Tom Verlaine was Television’s principal songwriter and guitarist.
Born Thomas Miller, Verlaine co-founded Television in New York with Richard Hell in the early 1970s. He later adopted the stage name Tom Verlaine, taken from the French poet Paul Verlaine. Television became an important early band at CBGB, where its extended guitar interplay helped expand the possibilities of New York punk.
Verlaine wrote much of the material on Television’s two classic studio albums, Marquee Moon and Adventure. He and guitarist Richard Lloyd developed a distinctive interlocking style rather than relying on the dense distortion associated with many punk bands.
Richard Hell was a founding member and bassist, but he left before Television recorded Marquee Moon. Johnny Thunders was associated with the New York Dolls and later the Heartbreakers, not Television. Verlaine also released several solo albums after Television’s initial breakup.