Things progressed quickly for the band from there — David Bowie famously called Television “the most original band I’ve seen in New York” — and the band signed with Elektra Records in 1976 and released “Marquee Moon” in February of 1977. Domestic sales were unimpressive but the band, and the scene, captured the imaginations of the influential British rock music press — where punk rock was exploding — and the band actually enjoyed three hit singles, successful tours and two top 10 albums in the U.K.
However, the success was short-lived, as the band — marred by Lloyd’s debilitating heroin addiction — split shortly after the released of its second album, “Adventure.” Despite that, an album titled “Live at the Old Waldorf,” recorded in June of 1978 shortly before the band’s dissolution, finds them at the peak of their powers.
Lloyd regrouped the following year and released his first solo album, “Alchemy,” and played on albums by X’s John Doe as well as Sweet. In 1992, at the height of their alt-rock-era influence, Television reformed, released a self-titled album and toured. They regrouped multiple times over the ensuing years, although usually without Lloyd, whose relationship with Verlaine continued to be fractious. Yet there’s little question that Television and Lloyd had long since made their mark on the history of rock music.
