Television vocalist and guitarist Tom Verlaine passed away on Saturday in New York City after a “brief illness.” Age-wise, he was already in the 73-year-old bracket.
Jesse Paris Smith, daughter of performer Patti Smith, broke the news of her father’s passing.
As in, “Dear Tom. “The love is enormous and eternal,” Paris Smith said in an Instagram post. “My heart is too passionately full to communicate anything now, and finding the words is too deep of a struggle.”
The Guardian reports that Patti Smith and Verlaine dated while both were “in the growing New York Punk scene.”
Together, they wrote a collection of poems titled “The Night,” published in 1978.
The punk rocker’s real name was Thomas Miller, but he took his stage name from the work of the French symbolist poet Paul Verlaine.
During his performance on April 16, 1978, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, Verlaine Verlaine was a sight to behold.
Redferns \sVerlaine, a New Jersey native, founded Television in New York City in 1973 with his high school friend Richard Hell after their former group, The Neon Boys, split that same year.
In 1977, the band put out their debut album, Marquee Moon, for which Verlaine was credited as a producer.
Television went on pause in 1978 and didn’t get back together until 1992. Since 2001, the band has taken periodic hiatuses from their touring schedule to focus on other projects.
The band most recently performed in October of 2022 with 80s rock Icon Billy Idol in the United Kingdom.
On May 6th, 2019 as part of Canadian Music Week in Toronto, Canada, Verlaine will be playing with Television at the Phoenix Concert Theatre.
On May 6th, 2019 in Toronto, Canada, Verlaine will be playing with Television as part of Canadian Music Week at the Phoenix Concert Theatre.
There have been several tributes to the punk rock superstar from music business giants across genres.
Patti Smith captioned an Instagram snapshot of two young people with the lyrical caption, “This is a moment when all looked conceivable.” We bid you farewell from the Omega, Tom.
One of the all-time greats in the rock music industry is Tom Verlaine. He had a major impact on John and my playing style. Flea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, said on Twitter, “Fly on Tom.”
Those who knew Tom Verlaine, rest in peace. Simply Red’s official Twitter said, “Marquee Moon is one of, if not THE finest New Wave record of the 1970s punk era.”
