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]
Games For Boys
Television Personalities Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Society teaches you a new game each day
Games for boys
Games your mother wouldn't like you to play
Action man for the little boy
A bow and arrow and a Tonka toy
Sindy doll for the little girl
Little girls help with the washing up
Mummy does the dishes, Lucinda does the cups
Jason and Wayne are out in the rain
Daddy's washing his car again
Games for boys
Society teaches you a new game each day
Games for boys
Games your mother wouldn't like you to play
Wouldn't it be fun if we all swapped clothes?
Everyone except the adults would know
All the boys come out to play
And frighten all the girls away
Action man for the little boy
A bow and arrow and a Tonka toy
Sindy doll for the little girl
A rocking horse and a string of pearls
Games for boys
Society teaches you a new game each day
Games for boys
Games your mother wouldn't like you to play
The song "Games For Boys" by Television Personalities is a commentary on gender stereotypes and societal expectations placed on children. The lyrics criticize the idea that society teaches boys to play violent and aggressive games, and girls to engage in domestic chores and play with dolls. The first verse establishes this concept, with the mention of "Action man", "bow and arrow", and "Tonka toy" as prescribed toys for boys, while "Sindy doll", "rocking horse", and "string of pearls" are for girls. The second verse goes on to highlight the disparity between how girls and boys are treated even in daily chores; girls "help with the washing up" while "Mummy does the dishes".
The chorus repeats the phrase "Games for boys" to emphasize the point that society is constantly teaching boys these prescribed games, which are often violent and harmful. The line "Games your mother wouldn't like you to play" suggests that even though the kids are taught these games, parents would not actually approve of them. The lyrics then move on to suggest a hypothetical scenario where everyone swaps clothes and the boys come out to play. This plays on the idea that boys could play with different toys and engage in different activities if societal expectations were not imposed upon them.
Overall, "Games For Boys" is a thought-provoking critique on societal norms surrounding gender and childhood.
Line by Line Meaning
Games for boys
The world is full of activities that are targeted at young males, and they are encouraged to participate.
Society teaches you a new game each day
Our community has many things which we can do, and every day we are presented with new ones.
Games your mother wouldn't like you to play
There are games that the elder women of a child's family would not approve of them playing with their friends.
Action man for the little boy
A plastic figurine of a male who embodies a strong, heroic character designed for children.
A bow and arrow and a Tonka toy
Toy weapons and vehicles for boys to play with, either to emulate a heroic character or to pretend being in combat.
Sindy doll for the little girl
A doll designed for young, feminine girls with fashionable clothes and accessories.
A rocking horse and a string of pearls
Traditional toys for girls, like stuffed horses and classic jewelry like pearls.
Little girls help with the washing up
Girls are often expected to help with household chores even at a young age, usually related to cooking or cleaning
Mummy does the dishes, Lucinda does the cups
In this household, the mother is responsible for washing dishes while Lucinda, another girl, is delegated to cups.
Jason and Wayne are out in the rain
Two boys are playing outside while it's raining.
Daddy's washing his car again
The father is cleaning his vehicle.
Wouldn't it be fun if we all swapped clothes?
We should trade clothing items as a joke and for fun.
Everyone except the adults would know
Adults may not appreciate humor in the same way as kids do, and thus this activity is purely for the younger audience.
All the boys come out to play
The boys in the community are now gathering together for a friendly activity or game.
And frighten all the girls away
As they play, the girls who are nearby may feel scared or intimidated.
Contributed by Bella O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jowe Head
Sheer genius!
GazeMeShoes
yes