TV Smith, a founder member, singer and songwriter for The Adverts – one of the very first punk rock bands – is coming to Reading this month, thanks to Club Velocity.
The band formed in late 1976 – nearly 50 years ago – and were one of the pioneers in the first wave of British punk rock.
In early 1977, they performed regularly at the newly opened Roxy Club in London, and gained cult success with the Stiff Records single One Chord Wonders.
Their next release, Gary Gilmore’s Eyes, became a hit record, leading to radio and TV appearances and extensive media interest.
A further single, No Time To Be 21, also entered the charts, and the band spent the rest of the year playing live, including major tours with The Damned and Iggy Pop.
The album that followed in early 1978, Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts, is still considered a genuine classic of the era and is often cited as one of the 20 best punk albums ever released.
TV Smith continued his musical journey after The Adverts
The Adverts released one more album, Cast Of Thousands, before they split in 1979.
Slammed by the critics at the time, the album was later re-released to universal acclaim and described by Mojo magazine as “the long lost punk album that rivals The Clash’s London Calling.
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Immediately after the break-up of The Adverts, TV formed TV Smith’s Explorers, who gained a UK hit in 1980 with the single Tomahawk Cruise and released one album, Last Words Of The Great Explorer”a year later.
Lack of commercial success led to the band being dropped by their record label and their subsequent split.
TV re-entered the live arena in 1986 with Cheap, before performing his first gigs as a solo artist in the early ’90’s.
Since then, he has established himself as the leading solo performer of the punk rock scene and has released a further seventeen albums.
He has also been involved in a number of collaborations with other bands, most notably with German superstars Die Toten Hosen, who performed as TV’s backing band on the album Useless, a selection of re-recorded Smith classics.
Fiercely independent and proudly embodying the original spirit of punk rock, TV was playing over 100 gigs a year all over the world before Coronavirus hit in 2020.
More than 60 gigs were subsequently cancelled, but not to be daunted he went into his home studio and wrote and recorded 11 new songs inspired by the pandemic.
The resulting album, Lockdown Holiday, was released on the Easy Action label in the UK at the beginning of 2021.
As live music finally started up again in 2022, TV wasted no time in getting back to work.
As well as numerous solo club dates, he supported on major tours with Stiff Little Fingers, the Damned and Ruts DC, and continued into 2023 with more touring in the UK, Europe, and the US.
Bringing TV Smith’s story up to date
Last year, TV released a new album entitled Handwriting on Easy Action in the UK and JKP/ Warners in Europe.
Recorded in collaboration with renowned folk producer and multi-instrumentalist Gerry Diver, the pair have created a record with a thrilling totally new musical landscape using no conventional rock instruments.
TV sings and plays acoustic guitar on 12 of his finest songs to date, while Gerry backs him up on harmonium, mandolin, bazouki, banjo, piano, tenor guitar, bass guitar, percussion…and much more.
Critics are already calling it the best album of his career.
A full-length BBC 4 documentary on TV Smith titled “We Who Wait: TV Smith & The Adverts” is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWZqYCsT2uk
When is TV Smith coming to Reading and how do I get tickets?
TV Smith will be at The Face Bar on Thursday, February 20. Doors open at 8pm with the gig starting at 8.30pm.
There is no support act.
The Face Bar is on Chatham Street, Reading RG1 7JL
Tickets are available from: https://wegottickets.com/event/636458
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