Punk News Reviews

Live review: TV Smith raises the Face Bar roof in Reading!

By Will Sewell

Drawing a huge crowd for a Thursday, TV Smith stunned us with songs old and new

Punk legend TV Smith may just be one man with an acoustic guitar, but the founder of The Adverts can still fill a room with sound, as evidenced during his first gig at The Face Bar, Reading on 20.02.2025 – what an outstanding show! The crowded room was full of local fans, plus some who had travelled from afar, taking the opportunity to see him. TV Smith was only doing 3 UK gigs before Rebellion Festival this August.

TV Smith - photo by Ian Ladlow
Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to see TV Smith a few times in large and small venues all over the country, sometimes solo, and sometimes as support to the likes of Ruts DC and The Damned. He has played in Reading before, at both The Rising Sun Arts Centre and Sub89, but this was his first time at The Face Bar, and wow, what a cracker!
TV Smith by Ian Ladlow 4
TV Smith - photo by Ian Ladlow

Tim is a brilliant singer songwriter, and through his vast collection of material, he makes very valid points about how messed up the world we live in actually is. There was no support act tonight, so he gave us a two hour set, singing some of his new and older songs, which of course immediately had the crowd jumping and singing along.

We were privileged to be treated to the live debut of a brand new number ‘Man Down in Martino‘. Tim explained that the song is about homelessness due to poverty, a global issue. 

Several songs from Tim’s latest album ‘Handwriting‘ were played, including the positive and uplifting ‘Bounce Back‘, ‘Who’s Got The Time?‘ and the thought-provoking title track. Older classics including ‘Lion and the Lamb‘, ‘Gary Gilmore’s Eyes‘, ‘My String Will Snap‘ and ‘No Time To Be 21‘ also saw the crowd roaring along.

The audience demanded an encore, and Tim graciously allowed us to choose which two songs he’d finish the evening with!

TV Smith by Ian Ladlow 3
TV Smith - photo by Ian Ladlow
Thanks to Club Velocity, run by Steven Siddle and Nigel GoGo Poole, for bringing such a great wordsmith and musician to Reading for us all to enjoy. Thanks also to The Face Bar for hosting the gig, as always, a very friendly atmosphere and I’m always made to feel welcome. It was great to see the Blue Stage at The Face Bar so busy for a Thursday evening gig, it shows what a talent TV Smith is.
 
Another reason I like going to smaller venues is you get to have a chat with the artists, and it was brilliant to catch up with Tim and Sally, who are the friendliest and nicest people you’ll meet. I’m hoping it’ll be the first of many more TV Smith gigs there. I’ll never get bored of seeing him, and I’m looking forward to seeing him again at Rebellion!
TV Smith by Ruth Rae
TV Smith - photo by Ruth Rae

Catch TV Smith playing live in South America, Germany, UK, USA, Finland and Switzerland in 2025 – tour dates below:

Main Photo Credit: IAN LADLOW

MARCH

Sat 15.03 (AR) BUENOS AIRES – Teatro Flores (supporting The Damned)
Mon 17.03 (UR) MONTEVIDEO – Montevideo Music Box (supporting The Damned)
Tue 18.03 (BR) SAO PAULO – Casa Aurea (solo)

With the Bored Teenagers:

Wed 26.03 (DE) ESSEN – Don’t Panic 
Thu 27.03 (DE) BERLIN – Wild At Heart (alternating set)
Fri 28.03 (DE) BERLIN – Wild At Heart (alternating set) 
Sat 29.03 (DE) HAMBURG – Monkeys Music Club
Mon 31.03 (DE) DÜSSELDORF – Pitcher (alternating set) 

APRIL

Tue 01.04 (DE) DÜSSELDORF – Pitcher (alternating set) 
Thu 03.04 (DE) REUTLINGEN – Franz K 
Fri 04.04 (DE) SCHWEINFURT – Stattbahnhof
Sat 05.04 (DE) MÜNCHEN – Feierwerk – Kranhalle

MAY

TV Smith’s Adverts Headline shows:

Mon 12.5 (US) NEW YORK – TV Eye
Tue 13.5 (US) BALTIMORE – Ottobar
Wed 14.5 (US) RALEIGH – Kings
Thu 15.5 (US) ATLANTA – The Earl
Sun 25.5 (US) LAS VEGAS – Backstage Bar & Billiards (Punk Rock Bowling after-show)

Supporting The Damned:

Fri 16.5 (US) NEW ORLEANS – Civic Theatre
Sat 17.5 (US) AUSTIN – Radio East
Sun 18.5 (US) DALLAS – Granada Theatre
Tues 20.5 (US) HOUSTON – House of Blues
Wed 21.5 (US) SAN ANTONIO – Paper Tiger
Fri 23.5 (US) PHOENIX – Van Buren
Sat 24.5 (US) SAN DIEGO – North Park Observatory
Tue 27.5 (US) LOS ANGELES – Wiltern
Wed 28.5 (US) SANTA ANA – Observatory
Fri 30.5 (US) BERKELEY – UC Theatre
Sat 31.5 (US) SACRAMENTO – Ace Of Spades

JULY

Sat 26.07 (DE) METZINGEN – Rock am Block Festival

AUGUST

Thu 7/8 (UK) BLACKPOOL – REBELLION FESTIVAL  with the Bored Teenagers @ CASBAH
Fri 8/8 (UK) BLACKPOOL – REBELLION FESTIVAL with Vom Ritchie @ ARENA
Sat 9/8 (UK) BLACKPOOL – REBELLION FESTIVAL Solo @ OPERA

Thu 21.8 (FI) HELSINKI – Korjaamo
Fri 22.8 (FI) TURKU – Punk & Yäk Festival
Sat 23.8 (FI) TAMPERE – Telakka

SEPTEMBER

Thu 25.9 (CH) SOLOTHURN – Kopfmehl
Fri 26.9 (CH) LUZERN – Sedel
Sat 27.9 (CH) ZURICH – Hafenkneipe

NOVEMBER

Fri 7.11 (UK) EMSWORTH – Emsworth Music Club
Sun 9.11 (UK) NORWICH – Brickmakers

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