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"Part Time Punks" is a song by the English
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
group
Television Personalities The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...
. Written in 1978 by band leader and vocalist Dan Treacy, it was released as a single in 1980 on
Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...
. The record features Treacy, fellow teenager and school friend Ed Ball, and drummer Mark Sheppard. "Part Time Punks" was first released as part of their 1978 four song EP "Where's Bill Grundy Now?". Treacy self-financed the EP, in part with a loan from his parents. He had intended to release the song as a single immediately after, but was unable to afford to press the 7-inch singles. When a copy of the track was picked up by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
DJ
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
, Treacy was offered a number of record deals before eventually signing with Rough Trade. Their 1980 release of the single brought the Television Personalities to prominence within the then emerging
independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...
scene, selling an estimated 27,000 copies in its first year. The lyrics are a humour-infused satire of the late-comer, fashion-oriented, “plastic” punks who emerged c 1979 after the English punk rock movement emerged from the underground and went mainstream, especially after
Bill Grundy William Grundy (18 May 1923 – 9 February 1993) was an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for his work as anchor of ''Today'', a regional magazine programme on Thames Television in London. In the latter role, Grundy gained ...
's infamous live TV interview with the
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
on the 'Today' programme in 1976, during which the band swore and after which the TV host was fired from the
ITV network ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passin ...
.


Recording and distribution

Treacy formed the Television Personalities after hearing the
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
Baal, Iphgenia.
Daniel Treacy as seen on Screen
. '' Dazed & Confused'', 24 August 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2018 and
Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
. Unconventional by nature, he has said that at the time he was not that much interested in music, and that the band rarely rehearsed. He avoided preparing set-lists for live performances, preferring to keep the band "on their toes".Marsh, Calum.
Beautiful Despair
. ''Pitchfork'', 26 January 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018 Head remembers "us rehearsing once in late 1983. We did another one five years later, and that was about it." The band struggled to decide on a name; early suggestions included the names of well known but old fashioned television hosts such as
Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show '' Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' ...
,
Russell Harty Frederic Russell Harty (5 September 1934 – 8 June 1988) was an English television presenter of arts programmes and chat shows. Early life Harty was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, the son of greengrocer Fred Harty, who ran a fruit-and-veget ...
,
Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night ...
and
Hughie Green Hugh Hughes Green (2 February 1920 – 3 May 1997) was an English radio and television presenter, game show host and actor. Early life Green was born in Marylebone, London, to a Scottish father, Hugh Aitchison Green, a former British Army offic ...
. Eventually they decided on the more generic "Television Personalities". While still a teenager, and with financial assistance from his parents, paid out of pocket for the 1978 recording of the Television Personalities debut EP "Where's Bill Grundy Now?".Young (2006), p. 51 He intended to release "Part Time Punks" as a single, but having after the recording and mastering, realised during the test pressing that he would be unable to afford to generate enough copies of the single qualify for a release.Davidson, Chris. "TV Personalities: Interview with Dan Treacy". ''Slow Dazzle fanzine'', Number 4, 1982 The initial pressings left him with just two copies, one of which he sent to the influential
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio DJ
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
, who played it repeatedly. On the strength of the song, he offered the band a
Peel Session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
, which they recorded at BBC Radio 1 on 20 August 1980, but wanting to display their newer songs, omitted "Part Time Punks". Peel, who was very orientated towards
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
throughout his career, was disappointed when he heard that the song had been omitted but, noting the band's youth, remarked in good humour: "Oh, it's such a shame that children have to grow up". Quantick, David. "Personality People Reveal The Painted Word".
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
, 11 February 1984 As a result of this exposure, Tracey was contacted by a number of independent record labels offering to press and distribute the track. During this period he and Ball formed the Whaam! label, and released a number of further self-financed singles. This project was however renamed "Dreamworld", after a
cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not dis ...
letter from legal representatives of
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
, who paid an undisclosed sum to get the duo to choose a title unsimilar to
Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...
.Television Personalities
. ''
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
''. Retrieved 14 July 2018 Treacy eventually signed with
Geoff Travis Geoff Travis (born 2 February 1952) is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978. Biography Travis wa ...
'
Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...
, who released the single in 1980. It became instantly popular, with the first 14,000 copies selling in 6 months, and a further 13,000 pressed six months later. The song brought the band to attention abroad, and lead to tours and record sales in America, Germany and Holland.


Lyrics and style

The recorded version of the song is performed in Television Personalities' characteristic low-fi and deliberately shambolic style. Tracey sings in
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
language, with a pronounced London accent and a story-telling intonation. Adding to the deliberately amateurish tone, both Treacy and Ball seem to struggle to keep their vocal harmonies in-tune. The lyrics take a critical and ironic look at aspects of the evolution of punk rock from its underground beginnings in the mid-1970s, into a more commercialised, fashionable and mainstream style.Weisbard (1996), p. 63 According to the music journalist Rob Young, the song reflects the "transference of the earnest imperatives behind punk rock into a pastiche", and satires "the cartoon-mohican punk rockers that had taken over the
King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
as helpless fashion victims ignorant of the founding spirit of punk rock." Author and journalist Lina Lecaro described the song as about poseurs and late adopters "who pound the pit or rock the look only on the weekend". Treacy re-explored the theme in 1995's -far darker- "I Was a Mod Before You Was a Mod". Although the song mentions several contemporary people, bands and record labels, including
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
,
Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...
and
Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...
, it wasn't intended to criticise them directly, more to, in the words of critic Ian Birch, highlight "the kind of unthinking acceptance that people can adopt towards figureheads." Asked in a 1980 interview with ''
Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
'' magazine, if he was once a part time punk, Tracey said: "Oh Christ yeah, I'm the worst of the lot. Up to about six months ago I was just like everybody else. If there was a review in Sounds saying this is a good album I'd go and but it...The other night I was looking over the road, not with me telescope, and there was actually someone pogoing in their bedroom. That's when I realised everybody takes it too seriously."


Influence and reception

The song has been widely influential, with elements of its style adopted by bands such as
Belle and Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...
and
Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, back ...
. Part Time Punks appears on the 1995 Television Personalities early singles and B-sides compilation "Yes Darling, But Is It Art". The 1999 'Best of' album "Part Time Punks: The Very Best Of Television Personalities" was titled after the song. The music critic
Kelefa Sanneh Kelefa T. Sanneh (born 1976) is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', covering the rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes. Since 2008 he has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorke ...
said of the song, "Dan Treacy led what sounded like a bedroom sing-along, poking fun of young people practicing their punk moves at home. The verses were rather judgmental, but by the time he got to the chorus, Treacy sounded more like a small boy watching a delightful parade."


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* Cavanagh, David. ''The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize''. London: Virgin Books, 2000. * Robb, John. ''Punk Rock: An Oral History''. London: Ebury Press, 2006. * Weisbard, Eric. ''Spin Alternative Record Guide''. New York: Vintage Books, 1996. * Young, Rob. ''Rough Trade: Labels Unlimited''. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2006. {{Television Personalities 1978 songs 1980 singles