Tom Verlaine, former TV frontman and punk-rock figure, dies at 73

Europe 1 with AFP 6:51 p.m., January 30, 2023

Without him, the punk-rock that emerged from the New York underground at the end of the 1970s would never have had its anthem

, the monster track and flagship album of the group Television, as influential as its ex-leader. Tom Verlaine, dead at 73.

It was Jesse Paris Smith, daughter of Patti Smith with whom Tom Verlaine was in a relationship, who made the announcement to the

, without specifying the cause of death, except that it resulted from a "short illness ".

"Marquee Moon", first major album

Born Thomas Miller, he decided to make himself known under the name of Tom Verlaine, in homage to Paul, the French poet whose lyricism he will try to breathe into his texts, while playing the guitar in a way that is all his own. , both ethereal and aggressive.

With at the end a first major album:

, released in 1977.

Almost ten minutes long, the eponymous single alone illustrates the richness of a movement that has created many musical territories, from the Ramones to the Talking Heads, via Blondie.

They all went to the same church to preach their word: CBGB's, a feverish club on New York's Lower East Side where the finest hours of punk-rock were lived.

A dozen solos

Television has nonetheless enjoyed relative commercial success, although

figures very highly in the various rankings, constantly updated, of major works, by Rolling Stone, the NME or Pitchfork.

After two albums, the group dissolved and Verlaine released ten solos, while collaborating with many artists, such as David Bowie and Patti Smith.

His disappearance adds to the deadly character of the month of January for the music world, after those of Jeff Beck and David Crosby recently.

And tributes pour in on social networks, from Thurston Moore, ex-leader of Sonic Youth, to Stuart Braithwaite that of Mogwai, two groups who owe him a lot.

So did The Edge, who says he was inspired by his guitar playing to shape the sound of U2.