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Re: (TV) TV in England



In message <000901c1e3fc$389c0fa0$db09bbd0@olcsvary>, Michael Olcsvary
<olcsvary@icehouse.net> writes
>As I'm sure everyone on this list knows, Marquee Moon barely made a dent in
>the US charts when it was released, yet was top ten in England.  And I've
>been wondering, why for?  I've got my suspicions as to the reasons why -
>like a lot of press and radio play (especially the latter; there just
>weren't - and possibly aren't now - the morass of radio stations in England
>that exist in the states), along with their "founding fathers of the
>Movement" status, but I was wondering if our friends across the Atlantic had
>any insight.

Er, well, it is true that here in the UK we have excellent taste.

 I do think that this is a country where a musician can become popular
_because_ they're different, rather than despite it. (We certainly value
our eccentrics, such as Viv stanshall.) Beefheart, for example, was
always welcomed with open arms over here. I was talking to a musician I
kmow and she said that you had no chance of 'making it' in the States
unless you get played on the radio and were considered 'radio-friendly'.
I take this to mean, apart from anything else, 'acceptable to sponsors
and advertisers'. In the 70s we only really had _one_ radio station for
the whole country, and that was the BBC and thus state owned and thus
not allowed to accept advertising. This is a very small island and word
gets around pretty quick. I first heard a Television track on The Old
Grey Whistle Test in '76 or so. It was the only nationwide music show on
TV. Chances are that anyone in the UK who was interested in any music
other than chart pap was watching the same show. It was the first place
I ever saw Roxy Music, Sparks... and there you go, instant national
coverage to people who are likely to buy Television records.

Of course we get the same commercial crap on the radio now as you do in
the States (that's where most of it comes from!) but we seem to pride
ourselves in searching out the less obvious stuff.

Take Johnny Dowd, one of my personal favourites. He's from NY State and
he's made four albums now but I would guess that most people in the
States have never heard of him. He's playing two gigs in London and one
in Brighton in May. He is, by radio-standards, 'weird' (unacceptable)
but then we don't expect to hear him on the radio and, I suspect, we
welcome him _because_ he'd never get on the radio. It's a kind of secret
knowledge/pleasure. Like PJ Harvey when she started out (before she got
'Americanised!).

I suspect most of us on this list share a distaste for the average radio
programming but I think that in the UK we don't expect to hear anything
interesting on the radio (which, as far as I can make out, is a kind of
second-rate imitation of US commercial radio). We were blessed in the
70s to have John Peel on late night radio. Someone whose attitude was
"here's someone you've probably never have heard of and possibly won't
like, but it's great so I'm gonna play it anyway." You could have
something from Spirit, followed by The Undertones, followed by The Fall.
It's no surprise that so many releases from great bands in recent years
have been from original "Peel Sessions".

Also, the British Music Press (especially NME) in the 70s was terrific.
Intelligent, informed, serious writing. By the time Television got here
we were ready for them and by he time the albums came out we were ready
to buy them (remember Nick Kent's NME review of "Marquee Moon"?).

Hmm... I just realised that I don't really have any insight into your
question at all! I'm just rather proud that we put a Television album
the Top 10.
-------------
Keith Allison
-----------------------------------------------
http://www.marquee.demon.co.uk
"The Wonder - Tom Verlaine, Television & Stuff"
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