The Adverts
 With
their raw, enthusiastic immaturity, The Adverts were a bright but
short-lived light of the punk era, and their bass player Gaye Advert
was one of the first female 'stars' of punk rock.
Formed in 1976 by Devon art school duo of
guitarist/singer TV Smith and his bass playing girlfriend Gaye, within
12 months they has appeared on Top Of The Pops and attained
near-pop star status.
After they (barely) mastered
three chords, The Adverts began playing at London's Roxy Club in 1976,
where they quickly came to the attention of Brian James - guitarist in
The Damned. James offered the band an opening spot on The Damned's
tour and directed them towards Stiff Records.
Stiff released their
self-deprecating debut single One Chord Wonders in 1977, when
the band could still barely play, but when they released their second
single, the disturbingly funny Gary Gilmore's Eyes, the group
rocketed into the UK Top 20 in a storm of controversy.
The Adverts' first album,
Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts (1978), fulfilled the
single's promise - Led by the Rotten/Strummer-isms of frontman
Smith, the album sounds as snotty, defiant and liberating today as it
did a quarter of a century ago.
Unfortunately, the second
album (1979's Cast Of Thousands) sounded like they poured all
of their musical ideas into their first album. The album was a huge
departure from Crossing The Red Sea, with the opening title
track awash in sweeping orchestral arrangements, grandiose piano, wild
synthesizer and massed choirs. Elsewhere, the album actually featured
tubular bells! The LP was mercilessly slammed
by critics and ignored by fans and the group broke up the
following year, unceremoniously playing their last gig at a Slough
college.
While Tim Smith continued in
the music business, ultimately to release solo albums, Gaye (real name
Black) gave up music and followed a career with Social Services.
Driver (real name Muscat) moved to Iceland (the country not the shop),
and sadly, Howard (Pickup) Boak died from a brain tumor.
| The
Band |
Tim 'TV' Smith
Vocals
Gaye Advert (Black)
Bass |
Laurie Driver (Muscat)
Drums
Howard Pickup (Boak)
Guitar |
Rod Latter
Drums
Richard Strange
Synth
Tom Newman
Synth |
|
|
