, similar in tone to The Painted Word.
The album Don't Cry Baby, It's Only a Movie was released in 1998.
From 1998 to June 2004 Dan Treacy was incarcerated for shoplifting to feed his drug habit. He spent time aboard HM Prison ship the Weare in Portland Harbour, Dorset, England. He has referred to the Weare as "The Good Ship Lollipop". The experience helped him put his life and career back on track.
In February 2006 a new TVPs album My Dark Places
was released. Despite their relatively small independent sales the TVPs were very influential on British music in the 1980s, especially the so-called C86
generation and many of the bands on Creation Records
.
In an article in The Guardian
on 24 April 2006, it was implied that Dan Treacy is in some way behind the Arctic Monkeys
, although this is based on little more than a perceived similarity between their lyrical style and that of Treacy, and the fact that the lead singer of Arctic Monkeys
, Alex Turner
is mysteriously not credited with their songwriting.
It was reported in October, 2011 that Treacy is seriously ill after an operation to remove a blood clot from his brain.
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Where's Bill Grundy
Bill Grundy
William "Bill" Grundy was an English television presenter and former host of Today, a regional news programme broadcast on Thames Television...
Now? features one of their best-known songs, "Part Time Punks".
The Television Personalities' first album And Don't the Kids Just Love It
And Don't the Kids Just Love It
And Don't the Kids Just Love It is the first album by the Television Personalities and was recorded in 1980 and released in 1981.The first full album by Television Personalities, recorded after a four-year series of singles recorded under a variety of names, including the O-Level and the Teenage...
was released in 1981. It set the template for their subsequent career: neo-psychedelia
Neo-psychedelia
Neo-psychedelia is music that emulates or is heavily influenced by the psychedelic music of the 1960s. It began to be revived among British post-punk bands of the later 1970s and early 1980s and was taken up by groups including bands of the Paisley Underground and Madchester scenes, as well as...
, an obsession with youth culture of the 1960s, a fey, slightly camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
lyrical attitude, and the occasional classic pop song. Their second album Mummy Your Not Watching Me [sic] demonstrated increased psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
influences. Their third album, entitled They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles showed Treacy's sense of humour: the TVPs were never to have any major commercial success in the UK – although their albums sold respectably in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The first three albums featured Treacy and schoolmate Ed Ball
Ed Ball (musician)
Edward "Ed" Ball is a songwriter, singer, guitarist and keyboard player from London, who has recorded both solo and as a member of the Television Personalities, 'O' Level, Teenage Filmstars, The Times, and Conspiracy of Noise. He also served as an executive at Creation Records...
; Ball left the band to found The Times
The Times (band)
The Times are a British, 1980s-90s, independent band, the brainchild of Ed Ball, co-founder member of the Television Personalities, Teenage Filmstars and 'O' Level.-Whaam! Records 1981-1982:...
, but rejoined in 2004.
The band were offered the support slot on Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
guitarist David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
's 1984 UK solo dates, but were promptly dropped after reading out former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
's home address.
The 1985 album The Painted Word was unexpectedly dark in content, reflecting Treacy's despair at Thatcherite
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
Britain and his personal circumstances.
Various line up changes prevented their next album (Privilege) from appearing until 1990. Their subsequent album Closer to God was a combination of fey sixties style pop and darker material, similar in tone to The Painted Word.
The album Don't Cry Baby, It's Only a Movie was released in 1998.
From 1998 to June 2004 Dan Treacy was incarcerated for shoplifting to feed his drug habit. He spent time aboard HM Prison ship the Weare in Portland Harbour, Dorset, England. He has referred to the Weare as "The Good Ship Lollipop". The experience helped him put his life and career back on track.
In February 2006 a new TVPs album My Dark Places
My Dark Places (album)
My Dark Places is an album by the Television Personalities, released in 2006.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Daniel Treacy#"Special Chair" – 3:03#"All the Young Children on Crack" – 3:13#"Sick Again" – 2:15#"Ex-Girlfriend Club" – 4:18...
was released. Despite their relatively small independent sales the TVPs were very influential on British music in the 1980s, especially the so-called C86
C86 (music)
C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from independent labels of the time. As a phrase, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based musical genre characterised by "jangly" guitars and fey melodies, although other...
generation and many of the bands on Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
.
In an article in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
on 24 April 2006, it was implied that Dan Treacy is in some way behind the Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
, although this is based on little more than a perceived similarity between their lyrical style and that of Treacy, and the fact that the lead singer of Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
, Alex Turner
Alex Turner (musician)
Alexander David Turner is an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter of the English rock band Arctic Monkeys...
is mysteriously not credited with their songwriting.
It was reported in October, 2011 that Treacy is seriously ill after an operation to remove a blood clot from his brain.
Albums
- And Don't the Kids Just Love ItAnd Don't the Kids Just Love ItAnd Don't the Kids Just Love It is the first album by the Television Personalities and was recorded in 1980 and released in 1981.The first full album by Television Personalities, recorded after a four-year series of singles recorded under a variety of names, including the O-Level and the Teenage...
(1981, Rough Trade) - Mummy Your Not Watching Me (1982, Whaam!)
- They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles (1982, Whaam!)
- The Painted Word (1985, Illuminated)
- Chocolat-Art (A Tribute to James Last) (1985, Pastell) (live in Germany 1984)
- Privilege (1990, Fire)
- Camping in France (Live) (1991, Overground)
- Closer to God (1992, Fire)
- How I Learned To Love The Bomb (1994, Overground)
- Yes Darling, but is it Art? (Early Singles & Rarities) (1995, Fire)
- I Was A Mod Before You Was A Mod (1995, Overground)
- Top Gear (1996, Overground)
- Paisley Shirts & Mini Skirts (1997, Overground)
- Don't Cry Baby, It's Only a Movie (1998)
- Part Time Punks – The Very Best of the Television Personalities (1999)
- Fashion Conscious (2002)
- And They All Lived Happily Ever After (2006, Damaged Goods)
- My Dark PlacesMy Dark Places (album)My Dark Places is an album by the Television Personalities, released in 2006.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Daniel Treacy#"Special Chair" – 3:03#"All the Young Children on Crack" – 3:13#"Sick Again" – 2:15#"Ex-Girlfriend Club" – 4:18...
(2006) - Are We Nearly There Yet?Are We Nearly There Yet? (album)Are We Nearly There Yet? is the tenth album by indie legends Television Personalities. It was released in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2007. The album features brand new tracks along with covers of Bruce Springsteen and The Killers...
(2007) - A Memory is Better Than Nothing written by (Dan Treacy) (TexasBob Juarez) (Mike Stone) (1 June 2010)
Singles
- "14th Floor" (1978, W.I. Teen)
- "Where's Bill Grundy Now?" (1978, Kings Road)
- "Smashing Time" (1980, Rough Trade)
- "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" (1981, Rough Trade)
- "Painting By Numbers" (1981, Whaam!) (released as Gifted Children)
- "Three Wishes" (1982, Whaam!)
- "A Sense Of Belonging" (1983, Rough Trade)
- "How I Learned To Love The Bomb" 12" (1986, Dreamworld)
- "How I Learned To Love The Bomb" 7" (1986, Dreamworld)
- "Salvador Dali's Garden Party" (1989, Fire)
- "I Still Believe In Magic" (1989, Caff)
- "Strangely Beautiful" (1991, Fire)
- "She Never Read My Poems" (1992, Fire)
- "We Will Be Your Gurus" (1992, Seminal Twang)
- "Goodnight Mr. Spaceman" (1993, Fire)
- "Far Away and Lost In Joy" (1994, Vinyl Japan)
- "Do You Think If You Were Beautiful You'd Be Happy" (1995, Vinyl Japan)
- "Seasons In The Sun" (1996, Twist)
- "I Was a Mod Before You Was a Mod" (1996, Overground)
- "All The Young Children On Crack" (2006, Domino)
- "The Good Anarchist" (2008, Elefant)
- "People Think That We're Strange" (2009, Elefant)
- "My New Tattoo/Funny He Never Married" (2009, Good Village)
- "She's My Yoko" (2010, Rocket Girl)
- "Wonder What It Was/Radiohead Song" (2011, Formosa Punk Records)
Tributes
- "I Don't Know Where Dan Treacy Lives" (2000, Lookout Records) The Mr. T ExperienceThe Mr. T ExperienceThe Mr. T Experience is an American punk rock band formed in 1985 in Berkeley, California and currently recording for Lookout! Records. They have released ten full-length albums along with numerous EPs and singles and have toured internationally...
- "If I Could Write Poetry" (2003, The Beautiful Music)
- "¡Harte para todos" (2004, Discos Harte)Thy Surfyn' Eyes, TCRTCRTCR can mean:*Time Code Reading, a method of accounting for video or film footage and frames in media editing*T cell receptor*Tobacco Control Research*Toronto Civic Railways...
, AlpinoAlpinoAlpino can refer to* The Alpini, the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army.* Prospero Alpini, and Italian physician and botanist known by the author abbreviation "Alpino".* The Alpino parser, a Natural Language analysis system for Dutch....
, Los Part-Time Pops singing TVP's songs in Spanish - "Someone to Share My Life With" (2005, But Is It Art) Nikki SuddenNikki SuddenNikki Sudden was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother Epic Soundtracks while attending Solihull School in Solihull.-Career:...
, Swell MapsSwell MapsSwell Maps were an experimental English rock group of the 1970s from Birmingham that foreshadowed the birth of post-punk.Influenced by the disparate likes of T.Rex and the German progressive outfit, Can, they created a new soundscape that would be heavily mined by others in the post-punk era...
, The Shambles, Semion and others - "I Would Write A Thousand Words" (2007, The Beautiful Music) Nikki SuddenNikki SuddenNikki Sudden was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother Epic Soundtracks while attending Solihull School in Solihull.-Career:...
, The Loch Ness Mouse, The Shambles , Swell MapsSwell MapsSwell Maps were an experimental English rock group of the 1970s from Birmingham that foreshadowed the birth of post-punk.Influenced by the disparate likes of T.Rex and the German progressive outfit, Can, they created a new soundscape that would be heavily mined by others in the post-punk era...
, Semion, Superczar, The Airwaves, Jonathan Caws-ElwittThe Silly PillowsThe Silly Pillows are an American indie pop band formed by Jonathan Caws-Elwitt. They began as a home-recorded duo of Jonathan and his wife Hilary, sharing tapes through the cassette underground. In the 1990s the band evolved into a studio-recorded full lineup, which dissolved in 2000...
and others - "Song For Dan Treacy" MGMTMGMTMGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
on the album CongratulationsCongratulations (album)The album received mostly positive reviews upon its release, and a 72/100 metascore at Metacritic, based upon 39 reviews. Pitchfork Media deemed the album "audacious, ambitious, and a little fried." NME got a first listen of the album and described it as a mix of "frenetic, brief psych nuggets......
. - "Various Artists All Those Times We Spent Together: A Tribute to the TVP" (2010, The Beautiful Music)
Film
- Woody AllenWoody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
– The song "Little Woody Allen" is named after the American filmmaker. He is also mentioned in "Salvador Dali's Garden Party." - The Angry SilenceThe Angry SilenceThe Angry Silence is a 1960 British drama film directed by Guy Green and starring Richard Attenborough. Screenwriter Bryan Forbes won a BAFTA Award and an Oscar nomination for his contribution...
– The first song on the TVPs' debut full-length is called "This Angry Silence." - Dr. Strangelove – "How I Learned to Love the Bomb" is named after the full title of this Stanley KubrickStanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
film. - The Elephant ManThe Elephant Man (film)The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
– "Arthur the Gardener" features a quote from this David LynchDavid LynchDavid Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
film. - Girl on a Motorcycle – The TVPs have a song named after this Marianne FaithfullMarianne FaithfullMarianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
/Alain DelonAlain DelonAlain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
film. - Grand IllusionGrand Illusion (film)Grand Illusion is a 1937 French war film directed by Jean Renoir, who co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Spaak. The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are prisoners of war during World War I and are plotting an escape.The title of the film comes from a...
– "La Grande Illusion" (the film's original French language title) is the name of a song on the TVPs' debut album. - If.... – The Lindsay AndersonLindsay AndersonLindsay Gordon Anderson was an Indian-born, British feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave...
film (starring Treacy favourite Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
) is quoted in several songs, including "Paradise Is For The Blessed" and "Not Even a Maybe." - King & CountryKing & CountryKing and Country is a 1964 British film, directed by American-born director Joseph Losey, shot in black and white, and starring Dirk Bogarde and Tom Courtenay...
– The TVPs named a song after this film by Joseph LoseyJoseph LoseyJoseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
. Several other Losey films are referenced in the TVPs' work, and "I See Myself in You" mentions Losey by name. - A Life of Her OwnA Life of Her OwnA Life of Her Own is a 1950 American melodrama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Isobel Lennart focuses on an aspiring model who leaves her small town in the Midwest to seek fame and fortune in New York City.-Plot:...
– The song "A Life of Her Own" is named after this George CukorGeorge CukorGeorge Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
film. - Look Back in AngerLook Back in Anger (film)Look Back in Anger is a 1959 British film starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom and Mary Ure and directed by Tony Richardson.It is based on John Osborne's play of the same name about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man , his upper-middle-class, impassive wife , and...
– The last song on the TVPs' debut full-length is named after the film version of this famous play by John Osborne. - PrivilegePrivilege (film)Privilege is a British film directed by Peter Watkins. It was released in 1967 being produced by John Heyman. Story: Johnny Speight. Script: Norman Bogner...
– The name of the band's fifth album is taken from this 1967 film by Peter WatkinsPeter WatkinsPeter Watkins is an English film and television director. He was born in Norbiton, Surrey, lived in Sweden, Canada and Lithuania for many years, and now lives in France. He is one of the pioneers of docudrama. His movies, pacifist and radical, strongly review the limit of classic documentary and...
. The band's third album credits Steven Shorter (the main character of Privilege) as producer. - Smashing TimeSmashing TimeSmashing Time is a 1967 British comedy film starring Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave. It is a satire on the 1960s media-influenced phenomenon of Swinging London.It was written by George Melly and directed by Desmond Davis...
– One of the TVPs' early singles was named after this Swinging LondonSwinging LondonSwinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasised the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the...
comedy. - A Taste of HoneyA Taste of Honey (film)A Taste of Honey is a 1961 British film adaptation of the play of the same name by Shelagh Delaney. Delaney adapted the screenplay herself, aided by director Tony Richardson, who had previously directed the first production of the play...
– A major character from this popular "kitchen sink drama", Geoffrey Ingram, shows up in a lot of the Television Personalities' early work. See the In-Jokes section for the entry on him. - Being John MalkovichBeing John MalkovichBeing John Malkovich is a 1999 American black comedy-fantasy film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. It stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and John Malkovich, who plays a fictional version of himself...
– the 1999 film is mentioned in "The Eminem Song" - Richard HarrisRichard HarrisRichard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
– Irish actor. Mentioned in "A Day in Heaven" as a desired co-star of the song's protagonist.
Television
- Dad's ArmyDad's ArmyDad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
– The popular BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
show is mentioned in "King & Country." - Bill GrundyBill GrundyWilliam "Bill" Grundy was an English television presenter and former host of Today, a regional news programme broadcast on Thames Television...
– The TVPs named their 1978 EP Where's Bill Grundy Now? after the disgraced British television presenter. - JackanoryJackanoryJackanory is a long-running BBC children's television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, the first story being the fairy-tale Cap o' Rushes read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 24 March 1996,...
– "Jackanory Stories" references this popular BBC children's show.
Celebrities, musicians and artists
- Syd BarrettSyd BarrettSyd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
– The band's debut album features a song called "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives." In imitation of Barrett's own solo work and Pink Floyd's Brain Damage, the song is significantly calmer than the rest of the album, and features mildly psychedelicPsychedelicThe term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
studio effects (such as chirping birds). They also recorded a cover versionCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Apples and OrangesApples and orangesA comparison of apples and oranges occurs when two items or groups of items are compared that cannot be validly compared.The idiom, comparing apples and oranges, refers to the apparent differences between items which are popularly thought to be incomparable or incommensurable, such as apples and...
" (the last Pink FloydPink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
single written by Barrett) for Beyond the WildwoodBeyond the WildwoodBeyond the Wildwood - A Tribute to Syd Barrett is a tribute album consisting of music written by Pink Floyd's original guitarist, vocalist and primary songwriter Syd Barrett. The musicians performing on the album are British and American indie rock artists...
, an indie tribute to Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd released in 1987. - The ByrdsThe ByrdsThe Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
– The Byrds song "Eight Miles HighEight Miles High"Eight Miles High" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, and David Crosby and first released as a single on March 14, 1966 . The single managed to reach the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 30 of the UK Singles Chart...
" is frequently quoted both lyrically and musically by Treacy. The guitar solo on "King & Country" is based on the one in "Eight Miles High." Byrds member Roger McGuinnRoger McGuinnJames Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
is also mentioned in the song "You, Me and Lou Reed" - Salvador DalíSalvador DalíSalvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
– The TVPs' fifth album, Privilege, features a song called "Salvador Dali's Garden Party." - David HockneyDavid HockneyDavid Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
– "David Hockney's Diaries" is the name of a song on the band's second album - The JamThe JamThe Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
– In "Geoffrey Ingram", Geoffrey and the narrator go to see The Jam play at the Marquee Club. Jam song titles are also quoted in TVPs lyrics, and the song "And Don't The Kids Just Love It" mentions Jam bassist Bruce FoxtonBruce FoxtonBruce Foxton is an English rock and roll musician who is best known as the bass player in punk rock bands The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers.-Biography:...
getting all the girls. - Roy LichtensteinRoy LichtensteinRoy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
– The TVPs' label, Whaam!, was named after one of Lichtenstein's paintings. "Lichtenstein Painting" is the name of a song on the band's second album. An earlier version of the song (released by Treacy under the name The Gifted Children) was called "Lichtenstein Girl" - Joan MiróJoan MiróJoan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
– "An Exhibition by Joan Miro" is a song on the band's fifth album. - The Monochrome SetThe Monochrome SetThe Monochrome Set are an English post-punk band originally formed in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides...
– Treacy references this band, contemporaries of the Television Personalities. - Joe OrtonJoe OrtonJohn Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
– The British playwright's death at the hands of his lover Kenneth HalliwellKenneth HalliwellKenneth Halliwell was a British actor and writer. He was the mentor, boyfriend and eventual murderer of playwright Joe Orton.- Childhood :...
is referenced in the song "God Snaps His Fingers" (the song's title is itself a quote from a novel co-written by Orton and Halliwell). The song "The Good and Faithful Servant" is named after one of Orton's plays. - Joe StrummerJoe StrummerJohn Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
– The lead singer of The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
is mentioned in "Happy Families", along with Poly StyrenePoly StyrenePoly Styrene was the stage name of Marianne Joan Elliott-Said , a British musician, songwriter and singer, most notably in the pioneering punk rock band X-Ray Spex.-Early life:...
. - The Sharon TateSharon TateSharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
murders (1969) are referred to in the hand painted version of the "They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles" album cover. - Rita TushinghamRita Tushingham-Career:Born in Liverpool, Tushingham began her career as a stage actress at the Liverpool Playhouse. Her screen debut was in A Taste of Honey...
– The actress is mentioned in "Favourite Films." Several films of her films from the 1960s are also mentioned in TVPs songs. - Victor VasarelyVictor VasarelyVictor Vasarely was a Hungarian French artist whose work is generally seen aligned with Op-art.His work entitled Zebra, created by Vasarely in the 1930s, is considered by some to be one of the earliest examples of Op-art...
– The painter is mentioned in "The Painter Word Pt. 2." Fellow Op ArtOp artOp art, also known as optical art, is a style of visual art that makes use of optical illusions."Optical art is a method of painting concerning the interaction between illusion and picture plane, between understanding and seeing." Op art works are abstract, with many of the better known pieces made...
artist Bridget RileyBridget RileyBridget Louise Riley CH CBE is an English painter who is one of the foremost proponents of Op art.-Early life:...
has a song named after her ("I Remember Bridget Riley"). - Andy WarholAndy WarholAndrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
– The Pop ArtPop artPop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
maverick is often mentioned in Television Personalities songs. - The O-Level'O' LevelO' Level were a British, late 1970s, post punk, indie band, founded in 1976 by Ed Ball with friends John and Gerard Bennett. The group's name refers to the 'O'-Level of the British General Certificate of Education.-History:...
– Ed BallEd Ball (musician)Edward "Ed" Ball is a songwriter, singer, guitarist and keyboard player from London, who has recorded both solo and as a member of the Television Personalities, 'O' Level, Teenage Filmstars, The Times, and Conspiracy of Noise. He also served as an executive at Creation Records...
's other band at the time, mentioned in "Part Time Punks". - The LurkersThe LurkersThe Lurkers were a late 1970s English punk rock group from Uxbridge, West London, notable for being the first group ever on Beggars Banquet Records.-Career:...
– Punk band mentioned in "Part Time Punks". - The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
– Legendary punk band mentioned in "Part Time Punks". - Siouxsie and the Banshees – Punk band led by Siouxsie SiouxSiouxsie SiouxSiouxsie Sioux is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and of its splinter group The Creatures . The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden",...
mentioned in "Part Time Punks". - John PeelJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
– Influential UK radio DJ and early champion of the band, mentioned in "Part Time Punks". - In the song "Goodnight Mr. Spaceman", Treacy relates that he wishes he'd signed to Alan McGeeAlan McGeeAlan McGee has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian.McGee is best-known for co-forming and running the independent Creation Records label from 1983–1999, and then Poptones from 1999-2007...
's CreationCreation RecordsCreation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
label (McGee was an avid supporter of the TVPs), feels like Edvard MunchEdvard MunchEdvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
, and can't dance like Primal ScreamPrimal ScreamPrimal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
frontman Bobby GillespieBobby GillespieRobert Bernard Andrew "Bobby" Gillespie is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and founding member of the alternative rock band, Primal Scream. He was also the drummer for The Jesus and Mary Chain in the mid-1980s.- Early life :Born and raised in the south side district of Mount Florida in...
. - Christine KeelerChristine KeelerChristine Margaret Keeler is an English former model and showgirl. Her involvement with a British government minister discredited the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan in 1963, in what is known as the Profumo Affair....
– UK model and showgirl famous for the Profumo affairProfumo AffairThe Profumo Affair was a 1963 British political scandal named after John Profumo, Secretary of State for War. His affair with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy, followed by lying in the House of Commons when he was questioned about it, forced the resignation of...
. The idol of the girl in "A Day in Heaven". - Charles MansonCharles MansonCharles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
– US cult leader. Mentioned in "A Day in Heaven" where the "good girl" of the song wants to kiss him.
In-jokes
- Geoffrey Ingram – Ingram (sometimes spelled Ingrams) is a character from Shelagh DelaneyShelagh DelaneyShelagh Delaney, FRSL was an English dramatist and screenwriter, best-known for her debut work, A Taste of Honey ....
's play "A Taste of HoneyA Taste of HoneyA Taste of Honey is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 18. It was initially intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalize British theatre and to address social issues that she felt were not being presented...
" (which was made into a popular film starring Rita TushinghamRita Tushingham-Career:Born in Liverpool, Tushingham began her career as a stage actress at the Liverpool Playhouse. Her screen debut was in A Taste of Honey...
in 1961). He is often quoted and referenced in the TVPs' early work. The TVPs' debut album has a song about him (titled simply "Geoffrey Ingram"). - Fake ProducersRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
– The band's self-produced albums often credit fictional producers. (Example: The first album is "produced" by "Vic Hammersmith-Broadway", an amalgamation of Jam producer Vic Coppersmith-HeavenVic Coppersmith-HeavenVic Coppersmith-Heaven is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his production work with The Jam.-Career:...
and a lyric from "Geoffrey Ingram": "Geoffrey's got a nice new suit, he bought it yesterday/Ten pounds in an Oxfam shop near Hammersmith Broadway")
Other
- Carnaby StreetCarnaby StreetCarnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in London, United Kingdom, located in the Soho district, near Oxford Street and Regent Street. It is home to numerous fashion and lifestyle retailers, including a large number of independent fashion boutiques...
– Treacy visits the site of the 1960s' most fashionable boutiques in "Smashing Time" - The Glittering Prizes
- The Perfumed GardenThe Perfumed Garden (radio show)The Perfumed Garden was the title given by John Peel to his 1967 late-night programme on the British pirate radio station, Radio London. After several years of work in US commercial pop radio, Peel joined the station in March 1967, on returning to the UK from California. As well as various slots on...
– The song "In A Perfumed Garden" is named after John PeelJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's pirate radioPirate radioPirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
show (itself named after the book by Shaykh Nefzawi). - King's Road – Referenced in several songs (including the seminal "Part Time Punks"), this Swinging LondonSwinging LondonSwinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasised the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the...
locale is close to where lead singer Dan Treacy was born. - "Read About Seymour" – A song by their contemporaries Swell MapsSwell MapsSwell Maps were an experimental English rock group of the 1970s from Birmingham that foreshadowed the birth of post-punk.Influenced by the disparate likes of T.Rex and the German progressive outfit, Can, they created a new soundscape that would be heavily mined by others in the post-punk era...
mentioned in "Part Time Punks". - Rough TradeRough Trade ShopRough Trade are two independent record shops based in London, UK.The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Portobello Road district of west London. In 1978 the shop spawned the famous Rough Trade Records, which was to go on to be home to bands from The Smiths to The...
– Popular London record store, later expanded and included a record label and distribution company. Mentioned in "Part Time Punks".