Their first release (January 1978) was the single "14th Floor / Oxford Street W1". Their second release, the EP Where's Bill Grundy Now? features one of their best-known songs, "Part Time Punks".
The Television Personalities' first album And Don't the Kids Just Love It was released in 1981. It set the template for their subsequent career: neo-psychedelia, an obsession with youth culture of the 1960s, a fey, slightly camp lyrical attitude, and the occasional classic pop song. Their second album Mummy Your Not Watching Me [sic] demonstrated increased psychedelic influences. Their third album, ironically entitled They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles showed Treacy's sense of irony: the TVPs (as they are affectionately known) were never to have any major commercial success. The first three albums featured Treacy and schoolmate Ed Ball; Ball left the band to found The Times, but rejoined in 2004.
The 1985 album The Painted Word was unexpectedly dark in content, reflecting Treacy's despair at Thatcherite Britain and his personal circumstances.
Various line up changes prevented their next album (Privilege) from appearing until 1990. Their next album Closer to God was a combination of fey sixties style pop and darker material, similar in tone to The Painted Word.
The album Don't Cry Baby, It's Only a Movie was released in 1998. Since then Treacy has battled mental health problems, and his addictions to heroin, amphetamine and alcohol. He has been homeless on various occasions and was briefly arrested and imprisoned in 2003/2004. However, since his release, Treacy has attempted to get his life back together and in February 2006 a new TVPs album My Dark Places was released. Despite their small sales the TVPs were very influential on British music in the 1980s, especially the so-called C86 generation and many of the bands on Creation Records.
In an article in The Guardian on April 24 2006, it was implied that Dan Treacy is in some way behind the Arctic Monkeys, although this is based on little more than a perceived similarity between their lyrical style and that of Treacy, and the fact that the lead singer of Arctic Monkeys is mysteriously not credited with their songwriting.[1]
14th Floor
Television Personalities Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But there's little I can see
'cause I'm living so high up
And it looks so small to me
And I'm feeling so frustrated
'cause the lifts are out once more
And when I get home from work tonight
I gotta climb 14 floors, I tell you mate
14th floor
Oh no, my face don't fit
14th floor Just a number on the council list
14th floor
Oh no, there's nothing to do
14th floor
It's got a roof, it hasn't got a view
I've lived here for seven years now
But I don't know anyone
I think the bloke next door is a Jamaican
But he could be an Irishman
And life's no fun in a tower block
When you're locked behind your door
I think I must have had enough
Of living on the 14th floor, I tell you mate
14th floor
Oh no my face don't fit
14th floor
No no another number on the council list
14th floor
No no no there's nothing to do
14th floor
No no no it hasn't got a view
14th floor
No no no I've really got to go
14th floor
Had enough of yesterday's show
14th floor
Oh no my face don't fit
14th floor
Just a number on the council list
The song "14th Floor" by Television Personalities, is about the frustration and loneliness that comes with living in a tower block. The song is narrated by a resident who is tired of living on the 14th floor of his tower block. Despite the fact that he is living in one of the most vibrant and bustling cities in the world, he feels isolated from the community and the city at large, partially because he is so high up that he can hardly see anything. The lifts in the block are frequently out of order, so he is forced to climb the 14 flights of stairs to his apartment. He is so frustrated with his situation that he is seriously considering moving out. He finds life in the tower block to be monotonous, and he is certain that he does not know anyone in the building, except perhaps for his neighbor, whom he thinks is Jamaican, but he is not sure due to the lack of interaction.
The song captures the sense of anonymity and alienation that many people feel when living in large apartment blocks. It suggests that traditional notions of community, neighborhood and personal relationships are lost when people are locked behind their own doors. The song highlights the ridiculousness of the social housing system as the residents are seen as a tiny dot on a huge list with no opportunity to customize their own living space.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm looking down on London
I'm at such a high altitude that I can see the entirety of London.
But there's little I can see
However, since I'm so high up, everything appears very small and indistinct.
'cause I'm living so high up
The altitude of my living quarters is incredibly high.
And it looks so small to me
Due to my high altitude, most of what I see appears minuscule in size.
And I'm feeling so frustrated
I am currently experiencing a sensation of immense annoyance.
'cause the lifts are out once more
Unfortunately, the elevators are not functioning, once again.
And when I get home from work tonight
Later, upon my return to my dwelling from my occupation,
I gotta climb 14 floors, I tell you mate
I am forced to walk up fourteen flights of stairs, which is quite taxing.
14th floor
My residence is on the fourteenth level of this tower block.
Oh no, my face don't fit
Unfortunately, it seems that my physical appearance doesn't conform to the standards of the other tower block residents.
Just a number on the council list
I am nothing more than a name or sequence of digits appended to a government list.
Oh no, there's nothing to do
There is an unfortunate lack of recreational activities around my dwelling.
It's got a roof, it hasn't got a view
Although my residence is covered up top, there isn't a worthwhile or pleasant scene to observe.
I've lived here for seven years now
I've been residing in these quarters for a duration of seven full years.
But I don't know anyone
Strangely, I have yet to acquaint myself with any other tenants who reside in this building.
I think the bloke next door is a Jamaican
From what I've heard or seen, I believe the person living in the neighboring dwelling is from Jamaica.
But he could be an Irishman
However, it's still possible that the individual is of Irish descent.
And life's no fun in a tower block
Living within a tower block is not a particularly pleasurable experience.
When you're locked behind your door
Especially when one is occupied with simply staying enclosed within one's room.
I think I must have had enough
At this point, I believe I've hit my threshold for enduring this reality.
Of living on the 14th floor, I tell you mate
I really can't tolerate existing on the fourteenth level of this tower block any longer.
No no no there's nothing to do
I want to emphasize once again that there's really nothing to do when one lives in these quarters.
No no no it hasn't got a view
Regrettably, there isn't an inspiring or lovely spectacle to behold from these living quarters.
No no no I've really got to go
This is my way of emphatically stating my intent to promptly evacuate my current dwelling.
Had enough of yesterday's show
I'm completely fed up with enduring an existence similar to the one I've lived for some time now.
Just a number on the council list
Once again, I wish to emphasize that, to those in charge, I am just a mere item on a government list.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: TREACY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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