Interview with TV Smith...

TV Smith doesn't really need much of an introduction...

I put a gig of his on at the Black Swan, during my brief tenancy there as Landlady. Over 30 years after his heyday in the Adverts (The first band to enter the UK charts with a punk single) he did not disappoint.

The Adverts were formed in 1976, by TV Smith and Gaye Advert, and disbanded in 1979.

I had seen him play solo once before, when I was a teenager. He signed my Vinyl Record of the Adverts Début ('Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts', well worth investigating if it has escaped your attention). As I had no pen on me, with eyeliner and inscribed it 'Gary Gilmore's Eyeliner' referencing their début single and making me snigger even now.

TV Smith still sings for his supper (check here: http://www.tvsmith.com/ for tour updates) and when he came to play and stay at the Swan he was utterly charming and unaffected.

Below, my interview with him from 2008.

Hello, how are you and where are you today?

Hi Shelly. I’m just back from a few UK dates with Goldblade and at home for a few days before heading off for a long tour through Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Holland.

Kind of a loaded question to start with...How do you feel about 'punk' now and do you still feel 'punk' has relevance? For me, you coming to play a DIY gig in a pub, despite its lack of glamour, is what punk means to me, doing something because of the cause and not the cash...

For me, Punk has always meant finding an alternative way. In 1977 it was about forming a band and doing what we wanted when the charts were full of self-indulgent prog-rock and idiotic commercial pop. These days when you look at the “popular” culture that’s being forced on us, it’s obvious that we still need an alternative. More than ever, the DIY approach is the only way to make something interesting happen. It may not be glamorous but at least it’s real. I don’t think I’d like to be glamorous anyway – the word “glamour” suggests something that dazzles and conceals. I think music should be about revealing, not concealing.

In your book 'Getting There' you chronicle your time touring and how hard it can be...are there any particular anecdotes you can share about the best and worst times on the road so far?

I’ve just got the second volume of my tour diaries out too – called “How To Feel Human.” I started writing the books to give people an insight into what it’s really like out on the road, because I think most people have a clichéd impression of the lifestyle bands lead when they go on tour. To be fair, a lot of bands like to live the cliché, but for me it’s all about learning about where I am and getting to meet people, and the special things that happen out on the road that just don’t occur when you’re at home. In the books I usually don’t write about the gigs at all, or dispose of them in a couple of lines – it’s all the rest of the stuff that’s important. I won’t get into anecdotes here because I don’t want to spoil the books for anyone who hasn’t read them yet.

Your old band 'The Adverts' are credited with having the first UK punk single back in 1977. What is your relationship like now, with the other members of the Adverts and also the Adverts songs themselves?

Bassist Gaye and I are still partners but after the experience of being in the band for a couple of years she decided she didn’t want to be a musician any more and stopped playing. Guitarist Howard tragically died from a brain tumour about ten years ago. I don’t have any contact with drummer Laurie Driver or his replacement Rod Latter though I’ve heard that Laurie lives in Iceland (the country, not the shop) and Rod lives in Salisbury.

What influences the music you make now? And if you were to make me a mixx tape, what songs would you have to put on it?

Well, I’m not a DJ so I wouldn’t do a mix tape! I think you need an encyclopedic knowledge of music to be a good DJ and I’m more of a “I like that – what is it?” kind of person. In fact I rarely have time to listen to music. I get exposed to it in clubs all over the world, but when I get some days at home, like now, rather than putting on records I usually grab the opportunity to work on new songs of my own because it’s hard to get the time and focus to do that on tour. As I’m playing more than a hundred gigs a year, plus doing all the organization, that’s a big chunk out of the year and I love it when I get the chance to just concentrate on songwriting instead. In fact, that’s what I’m going to do just as soon as I finish this interview…

A full length documentary about yourself and the Adverts is currently in production, how do you feel about that?

I hope it sees the light of day. I know the production company making it have worked hard on it, and personally I put in fifteen hours of interviews for it, so I know they’re committed to making a thorough film.

Who have you most enjoyed playing with, in a career spanning over 30 years?

Heh, well it’s come to the point where I only play with people I like, so while being on tour with other bands (and my own bands) used to be a fractious experience when I first started out, these days I always enjoy myself out on the road whoever I’m with. Just over the past few years, for example, I’ve had a great time on tours in the UK with Dead Men Walking and Toy Dolls, and in the US with Jay Reatard.

What words of wisdom have you to offer readers?

Lean in to the curves.