Television Personalities

The Television Personalities (sometimes abbreviated to TVPs) are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy. Their varied career encompasses post-punk, neo-psychedelia and indie pop; the only constant being Treacy's songwriting, with the band being best known for their early single "Part Time Punks", a favourite of John Peel. Present and former members include Chelsea childhood mates 'Slaughter Joe' Joe Foster, one-time best friend Ed Ball (early line-up, later briefly) and Jowe Head (ex-Swell Maps), with Jeffrey Bloom from 1983 to 1994. Treacy, Head, and Bloom formed the longest unchanged line-up.

Though experiencing relatively minor commercial success, the TVP's have been highly regarded by critics as pioneers of early DIY music and proven to be widely influential on the C86 and twee generation, as well as Creation Records and American artists like Pavement and MGMT. In 1984, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour invited the TVP's to open for him, though they were fired after Treacy read out Syd Barrett's home address on stage. Kurt Cobain later invited the band to open for Nirvana in London on 5 November 1991. Treacy's unconventional but dryly witty and British pop culture-infused lyrics, have led to his reputation as a seminal and iconic figure within the independent music scene. Provided by Wikipedia