Released on Rough Trade, 1981
Before shambling/C86, there was Television Personalities, the first stable full-length by Daniel Treacy as his soon-to-be-permanent nom-de-rock. Recorded on 4-track tape machines at the dawn of the generation, it fully spelled out what lo-fi would mean for every poor hip rock band to follow, as well as the future career of Art Brut. The album is also quintessentially British. "Jackanory Stories" named for a popular BBC children's show of the time, may as well be the bowler-hatted, Micheal Caine-looking geezer on the cover. "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" is as sweet and addled as the man himself. It was still essentially three-chord punk, but rooted firmly in the aesthetic of the Merseybeat. Later, Treacy would release a number of albums that sold fairly well in Europe, develop a rather bad habit, and spend six years in another curiously Anglo construct, a prison ship. This whole entry may as well be drinking tea right now.
This rather delightful article also posits that Treacy might be the shadowy brains behind another all-too-English band.
Where You'd Know It From: You live in England, and/or you're a fan of obscure British rock bands.
Track Listing:
1. This Angry Silence (2:39)
2. The Glittering Prizes (3:01)
3. World Of Pauline Lewis (2:38)
4. A Family Affair (2:36)
5. Silly Girl (2:49)
6. Diary Of A Young Man (3:59)
7. Geoffrey Ingram (2:15)
8. I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives (2:34)
9. Jackanory Stories (3:04)
10. Parties In Chelsea (1:41)
11. La Grande Illusion (3:33)
12. A Picture Of Dorian Gray (2:13)
13. The Crying Room (1:59)
14. Look Back In Anger (2:40)
("Geoffrey Ingram")
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