Television Personalities


The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy. Their varied, volatile and long career encompasses post punk, neo-psychedelia and indie pop, the only constant being Treacy's songwriting. Present and former members include Chelsea childhood mates 'Slaughter Joe' Joe Foster, one time best friend Ed Ball and Jowe Head, with Jeffrey Bloom from 1983-94. Although prolific, the Television Personalities are best known for their early track "Part Time Punks" and the critically acclaimed Privilege and Closer to God LPs. Treacy is known for the numerous popular culture references and in-jokes scattered throughout the TVPs' lyrics, album titles and record artwork. Most of the references are to cult films, 1960s culture and forgotten or under appreciated musicians and celebrities.
The TVPs were never to have any major commercial success in the UK – although their albums sold respectably in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. Despite their relatively minor commercial success, the Television Personalities are highly regarded by critics and have been widely influential, especially on the C86 generation, on many of the bands signed to Creation Records in the 1990s, and on American artists such as Pavement and MGMT. Treacy's unconventional but dryly witty and culture infused lyrics, have led to his reputation as a seminal and iconic figure within the independent music scene.
In 2006 music critic Cam Lindsay described Treacy as having "recorded some of the most bizarre, unlistenable and brilliant pop songs in the last three decades".

Career

Early career

Treacy was inspired to release music after hearing the Sex Pistols and Jonathan Richman. The first single, "14th Floor", was released in January 1977. The track was picked up by the BBC's John Peel. Treacy said "Peel loved it, but my mum was hassling me to pay back the money" that Treacy's dad had provided for the recording. The promotion of the "14th Floor" single was supported by Joe Strummer.
"14th Floor" was followed by the 1978 EP Where's Bill Grundy Now?, which Ed Ball played on and which brought them to popular attention. Ball was amazed at the quality of Treacy's writing, and admitted that he "couldn't believe the lyrics. Suddenly, my best friend was coming out with these amazing songs." Treacy hand-pressed 500 copies of Where's Bill Grundy Now?, each with a photocopied sleeve, which he sent to various record companies and radio DJs. The EP features their lone chart hit, the seminal "Part Time Punks", written while Treacy was 17 years and living in a high-rise building on King's Road.
The song title and resulting media attention brought the band to the notice of the music press and rock establishment royalty they were parodying. Treacy, who at the time worked at Swan Song Records, said: "Jimmy Page came in one day when I was reading an interview I'd done, and I told him I had a record out. So then, he walks me upstairs to a wardrobe brimming with guitars, hands me one and five minutes later, I was jamming with Jimmy Page. He was good, but he weren't as good as me."
The band did not have a name at the time John Peel first gave them airplay; since they had jokingly attributed their recordings to mainstream television hosts Nicholas Parsons, Russell Harty, Bruce Forsyth and Hughie Green, Peel referred to them as "London's Television Personalities".

Live debut and first albums

In the middle of 1980, the Television Personalities made their live debut following the recruitment of Joe Foster on bass and Mark 'Empire' Sheppard on drums. This line-up was short-lived, with Foster soon departing. Prior to this, Treacy and Sheppard helped out with Foster's solo project, the Missing Scientists, which also included Mute Records head Daniel Miller.
The band's first album, ...And Don't The Kids Just Love It, was released in 1981. It set the template for their subsequent career: neo-psychedelia married to an obsession with youth culture of the 1960s. Their second album, Mummy Your Not Watching Me , demonstrated increased psychedelic influences. Their third album, a collection of outtakes and demos entitled They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles, showed Treacy's sense of humour. These first three albums featured Treacy and Ball; Ball left the band in 1982 to found The Times, but rejoined in 2004.
Ever unconventional, Treacy said he was not that much interested in music and the band rarely rehearsed. Treacy did not prepare set-lists for live performances, preferring to keep the band on their toes. Jowe Head remembers "us rehearsing once in late 1983. We did another one five years later, and that was about it."
According to critic Ira Robbins, with their 1984 album The Painted Word the TVPs "have drifted off into spare, droning psychedelia and ultra-restrained rock that's hauntingly beautiful, like the most delicate moments of The Velvet Underground."

Later years and revival

Dan was typically prolific and some singles were recorded like the classic Love the Bomb, but with him now running his Wham record label the TVPs did not record another album until after signing with Fire. That album was Privilege, a more mature, more wistful collection of songs than on previous albums, A trip to Japan and the US followed and a couple of years later the album Closer to God revealed how Dan's dark side was coming to the fore.
Various lineup changes and circumstances prevented the recordings for Privilege from being released until 1990. Their subsequent album Closer to God was a combination of sixties style pop and darker material, and was similar in tone to The Painted Word.
Treacy later struggled with mental health issues and drug addiction, and from 1998 to June 2004 was incarcerated for theft. He spent time on HM Prison ship Weare in Portland Harbour, Dorset, England.
His 2006 comeback album My Dark Places received widespread critical acclaim, including for the single "Velvet Underground". The NME described it as a "stunningly original record-harrowing and hilarious in equal amounts", while the BBC wrote that the album "captures the offbeat brilliance that made the TVPs indie legends in the 70s, characterised by Treacy’s endearingly slapdash attitude towards singing in tune and playing in time." He was reportedly seriously ill in October 2011 following brain surgery to remove a blood clot. He regained consciousness in December, but remained hospitalised. By 2016 he was recovering from the surgery and said that he intended to return to music.
In January 2018, Fire Records released the long lost Beautiful Despair as the band's twelfth album. It had been recorded in 1990 on a 4-track, between 1989's "Privilege" and 1992's "Closer to God", but was not released at that time.

Influence

Television Personalities have been widely influential, and were acclaimed from their beginnings. Bands that have cited them as formative influences include Jesus and Mary Chain, Half Man Half Biscuit, The Pastels, Beat Happening, Pavement and MGMT.

Discography

Albums

The following is a complete list of the Television Personalities albums.