Television Co-Founder And Guitarist Richard Lloyd Dies Aged 75

Lloyd’s guitar partnership with Tom Verlaine helped define Marquee Moon and New York’s emerging punk scene.

Richard Lloyd, guitarist and co-founder of post-punk pioneers Television, has died aged 75. His playing alongside Tom Verlaine helped define the band’s landmark debut, Marquee Moon.

Louder reports that Lloyd died at home in Tennessee on Saturday, 7 November, from cholangiocarcinoma, a form of bile duct cancer. His family confirmed his death in a statement to Rolling Stone.

“His loving wife Sheila and his dog Willie Mays were with him at the end,” the family said.

Television and the New York punk scene

Born in Pittsburgh in 1951, Lloyd formed Television in 1973 with singer and guitarist Verlaine, bassist Richard Hell and drummer Billy Ficca. The group became fixtures at CBGB as New York’s early punk scene developed around acts including Patti Smith, Ramones and Blondie.

By the time Television released Marquee Moon in 1977, Fred Smith had replaced Hell on bass. Lloyd and Verlaine’s intricate guitar interplay defined the debut. Its extended title track reached beyond the short, stripped-back songs associated with punk.

The same line-up recorded Adventure in 1978 before Television split later that year. The band reunited and released a third, self-titled album in 1992. Lloyd left in 2007.

Television made their Australian debut in October 2013, six years after Lloyd’s departure. With Jimmy Rip replacing him on guitar, the band played Melbourne’s ATP Release the Bats festival before shows in Fremantle, Sydney and Hobart. Their Sydney appearance at the Enmore Theatre featured Australian punk figure Ed Kuepper on the bill.

Lloyd’s solo career began with Alchemy in 1979 and continued through The Countdown in 2018. He also contributed guitar to Matthew Sweet’s 1991 album Girlfriend, alongside Richard Hell And The Voidoids guitarist Robert Quine.

In MAGNET’s oral history of the album, Sweet recalled letting Lloyd and Quine play what they felt. He then assembled favourite passages from their performances. Engineer Jim Rondinelli remembered jumping out of his chair at Lloyd’s first contributions. Sweet’s melodic power-pop songs gave that playing another setting beyond Television.

Painting, synaesthesia and later years

Away from performing, Lloyd painted and collected books. Preparing to leave New York, he told The Village Voice in December 2015 that he had hundreds of canvases and a large library to pack. He looked forward to having space to paint in Tennessee, though he was already homesick for the city he was leaving.

Painting also connected with his experience of synaesthesia. In an interview first published by Guitar Player in January 2019, Lloyd described seeing colours when he played and finding a musical quality in painting. He made the cover artwork for The Countdown himself.

Lloyd continued performing Television material with his solo group. In a Guitar World interview published in January, he said he felt a responsibility to the band’s fans. He included Television songs alongside his own material and covers.

He was equally clear about what Television had meant to him.

“I wanted to make a dent in rock history. That was my goal, and that came true.”