My Dark Places

Ask anyone with just the slightest interest in pop music and they'll have a different take on The Television Personalities - Kurt Cobain's favourite band? The inspiration behind Creation Records and Alan McGee's biggest heroes? The "original” Babyshambles even? Didn't they have the cheek to call an album of theirs 'They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles'?

You see, Daniel Treacy is not your typical boy... born in Chelsea, London, he is The Television Personalities. Ever since releasing their 1st DIY single in '77 '14th Floor', The TVPs have always been about his songwriting, his honest words and unique voice.

Regrets, he's had more than most. They're there in every line of his songs. Luckily, there's always a sense of humour present too. After all, when you hear someone who's been to hell and battled his own demons, it's nice to know he can do something as simple as being cheerful. Fact is, he's become one of our most perceptive chroniclers of heartbreak, jealousy and lost love.

In the '90s Treacy lost the plot - on drugs, he disappeared and folk assumed he was dead. Two summers ago he turned up to see the history of The TVPs was being revised and rewritten by a new generation of fans and artists. Beneath the '60s imagery there was a darkness few at the time could see. Nowadays however, there's a new appreciation for the depth of imagery and emotion.

Dan Treacy and The TVPs were always out of time. He never fitted in. Even when punk was just starting to happen he was already mocking it, moving on. He still is. Check 'My Dark Places' to discover what all the fuss should have been about.

"Treacy's songs scare me because they're so helpless. It doesn't even feel like they've been written - they're just part of life, they just needed to happen. Just like falling in or out of love. They capture something you can't plan.”
- Domino Records

Exquisite songwriting, a unique voice and a vastly under-rated back-catalogue which truly needs rediscovering!