| T.V. Smith | |
|---|---|
T.V. Smith in Stuttgart, Germany in 2008 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tim Smith |
| Born | 5 April 1956 |
| Occupations | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | Cooking Vinyl, Cherry Red |
| Associated acts | The Adverts T.V. Smith's Explorers Cheap |
| Website | tvsmith.com |
T. V. Smith (born Tim Smith, 5 April 1956, Romford, Essex, now the London Borough of Havering, England) is a British punk rock singer-songwriter, who was part of the band The Adverts in the late 1970s. Since then, he has played with other bands, as well as pursuing solo work.[1]
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He rose to prominence as the singer and songwriter of the punk band The Adverts, who are best known for their 1977 single "Gary Gilmore's Eyes". When The Adverts split up in November 1979, Smith formed a new band, T.V. Smith's Explorers. They released a single called "Tomahawk Cruise" (a reference to the BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise missiles) on the independent record label, Chiswick Records. The band recorded the album The Last Words of the Great Explorer, but it failed to achieve commercial success.
Smith then recorded as a solo artist, releasing the album Channel Five in 1983.[2]
Smith's next band was named Cheap (T. V. Smith: Vocals, Mik Heslin: Guitar, Andy Bennie: Bass, Howard Martin Deniz: Drums). They toured from 1986 to 1991 all over Britain and included visits to Holland and France and released the politically charged single "Third Term". They also did a 'John Peel session' for the BBC at the Maida Vale Studios. However, Cheap failed to find commercial backing for their album RIP...Everything Must Go. It was finally released in 1993.[2]
Smith again went solo and continues to perform as a solo artist today, recording and performing his own songs, often with the backing of a variety of other bands from around the world. This includes Germany's Die Toten Hosen, Finland's Punk Lurex OK, The United States' Midnight Creeps, and Spain's Suzy & Los Quattro. His album Misinformation Overload was released in Germany, the UK, Spain and Japan in 2006.
In 2005, he joined the American punk band Amen on their UK tour. As well as supporting, he joined the band on stage for several covers of songs by the Adverts, such as "One Chord Wonders", and "Gary Gilmore's Eyes". Casey Chaos, lead singer of Amen, is a life-long fan of The Adverts, and has even referenced them in a song title on the latest Amen album, Death Before Musick. The song is called "Hello (One Chord Lovers)".
In 2006 he contributed vocals to the song "Ein Jahr(es geht voran)" on the band Fehlfarben's album 261⁄2.