Lead guitarist/vocalist Tom Verlaine (b. Thomas Miller, 13 December 1949, Mount Morris, New Jersey, USA) first worked with bassist Richard Hell (b. Richard Myers, 2 October 1949, Lexington, Kentucky, USA) and drummer Billy Ficca in the early '70s as the Neon Boys. By the end of 1973, with the addition of rhythm guitarist Richard Lloyd they reunited as Television. Early the following year, they secured a residency at the Bowery club CBGB's and found themselves at the forefront of the New York new wave explosion. Conflicts between Verlaine and Hell led to the departure of the latter who would soon re-emerge with the Heartbreakers. Meanwhile, Television found a replacement bassist in Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith from Blondie. The new line-up recorded the raw but interesting Little Johnny Jewel for their own label Ork Records. This led to their signing with Elektra Records for whom they recorded their debut album in 1977. MARQUEE MOON was largely ignored in their homeland, but elicited astonished, ecstatic reviews in the UK where it was applauded as one of rock's most accomplished debut albums. Verlaine's sneering, nasal vocal and searing, jagged twin guitar interplay with Lloyd were the hallmarks of Television's work, particularly on such stand-out tracks as Torn Curtain, Venus and Prove It. Although the group looked set for a long and distinguished career, the follow-up ADVENTURE was a lesser work and the group split in 1978. Since then both Verlaine and Lloyd pursued solo careers with mixed results. In November 1991, Verlaine, Lloyd, Smith and Ficca revived Television and spent the ensuing time rehearsing for a come back album for Capitol Records. They returned to Britain and made an appearance at the 1992 Glastonbury Festival.