In memory of Tom Verlaine, who has passed away aged 73, Uncut revisits our 2022 feature on Television’s frontman and guitarist.
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TV Personality
Forty-five years on, Marquee Moon remains an unassailable classic. But what of TELEVISION’s guiding light, the elusive TOM VERLAINE? Drawing on memories of exacting working methods, Froggy The Gremlin and Television’s unfinished fourth studio album, collaborators and bandmates separate fact from friction. “He’s remained true to himself over all the years,” hears Rob Hughes, “He’s following his instincts.”
In December 2007, Television snuck into the studio to start making a new album. The band spent two or three days recording ideas at New York’s Stratosphere Sound. Sadly, the long-overdue successor to 1992’s Television stalled right there. And hasn’t been touched since.
“We did around 14 things,” reveals guitarist Jimmy Rip. “They don’t have vocals on them and there are no guitar solos, but they’re songs. And some of them are great, I really love them.”
Rip puts in a call to Television leader Tom Verlaine around the same time each year. It’s become something of an…
