Television Personalities, Dan Treacy (vocals) and Jowe Head (bass) performing at The Living Room on February 10th, 1984 (Photo courtesy of JC Brouchard)
Author: Nicholas Brandis
How do you measure influence? By all accounts, you can’t. It’s not quantifiable, you can’t hold it in your hand, and you most certainly can’t go to the store and tell the clerk, “I’ll take three jars of influence today please!” That being said, we still find ways of evaluating influence every day. “The Velvet Underground were the most influential group of the sixties!”, one Velvet Underground fan exclaims. “No, it’s clearly The Beatles!”, shoots back a Beatlemaniac. Naturally, both bands were massively important for the development and growth of popular music in the sixties and seventies, so it’s impossible to say who was more influential. Frankly, I think that it’s also a waste of time arguing over which band is better, as both bands made incredible music. Nevertheless, neither of those bands are the focus of this article (although The Beatles may be mentioned in the title). In this article I would like to tell you about one of my favorite bands, Television Personalities.
When I think about the influence music has had on my life, Television Personalities are the first band who comes to my mind. They are not my favorite band (that would be The Fall), or even the first band I ever fell in love with (that would be Led Zeppelin). However, for me, . . . And Don’t The Kids Just Love It by Television Personalities is the most influential album I have ever listened to, and it has been instrumental in shaping the person who I am today. When I first heard this album, it sealed my fate. Upon first hearing the sardonic humor and witty lyrics written and sung by the brilliant Dan Treacy included on this album, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. While there were dreams of making music floating around in my head before I listened to Television Personalities, it was not until I listened to those fourteen sensational songs present on . . . And Don’t The Kids Just Love It that I knew that making music was something that I had to do. More than that though, it felt like making music was something that I could do. For the first time, making music felt like an attainable goal. As such, one thing is undeniably clear. It’s not just the kids who love it – college students are awfully fond of it too! While Television Personalities are a band who have had a tremendous influence on me personally, they have been woefully unpopular. Hopefully this article will shed some light on a band that deserves much more attention and love.
Television Personalities are a British indie pop and post-punk band who formed in the late seventies, most well-known for their 1977 track, “Part Time Punks”. Not only were Television Personalities one of the most important and impactful British indie bands in the 1980s, they were also one of the very first groups to define what the genre was and could be. Despite their relatively minor commercial success, TVPs have proven to be enormously influential (there’s that word again), inspiring artists such as Pavement and MGMT. MGMT even recorded a song called “Song for Dan Treacy” on their 2010 album Congratulations, a tribute to the lead singer and genius of Television Personalities, Dan Treacy.
The title of this article is a reference to the third Television Personalities album, which is sarcastically titled They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles. This is of course a clever, and somewhat depressing, joke based on the limited commercial success that Television Personalities enjoyed. They weren’t almost bigger than The Beatles – they were barely bigger than The Pastels! Television Personalities seemed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at every conceivable turn. This is most thoroughly understood through an event related to their song, “I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives”, off of the debut Television Personalities album, . . . And Don’t The Kids Just Love It.
I always understood “I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives” to be about Dan Treacy being able to relate to the isolation, depression, and mental illness that Syd Barrett endured in his life. Syd Barrett, as the lead singer of Pink Floyd, would make waves in the late sixties for presenting a unique take on psychedelic rock, with Pink Floyd’s debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. However, these waves would not last for long, as Barrett was fired from the band shortly after, writing and recording just one song for Floyd’s sophomore album A Saucerful of Secrets – “Jugband Blues”. (By the way, “Jugband Blues” is an unbelievably brilliant song and it deserves more time to focus solely on it. Perhaps an idea for a future article? We’ll see.) Barrett was removed from the band because of his increasing trouble with and reliance on drugs, in particular LSD. This heavy use of psychedelics caused Barrett to act differently, and it is speculated that he suffered from schizophrenia as a result. To put it differently, he went on an acid trip and never came back. While Barrett would go on to record two solo albums that are genius in their own way, the damage was done and he would never be the same again. Barrett became reclusive and spent most of his time alone in his room, which Television Personalities touch upon in their song.
Containing the lyrics, “He was very famous / Once upon a time / Now no one cares / Even if he’s alive / (We do)”, Television Personalities demonstrate a deep and profound appreciation for Syd Barrett in this song. Barrett, who was once on top of the world, now seemed to be forgotten, more myth than a man. So how is “I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives” emblematic of Television Personalities’ ultimate failure to break through to a mainstream audience? In essence, TVPs were offered the opportunity to open for Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour on his 1984 About Face tour. Whilst performing their set at one of these concerts, Television Personalities played “I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives”, and proved that the meaning of the song was more literal than anyone had thought. For whatever reason, Dan Treacy read out Barrett’s actual address to the crowd. How he knew Syd’s address I do not know. Regardless, Gilmour immediately fired Television Personalities, and they did not join along for the rest of the tour. Had they not read out Barrett’s address on-stange, and been allowed to continue touring with Gilmour, how differently would the career of Television Personalities have turned out? While no one can say for sure, I would wager that they would be more popular now than they currently are. Popularity isn’t everything though. Dan Treacy knew this.
The incident involving David Gilmour was not the only time that Treacy would lock horns with rock and roll royalty. There is another instance where Treacy failed to capitalize on potential support from a huge classic rock band. Just as he quarreled with a member of Pink Floyd, Treacy also engaged with a member of Led Zeppelin. As the story goes, Treacy was working at Led Zeppelin’s record label Swan Song – a job he managed to get because his mother worked at a laundromat in London where members of Led Zeppelin went to wash their clothes! Working at the Swan Song record label, Treacy was able to meet members of Led Zeppelin. Treacy described his encounter with Jimmy Page by saying: “He 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.’” If I were Dan Treacy at this moment, I would have been freaking out, excited to play with such a legendary guitarist. I also would have taken this opportunity to hopefully establish a connection with Page, as a musician of Page’s caliber and popularity would surely have ties to the music industry that could possibly help out my future career. However, Treacy took a much different route than the one that I would have taken. Treacy continued his story by saying, “‘He was good, but he weren’t as good as me.’” Oh Dan, you never seem to do yourself any favors, do you?
There is also an interesting story involving Television Personalities and a Seattle band you may have heard of. Kurt Cobain was a huge fan of Television Personalities, and he specifically requested to have TVPs open for Nirvana when they performed at the London Astoria in November of 1991. Dan Treacy had this to say about that concert: “I didn’t know who they were but everyone around me said ‘Nirvana, big band’ so I thought, ‘right, I’ll take the piss’. I went onstage, played a few numbers and then finished with a cover of my favourite song, ‘Seasons in the Sun’. When I came offstage, Kurt came up and shook my hand because it was his favourite song too”. As it turns out, Treacy had initially intended for his performance to be a bit of a joke, but his plan backfired and Cobain loved it! If only all of Treacy’s escapades had this happy result.
Ever unconventional, Dan Treacy didn’t play along with the rules. If Dan always did what he was told to, then Television Personalities would not be the band that I hold so dear to my heart. Dan Treacy would not have been Dan Treacy had he not done the unorthodox things that he did. Although that sometimes hindered his professional success and got him into some trouble, Dan ensured that he was authentically himself at all times. I am so thankful that he did, because he enabled so many others to follow his lead.
Mentioned earlier in the article, the debut Television Personalities album . . . And Don’t The Kids Just Love It, includes the seminal track “I Know Where Syd Barret Lives”, which got TVPs into some trouble. I am here to inform you, dear readers, that I know where Dan Treacy lives. This information has never before been revealed, and although I was sworn to secrecy NOT to tell Dan Treacy’s whereabouts, I feel that it would be a disservice to you all if I did not disclose what I know. Just promise me to just keep this between us though, okay? Are you ready? Here goes.
Dan Treacy lives inside the heart of every young person who has ever dared to be different. Dan Treacy resides within the soul of all those who are unapologetically themselves, even when (especially when!) the world tries to put them down. Dan Treacy lives in me. Maybe Dan Treacy lives in you too.
NICHOLAS BRANDIS | Full Time Punk | KXSU Music Reporter