‘The role of the artist is to say there’s still some fight in us left,’ says TV Smith. The punk veteran acts as cheerleader against apathy and shows no sign of slowing down.
By Miles Salter
Feature photo by Chris Hill
He has carved out an impressive solo career, clocking up thousands of gigs over the years, and plays The Fulford Arms in September with The Bored Teenagers.
TV (real name Tim) was born in Essex, but his family moved to Devon when he was nine, living in North Tawton, a village of around 2,000 people in a community dominated by farming. It was an idyllic start. ‘Essex felt grey compared to the countryside,’ he says. He could roam through fields, climb trees and jump across streams. ‘It helped me feel very free,’ he says of his Devon upbringing.
His early attempts at writing were praised by Ted Hughes, who lived nearby and had links with the school. Smith would later read poets like Sylvia Plath and Charles Bukowski.
At fourteen he borrowed a guitar from Sunday School. The leaders probably expected him to play Onward Christian Soldiers but instead he was flirting with pop and rock. Inspired by The Beatles, Smith began to realise the power of combining melodies and lyrics. ‘Things took on a whole new life,’ he says. Lennon and McCartney’s world seemed enticing and magical. ‘They were the first band that wasn’t putting out bland pop.’ Glam followed in 1973 and 1974, and David Bowie, in particular, seemed enticing.
By the time 1976 arrived, he felt the itch to head to London. Approaching twenty, Smith knew that the punk scene was on the verge of exploding. Smith was a regular at The Roxy, the punk venue frequented by The Clash and Chrissie Hynde. The place was not salubrious. ‘It was a sh*thole, but it was our sh*thole,’ he says.
The Adverts, his band, formed. Smith’s girlfriend, Gaye Advert, who he met at Art College in Torquay, played bass in the band. The couple remained together for four decades before eventually parting.
Smith played guitar, but not as well as he would have liked. He recruited Howard Boak (aka Howard Pickup) as guitar player, and the two worked on the songs, although Smith had them worked out in his head. The band signed to Stiff Records before eloping to rival label Anchor.
Things happened quickly. The Adverts scored a hit in 1978 with Gary Gilmore’s Eyes, a song that was half satire, half sci-fi. The lyrics addressed the death of Gary Gilmore, a man who was found guilty of murder in America after robbing petrol stations. There had been a ten-year absence of state-sanctioned killing in the US, ending when Gilmore faced the death penalty, saying he wished to donate his body to help others, and the song revelled in the strangeness of it all. It has, says TV, a strand of ‘gothic horror’ about it. (A horror film called The Hands Of Orlac riffs on a similar idea.)
To Smith, the whole story was told in an exploitative way. The Adverts were briefly famous at a time when bands exploded from nothing. ‘The whole scene was fuelled by amphetamine… everything happened fast,’ says TV. ‘It had an amphetamine-fuelled atmosphere.’
The Adverts found themselves on Top of the Pops. Cameramen barked at audience members, telling them to move out of the way. The band released their album Crossing The Red Sea with The Adverts in February 1978. It’s often cited in ‘best of’ lists of punk albums.
TV has benefitted from the help of other artists, including Tom Robinson and poetry performer Attila The Stockbroker. Robinson, a veteran of numerous hits in the ‘70s and ‘80s, is described by Smith as ‘a master craftsman’ who provided ‘guidance… he’s very sincere’. Smith had relied on other musicians to help him along, but in 1989 he was pushed towards being a solo act by Attila, who insisted the singer-songwriter open a gig.
Smith rose to the challenge. The rest, as they say… He’s been on the road now, as a solo act or with others, for over thirty-five years, releasing numerous albums along the way. When I saw him in York years ago, he was a force to be reckoned with – passionate, devoted, and unwilling to back down. A life force. ‘I play with the same passion. There might be three people in the room, or 300. It makes no difference,’ he explains.
He continues to tour. He is now 70, but his gig schedule is tremendous. There’s always the next run of dates. He goes swimming to keep up his fitness and has retained a slender frame. He also does daily vocal warm-ups after a frightening incident when he almost lost his voice.
He inhabits a left-wing position and continues to rail against what he doesn’t like in the world, acting as a sort of catalyst. When Margaret Thatcher was returned in 1987, he wrote Third Term, opposing the inequality that existed in Britain.
One of his songs, Expensive Being Poor, is about the traps that come with poverty. His song Not In My Name opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He continues to sing songs that make audiences think about freedom, oppression and inequality.
Getting out in the world and playing gigs is crucial to Smith’s life. ‘I love working hard,’ he says. ‘I don’t like sitting around. Life gives you the opportunities to do stuff. I don’t consider it a hardship.’ When the Covid crisis hit in 2020, Smith set about recording a new album at home.
Smith returned to Devon twelve years ago and resides there now. ‘It’s like having a second childhood,’ he says of the county’s tranquil beauty. He lives with his partner, Sally. She was his first girlfriend. When they met again decades later, they both knew it was right to be together. ‘We had a slight break of 40 years,’ he says comically. Sally comes to the gigs with TV, helping with merchandise sales. ‘She comes with me always,’ he says proudly.
Our chat wraps up and I say I’ve enjoyed it. Smith is a true journeyman musician, a one-man industry, somebody who won’t shut up about how the world could be better if we only tried a little harder.
TV Smith and The Bored Teenagers will play The Fulford Arms on Wednesday 23 September 2026.
Miles Salter writes for York Calling and fronts the band Miles and The Chain Gang. His book about The Pretenders, A Dangerous Band, is out on 1 November 2026.
