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Washington (AFP) – Tom Verlaine, leader of the band Television, which emerged from the New York punk rock underground at the end of the 1970s with the album “Marquee Moon”, has died at the age of 73, his family announced Saturday.
The singer and guitarist died in New York “after a brief illness,” Jesse Paris Smith, daughter of Verlaine and singer Patti Smith, told The New York Times, without specifying the cause of death.
“This is a time when anything seems possible,” Smith wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday, alongside an old photo of her with Verlaine.
Born Thomas Miller, Verlaine took his last name from the French poet Paul Verlaine, whose lyricism he tried to infuse into his compositions, while playing the guitar in a style that was at once ethereal and aggressive.
He went to high school with another punk icon, Richard Hell, and together they founded Television in 1973 with guitarist Richard Lloyd. His debut album, “Marquee Moon” (1997), is “one of the best of the punk era,” according to Rolling Stone magazine.
At nearly 10 minutes long, the album’s self-titled single illustrated the richness of a musical movement that inspired many groups, from the Ramones to the Talking Heads to Blondie.
They all went to the same punk rock mecca, CBGB, a club on New York’s Lower East Side where the best hours of punk rock in the city were experienced.
Although “Marquee Moon” received critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, NME and Pitchfork, Television was a short-lived success.
After two albums, the band broke up and Verlaine released a dozen solo albums, while collaborating with numerous artists including Smith and David Bowie.
Tributes from fellow artists have rained on social networks remembering Verlaine. “Went past the book stalls outside the Strand yesterday thinking I’d see you as usual, have a cigar and talk about rare poetic finds for a couple of hours,” Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore tweeted. “I will miss you, Tom. Rest in peace.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea said he’s heard “Marquee Moon” 1,000 times and will “hear it 1,000 more.” “Tom Verlaine is one of the greatest rock musicians ever,” he tweeted.
“His role in our culture and genius on the electric guitar were legendary,” Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite tweeted. “Name 10 minutes of music as good as ‘Marquee Moon’. You can’t. It’s perfect.”
© 2023 AFP
