CLEVELAND, Ohio — Arena rock filled the airwaves with grandiosity. Punk pummeled clubs with aggression. And then there was Television.
The New York band released its debut album 40 years ago, Feb. 8, 1977. “Marquee Moon” came in the middle of the punk and new wave movements; er, rather, it was lost in the middle and pointing absolutely nowhere.
Despite critical acclaim, the album posted poor sales. Television’s poetic songs and expansive but delicate guitar jams were too hard to categorize. Even worse, the pioneering band that sparked New York’s CBGB scene was hardly pop or punk or hard rock and definitely unconventional – not to mention unmarketable.
“Marquee Moon” sold 80,000 copies, a pittance for a band on a major label. In 1978, the band broke up after a second disc, “Adventure.”
All over except that…
Forty years after its release, “Marquee Moon” is considered one of rock’s greatest albums – one that continues generations of rock and indie and punk and postpunk acts.
Television inspired Cleveland’s music scene many years earlier – going back to 1975, when Television played its first show outside New York City at the old Piccadilly Inn at East 30th Street and Euclid Avenue. The show also featured Cleveland rock legends Rocket From the Tombs and was set up by Tombs guitarist Peter Laughner.
Admission: $3.
For many years, the show lived on as a popular bootleg — and not just because it was Television’s first out-of-town show. It reveals the band jamming “Marquee Moon” songs such as “Friction,” “Marquee Moon” and “Prove It” into shape.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
