The Adverts
Background information
Origin	England
Genre(s)	punk rock
Years active	1976 - 1980
Label(s)	Stiff Records Anchor Records Bright Records RCA Records
Members
T. V. Smith Gaye Advert Howard Pickup Paul Martinez Rod Latter Rick Martinez Tim Cross
Former members
Laurie Driver Jon Towe

The Adverts were an English punk rock band who formed in 1976 and broke up in 1980. They are mainly remembered for their singles "One Chord Wonders" and "Gary Gilmore's Eyes", as well as being one of the first English punk bands to prominently feature a female member.

Contents 1 Career 2 Members 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles 4 References 5 External links 5.1 Interview links

Career

Their first gig was to support Generation X on January 15, 1977 at The Roxy in London; their last was at Slough College on October 27, 1979. "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" reached the UK Top 40 in August 1977. The band are heavily featured in John Robb's book "Punk Rock". After the band split up in 1980, T.V. Smith continued with Tim Cross forming as TV Smith's Explorers, then Cheap, and finally from the 1990s to date performing as a solo artist.

Members

T.V. Smith and Gaye Advert were both from the same small coastal town in Devon, and were the band's core members and driving force.

T. V. Smith (vocals / guitarist) - born Tim Smith, 5 April 1956, in Bideford, Devon.

Gaye Advert (bass guitar) - born Gaye Balsden, 29 August 1956, in Bideford, Devon.

Other members of the band were:

• Guitar:

Howard Pickup (Jan '77 - Aug '79)

Paul Martinez (Sep '79 - Oct '79)

• Drums:

Laurie Driver (Jan '77 - Feb '78)

Jon Towe (Feb '78 - Apr '78)

Rod Latter (Apr '78 - Aug '79)

Rick Martinez (Sep '79 - Oct '79)

• Keyboards:

Tim Cross (Feb '79 - Oct '79)

Discography

Albums

• 17 Feb '78: Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts orig. ltd. etd. red vinyl (Bright Records BRI201)
• 12 Oct '79: Cast Of Thousands (RCA Records PL25246)

Singles

• 29 Apr '77: "One Chord Wonders" / "Quickstep" (Stiff Records BUY13)
• 24 Jun '77: "Bored Teenagers" featured on the Roxy compilation LP (Harvest Records SHSP4069)
• 19 Aug '77: "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" / "Bored Teenagers" (Anchor Records ANC1043)
• 28 Oct '77: "Safety In Numbers" / "We Who Wait" (Anchor Records ANC1047)
• 20 Jan '78: "No Time To Be Twenty-One" / "New Day Dawning" (Bright Records BRI ...)
• 10 Nov '78: "Television's Over" / "Back From The Dead" (RCA Records PB5128)
• 01 Jun '79: "My Place" / "New Church" (RCA Records PB5160)
• 19 Oct '79: "Cast Of Thousands" / "I Will Walk You Home" (RCA Records PB5191)

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7

External links

• T.V.Smith's website
• Adverts biography at the AMG website

Interview links

• Interview with The Adverts on Trilogy Rock (Spain)