TV Smith (Part One)

We're talking into corners.
Finding ways to fill the vacuum.
And though our mouths are dry.
We talk in hope to hit on something new.
Tied to the railway track.
It's one way to revive but no way to relax.

We're just bored teenagers.
Looking for love,
Or should I say emotional rages.
Bored teenagers.
Seeing ourselves as strangers.

I have written a bit on this blog about some of the figures from punk rock who have not received their due recognition. TV (Tim) Smith must rank as one of the most underrated songwriters of the genre despite his band, The Adverts, being one of the biggest groups from the first wave of the music. I met up with Tim a couple of weeks ago when his tour rolled into Leeds.

The first three singles from The Adverts all deserve their place in the classics of the genre. "One Chord Wonders" was far more than its humble title suggested. "Gary Gilmore’s Eyes" was a perceptive tale of the American killer who donated his eyes to be used again after his death, with the new recipient being able to look through them. This brought the group national recognition and an appearance on Top Of The Pops. The B-side was arguably even better though. "Bored Teenagers" eloquently summed up the plight of Britain’s youth in the days of high unemployment, few prospects and little to do to take away the boredom. "Safety In Numbers" was not a big success compared to its predecessor but once again was a lyrical triumph, criticising those who were jumping on the punk bandwagon.

The band’s debut album "Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts" was released in early 1978 and rates as one of the best sets from that era, certainly up there with the classic debuts from the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. With such an illustrious catalogue of tunes you would think that TV Smith would be spoken of with the same reverence as Joe Strummer, Mick Jones or Johnny Rotten. But alas not. His songs not only define the era as a participant but also as an observer, a very hard feat to pull off.

The Advert’s second album "Cast Of Thousands" which was released in 1979 received a critical mauling and was a flop. It does have some songs as good as the first album but it has a weird production and lacks enough intensity to really hit hard. Some of the added instrumentation like the keyboards don’t really work either. The band deserve the respect for putting out such an experimental set though and if it was produced better then maybe it would have connected more.

So The Adverts broke up and TV continued as a solo artist, as he does to this day. He has put out quite a few albums, all continuing his tradition as one of the UK’s best songwriters but not to the acclaim that he should receive. Many of his concerts are now acoustic affairs but a lot of The Adverts songs don’t get featured. So it was a real treat to see that he was doing a special electric tour (with Italian group The Valentines as back-up), playing all the best songs from The Adverts’ catalogue.

I never saw the band the first time around as I was just fourteen when they split up, but I was amazed how faithful the concert was to the original Adverts’ sound. Almost all the first album was given an airing and it sounded fantastic and you clearly tell that TV was enjoying it. The only disappointment was that there were less than one hundred people there but he told me that he thought it was a really good gig. The title track from his new album "Coming In To Land" was performed as an encore and this track is easily the equal of the best songs from The Adverts. I hadn’t heard it before this night but it slotted in perfectly.

It was a big honour to photograph Tim the following day after the gig and his portrait will appear here soon. Here are a few live shots from the Leeds concert.