The Adverts

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Adverts

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Img_capt = UK 45 rpm single picture cover: "The Adverts – One Chord Wonders"
Img_size =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = London, England
Genre = Punk rock
Years_active = 1976 - 1979
Label = Stiff Records
Anchor Records
Bright – subsidiary of CBS Records
RCA Records
Associated_acts = TV Smith’s Explorers
Cheap
Also Known As =
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members = Gaye Black (‘Gaye Advert’)
Howard Boak (‘Howard Pickup’)
Laurie Muscat (‘Laurie Driver’)
Tim Smith (‘T. V. Smith’)
Jon Towe
Rod Latter
Tim Cross
Paul Martinez
Rick Martinez
Notable_instruments =

The Adverts were an English punk rock band who formed in 1976 and broke up in late 1979. They were one of the first punk bands to enjoy commercial success, and their line-up included Gaye Advert, who "The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music" called the "first female punk star". [ cite book |title= "The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music"|last= Larkin|first= Colin|year= 2002|publisher= Virgin Books|location= London|isbn= 1-85227-947-8|pages= p.9; ]

Career

The band were formed in 1976 by T.V. Smith and Gaye Advert. Smith and Advert were both from Bideford, a small coastal town in Devon, and were later married. [ cite book |title= "The Great Indie Discography"|last= Strong|first= M.C.|year= 2003|publisher= Canongate|location= Edinburgh|isbn= 1-84195-335-0|pages= p.4; ] After relocating to London the two young punks recruited guitarist Pickup and drummer Driver and The Adverts were born. [ cite book |title= "Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk"|last= Joynson|first= Vernon|year= 2001|publisher= Borderline Publications|location= Wolverhampton|isbn= 1-899855-13-0|pages= p.27; ]

The Roxy, London's first live punk venue, [ cite book |title= "Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk"|last= Joynson|first= Vernon|year= 2001|publisher= Borderline Publications|location= Wolverhampton|isbn= 1-899855-13-0|pages= p.11; ] played a crucial role in The Adverts’ early career. They were one of the pioneering bands who played at the club during its first 100 days. The Adverts played at the club no less than nine times between January and April 1977. [ cite book |title= "Punk"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Collector’s Guide Publication|location= Ontario|isbn= 1-896522-27-0|pages= p.61-62; ] In January 1977, after their first gig supporting Generation X, the band impressed Michael Dempsey so much that he became their manager. Their second gig supporting Slaughter & the Dogs was recorded, and their anthem "Bored Teenagers" was included on the UK Top 30 album "Live at the Roxy WC2". In February, shortly after the band's third gig supporting The Damned, they signed a recording contract with Stiff Records. [ cite book |title= "Alternative Rock"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Miller Freeman Books|location= San Francisco|isbn= 0-87930-607-6|pages= p.146; ] In March, the band supported The Jam at the Roxy.

In April, The Adverts recorded the first of four sessions for John Peel at BBC Radio 1. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/t/theadverts/ The Adverts’ John Peel Sessions on BBC Radio 1] ; ] Days later, their debut single, "One Chord Wonders", was released. The single, "a headlong rush of energy", was recommended by both Melody Maker and Sounds. [ cite book |title= "Punk"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Collector’s Guide Publication|location= Ontario|isbn= 1-896522-27-0|pages= p.64; ] Understanding the band's limitations, the song's lyrics, composed by TV Smith, were likeably self-depreciating:

I wonder what we’ll play for you tonight Something heavy or something light Something to set your soul alight I wonder how we’ll answer when you say ‘We don’t like you – go away Come back when you’ve learnt to play’

The Adverts were a prolific live act. Their first nationwide tour was with Stiff label-mates The Damned. The tour poster read, "The Adverts know one chord, the Damned know three. See all four at…" [ cite book |title= "Rock: The Rough Guide"|last= Buckley & Ellingham (eds)|year= 1996|publisher= Rough Guides|location= London|isbn= 1-85828-201-2|pages= p.8; ] Later they would support Iggy pop on tour, as well as conducting their own headlining tours in Britain, Ireland and Europe. [ cite book |title= "Alternative Rock"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Miller Freeman Books|location= San Francisco|isbn= 0-87930-607-6|pages= p.146; ]

" magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time. [Mojo (October 2001) - "100 Punk Scorchers ", Issue 95, London;]

After the tabloid fuelled controversy surrounding the single, and an appearance on "Top of the Pops", the Adverts became big news. Observers focused on frontman TV Smith and bassist Gaye Advert. Reviewers noted TV Smith's song-writing ability. This something which continued long after the band's demise. He was said to have "captured the spirit of the times few contemporaries could match". [ cite book |title= "All Time Top 1000 Albums"|last= Larkin|first= Colin|year= 1994|publisher= Guinness Publishing|location= Enfield|isbn= 0-85112-786-X|pages= p.237; ] Another reviewer described Smith as the band’s "raging heart, spitting out the failsafe succession of songs which still delineate punk’s hopes, aspirations and, ultimately, regrets". [ cite book |title= "Alternative Rock"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Miller Freeman Books|location= San Francisco|isbn= 0-87930-607-6|pages= p.146; ] In contrast, Gaye Advert's reputation was more fleeting. She was "one of Punk’s first female icons". [ cite book |title= "The Great Indie Discography"|last= Strong|first= M.C.|year= 2003|publisher= Canongate|location= Edinburgh|isbn= 1-84195-335-0|pages= p.4; ] Her "photogenic" looks, "panda-eye make-up and omnipresent leather jacket defined the face of female punkdom until well into the next decade". [ cite book |title= "Alternative Rock"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Miller Freeman Books|location= San Francisco|isbn= 0-87930-607-6|pages= p.146; ]

Surprisingly, the band’s follow-up single, "Safety in Numbers", did not chart. Nevertheless, the song is well regarded and was included in Steve Gardner's all-time best list. [ [http://www.hiljaiset.sci.fi/punknet/top100si.htm Steve Gardner (1996) “Hiljaiset Levyt: 100 Best Punk singles”] ; ] . The Adverts fourth single, "No Time To Be 21", scraped into the UK Top 40. A month later, the band’s debut album "Crossing The Red Sea" was released. Today it is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest punk albums of all-time. [ cite book |title= "All Time Top 1000 Albums"|last= Larkin|first= Colin|year= 1994|publisher= Guinness Publishing|location= Enfield|isbn= 0-85112-786-X|pages= p.237; ] [ [http://www.hiljaiset.sci.fi/punknet/top100lp.htm Steve Gardner (1996) “Hiljaiset Levyt: 100 Best Punk LP's”] ; ] [ cite book |title= 10 Star Album List in 'Alternative Rock'|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Miller Freeman Books|location= San Francisco|isbn= 0-87930-607-6|pages= p.817; ]

. After the band split up, T.V. Smith continued with Tim Cross forming as TV Smith's Explorers, then Cheap, and finally from the 1990s to date performing as a solo artist.

In conclusion, considering they only released seven singles and two albums, the legacy of The Adverts is pretty astonishing. Critic and author Dave Thompson argues that "nobody would make music like The Adverts and nobody ever has. In terms of lyric, delivery, commitment and courage, they were, and they remain, the finest British group of the late 1970s". [ cite book |title= "Punk"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Collector’s Guide Publication|location= Ontario|isbn= 1-896522-27-0|pages= p.63; ]

Discography

Albums

*"Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts" (17 February 1978: Bright Records BRI201) UK #38cite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 15
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5]
*"Cast Of Thousands" (12 October 1979: RCA Records PL25246)

Appearances on various artist compilations

*"Bored Teenagers" featured on the "Live at the Roxy WC2" compilation album (24 June 1977: Harvest Records SHSP4069) UK #24
*"Gary Gilmore’s Eyes" featured on the "20 of Another Kind" compilation album (1979: Polydor Records POLX-1) UK #45

ingles

*"One Chord Wonders" / "Quickstep" (29 April 1977: Stiff Records BUY13)
*"Gary Gilmore's Eyes" / "Bored Teenagers" (19 August 1977: Anchor Records ANC1043) # 18 UK Singles Chartcite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 15
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5]
*"Safety In Numbers" / "We Who Wait" (28 October 1977: Anchor Records ANC1047)
*"No Time To Be 21" / "New Day Dawning" (20 January 1978: Bright Records BRI1) UK #34
*"Television's Over" / "Back From The Dead" (10 November 1978: RCA Records PB5128)
*"My Place" / "New Church" (1 June 1979: RCA Records PB5160)
*"Cast Of Thousands" / "I Will Walk You Home" (19 October 1979: RCA Records PB5191)

ee also

* List of British punk bands
* List of musicians in the first wave of punk music
* List of Peel sessions
* Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)
* List of performers on Top of the Pops

References

Further reading

*"The Life & Times of TV Smith" by Dave Thompson (Private, 1988)

External links

*
* [http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/adverts.htm The Adverts] on www.punk77.co.uk
* [http://punkmodpop.free.fr/adverts_pic.htm The Adverts] on Punkmodpop
* [http://www.trilogyrock.com/historial-descarregues.php Interview with The Adverts on Trilogy Rock (Spain)]