Ep541: TV Smith - 50 Years of The Adverts

Ep541: TV Smith - 50 Years of The Adverts

From The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds by The Vinyl Guide

March 30, 2026 · 42 min · Episode 541

About this episode

TV Smith discusses the 50th anniversary of The Adverts and his music career with Nate.

TV Smith joins Nate to discuss the 50th anniversary of The Adverts, an Australian tour backed by The Hard-Ons, and a career full of great songs and terrible label luck. Topics Include: TV Smith is touring Australia in April with The Hard-Ons. The tour celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Adverts. The Hard-Ons are already learning the surprisingly complex Adverts songs. TV finds it odd but joyful to still be performing. He got back into vinyl to quality-check his own releases. Bowie, Roxy Music, and reggae were key early influences for TV. The Sex Pistols made TV believe he could actually do this. The Roxy Club punk scene started with just 30 people. Brian James of The Damned personally recommended The Adverts to Stiff. They recorded One Chord Wonders in a single afternoon at Pathway. Stiff misspelled the title and controversially centred Gaye Advert on the cover. Gary Gilmore's Eyes was TV's satirical response to exploitative media coverage. The BBC was deeply reluctant to air Gary Gilmore's Eyes on TV. Anchor Records collapsed mid-momentum, leaving The Adverts suddenly without a label. Crossing the Red Sea was recorded at Abbey Road with John Leckie. Gary Gilmore's Eyes was…

People in this episode

Host: Nate

Guest: TV Smith

Topics covered

  • 50th anniversary
  • punk music
  • Australian tour
  • record label challenges
  • vinyl records
  • music influences

Keywords

  • TV Smith
  • The Adverts
  • The Hard-Ons
  • punk
  • vinyl
  • music history
  • record labels
  • Australian tour

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Adverts, The Hard-Ons, Stiff, RCA, Anchor Records, BBC, Abbey Road

Books & works: One Chord Wonders, Gary Gilmore's Eyes, Crossing the Red Sea, Cast of Thousands, Channel 5

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