TOM VERLAINE

Martin Cooper checks out the sound of the recently departed Tom Verlaine, one of the most influetial of the alt rock and new wave players.

- Martin Cooper

Television guitarist Tom Verlaine is one of the musical legends that we lost in early 2023, and although he was not a household name like some of his contemporaries, his influence on the music scene and on later artists was considerable.

Verlaine's style of writing and performing helped to pioneer the new wave and alternative rock scene in the 1970s. He had moved to New York City in the early 1970s with the dream of making his living as a poet, but ended up forming the band Television, alongside its most established line-up of guitarist Richard Lloyd, drummer Billy Ficca and bass player Fred Smith.