Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘One of the greatest’: Flea leads tributes to Television guitarist Tom Verlaine, who has died at 73

Guitarist and the main songwriter of rock band Television has died after a ‘brief illness’

Nicole Vassell
Sunday 29 January 2023 09:58 GMT
Comments
Red Hot Chili Peppers perform in 1984

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Flea has led tributes to Tom Verlaine, the frontman for rock band Television, after his death was announced on Saturday (29 January).

Verlaine was the guitarist, songwriter and lead figure of the New York City band, which was mainly active in the mid-Seventies.

The band is most known for the 1977 album Marquee Moon, which is highly regarded as one of the foremost punk releases.

Verlaine frequently collaborated with musician Patti Smith throughout his solo career, and they once dated while they were part of the emerging punk scene in New York.

His death was announced by Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of Patti Smith, who said that he died “after a brief illness”.

Since the news broke, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea is one of several musicians to have paid tribute to Verlaine online, sharing that he’d been an influence on his and bandmate John Frusciante.

“Listened to Marquee Moon 1000 times,” his tweet began. “And I mean LISTENED, sitting still, lights down low taking it all in. awe and wonder every time. Will listen 1000 more. Tom Verlaine is one of the greatest rock musicians ever. He affected the way John and I play immeasurably. Fly on Tom.”

Mike Scott of The Waterboys also shared his thoughts on the late musician, writing on Twitter: “Tom Verlaine has passed over to the beyond that his guitar playing always hinted at. He was the best rock and roll guitarist of all time, and like Hendrix could dance from the spheres of the cosmos to garage rock. That takes a special greatness.”

Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine (Getty Images)

Susanna Hoffs, founding member of The Bangles, wrote “Peace and love, Tom Verlaine” followed by a broken heart emoji.

Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up
Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up

Actor Josh Androsky also paid tribute on social media, telling his followers that Verlaine didn’t invent punk music, but “perfected it”.

Androsky continued: “He, more than anyone, took Lou Reed’s mantle: he was funny, a poet, and had an insanely weird voice. His old schoolmate Richard Hell was the aesthetic and attitude of punk, but Tom was the brains and the storyteller. RIP.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in