40 Years of Punk & New Wave 1977: Television Screen - The Raidiators From Space

Television Screen / Love Detective

Chiswick Records

Produced by Roger Armstrong

Released 22nd April 1977

A-Side

Television Screen

 B-Side

Love Detective

In their homeland of Ireland it was released on CBS Ireland with a Different Picture Sleeve

The single reached #17 on the Irish Charts and is considered to be the first Punk Single to chart in the Top 20 anywhere in the world!

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The Raidiators From Space are one of those bands that are often overlooked when it comes to talking about the best bands around in 1977. People often talk of the bands that sprung up in Northern Ireland but when it comes to the South they usually only mention The Boomtown Rats! I think that's a real shame because they should be given a lot more praise for putting Ireland on the map when it came to Punk (the Rats wouldn't release their Debut Single until four months later).

The band were formed in Dublin in 1976 and featured Stephen Averill (AKA Stephen Rapid) on vocals, Philip Chevron - guitar and vocals, Pete Holidai - guitar and vocals, Mark Megaray - bass and James Wynne (AKA James Crash). They recorded a four track demo sometime in 1976 that fell into the path of Chiswick Records via the hand of Eamon Carr of the band Horslips, who signed them early in 1977.

1977 would be a busy year for the band releasing two further singles (Sunday World - September 1977 and Enemies - November 1977 ) and their Debut Album T.V. Tube Heart, all, apart from Sunday World (CBS Ireland), on Chiswick Records.

Stephen would leave the band not long after the album was released and Philip Chevron would take over vocal duties.

The band toured supporting Thin Lizzy and after the album was released relocated to London.

The Debut Single Television Screen was listed by Sounds music paper as one of the Singles of the Week alongside Blondie's In The Flesh and a Weather Report single entitled Birdland.

I actually really liked it because I thought it sounded musically similar to Eddie and The Hot Rods Teenage Depression stuff with that kind of Rock 'n' Roll vibe to it.

 Listen To T.V. Tube Heart Here.