Being asked to write a piece on Tom Verlaine just after his passing at the relatively young age of 73 is very daunting. It feels hard to write about a hero and I want to do him justice. Recently, we’ve also sadly lost Jeff Beck, Keith Levene and Wilko Johnson among others. In remembering guitar players, what is it that sparks a memory? Perhaps they played on your favourite song, inspired you to play, made you feel happy when you heard them – and maybe even made you consider giving up! The guitarists mentioned before were all unique and influenced what came after. Tom Verlaine easily sits among this group of players.
The first Television album,, from 1977, was one of those rarities that seemed to come out of combining influences from far and wide to produce something unique. Those melodic musical sensibilities informed the chiming jagged guitar parts, while Tom’s
