
The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds Ep541: TV Smith - 50 Years of The Adverts
Mar 30, 2026
42:15
TV Smith joins Nate to discuss the 50th anniversary of The Adverts, an Australian tour backed by The Hard-Ons, and a career full of great songs and terrible label luck.
Topics Include:
- TV Smith is touring Australia in April with The Hard-Ons.
- The tour celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Adverts.
- The Hard-Ons are already learning the surprisingly complex Adverts songs.
- TV finds it odd but joyful to still be performing.
- He got back into vinyl to quality-check his own releases.
- Bowie, Roxy Music, and reggae were key early influences for TV.
- The Sex Pistols made TV believe he could actually do this.
- The Roxy Club punk scene started with just 30 people.
- Brian James of The Damned personally recommended The Adverts to Stiff.
- They recorded One Chord Wonders in a single afternoon at Pathway.
- Stiff misspelled the title and controversially centred Gaye Advert on the cover.
- Gary Gilmore's Eyes was TV's satirical response to exploitative media coverage.
- The BBC was deeply reluctant to air Gary Gilmore's Eyes on TV.
- Anchor Records collapsed mid-momentum, leaving The Adverts suddenly without a label.
- Crossing the Red Sea was recorded at Abbey Road with John Leckie.
- Gary Gilmore's Eyes was left off the album deliberately — vinyl runtime constraints.
- RCA signed them against their own A&R team's wishes — chaos followed.
- Cast of Thousands suffered a botched mix, a terrible cover, label indifference.
- Channel 5 was finally properly remastered after the producer found a safety tape.
- TV is bringing vinyl to the merch table — especially the Handwriting LP.
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