T. V. Smith

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T.V. Smith in Neuss, Germany in 2006

T.V. Smith (born Tim Smith, 5 April 1956, in Bideford, Devon, 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.

He rose to prominence as the singer, songwriter and guitarist 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's next band was named Cheap: they toured through the mid 1980s and released the politically charged single "Third Term". However, Cheap failed to find commercial backing for their album. It was finally released in 1995.

Smith next 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 members of Germany's Die Toten Hosen, Finland's Punk Lurex OK, The United States' Midnight Creeps, and Spain's Suzy & Los Quattro. His latest album Misinformation Overload was released in Germany in February 2006. It is also planned to be released in the UK, Spain and Japan.

In 2005, he joined infamous chaotic American punk band Amen on their UK tour. As well as supporting, he joined the band on stage for several covers of classics 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)".

[edit] Discography

1983: "Warfever" - 7" single
1983: Channel - album
1992: March Of The Giants - CD
1994: "We Want The Road" - CD single
1994: Immortal Rich - CD
1995: "Thin Green Line" - CD single, recorded with Tom Robinson
1998: Generation Y - CD album
1999: The Future Used To Be Better - CD EP with Punk Lurex OK
2001: Useless - The Very Best Of T.V. Smith - German-only release, recorded with Die Toten Hosen as backing band
2003: "What If?" / "New Church" - 7" single recorded with Spain's Suzy & Los Quattro
2003: Not A Bad Day - CD
2003: "Punk Aid" - CD Single with various punk luminaries led by Captain Sensible
2004: "Xmas Bloody Xmas" - CD single with members from Die Toten Hosen / Tim Cross
2006: Misinformation Overload - CD