TMBG 1988 UK Television Interview

They Might Be Giants in interview on UK television in 1988.
I think They might have been stung by bees because their lips seem massive on this footage. For a moment I thought the band had been replaced by Thunderbirds.

[@NickCronDeVico]

I'm glad they weren't too new and naive at that point to be intimidated by all those accusatory "gimmick" questions. I love that they held their own so well. It also shows how ahead of their time they were, because today, no one would ever hear about Dial-A-Song and call it a gimmick, they'd just think of it was a way to get noticed amid all the crazy noise.

[@WalDemento999]

wow! their voices are so deep!

[@L0REN0R2Z0RR0]

Loved to read that they were tired as hell during that interview :D

[@bradanders]

Linnell looks pissed!

[@nerdgirlism]

they're so adorable. i love linnell's voice. and, lord, i was born the year this interview was done o_O

[@emilioaladwhosintheinterne8421]

Linnell being a mood

[@chrisgaulding4820]

ITS NOT A GIMMICK its performance art rock! Involving audience participation. even if your in your own car

[@jenzahara]

"The rest is rock history", indeed! This is definitely 1988, not 1992. I was a fan then and that's what They looked like, all right.

[@AnaAerophina]

Seems so strange to think They'll Need A Crane would've just came out at that point... to think, my favourite music video is 20 years old, and my favourite Johns were only 28/29 instead of 48/49.

[@ZoeAlexa11]

AnaAerophina and it’s even crazier to think it’s been a decade since your comment

[@pleasantfuryrecords]

it comes as quite a surprise

[@daveidmarx8296]

at the age of fifty-eight

[@northofthestar388]

Music video now 30 years ago

[@InvisiblerApple]

Soon that lyric will seem dated and now it's even sooner @@daveidmarx8296

[@audiojihad]

STICK! STICK!

[@astralbee]

They'll Need A Crane is from their 1988 album 'Lincoln'. And newsflash - it is possible to grow your hair our more than once in a lifetime.

[@FerHivore]

0:53 - Linnell looks pissed as the camera pans out.

[@jessss27]

Legend

[@flowerlandfilms]

...a gimmick killed her father...

[@flameshadow117]

lol, they did seem rather tense there :P I love the, "We're the hottest new thing in England...apparently." line, though XD And someone already mentioned that... good line :D

[@NxDoyle]

I don't know who the interviewer is. And chances are, neither do you. For some reason she fixated on the clearly flawed notion that 1) they're American, 2) they're playing music that doesn't conform to her expectations so 3) it's a gimmick. In 2019, a day after seeing them perform for the umpteenth time and loving them as much as ever, I can confirm, it's not a gimmick.

[@marissablank7561]

They are American, LOL

[@ryannn39]

You're so mean in the description

[@jokeharmonica]

coolest

[@astralbee]

I *think* it was BBC2, but my memory isn't what it used to be.

[@rattyeely]

I'd love to see them cover a rolling stones song now

[@davidbuckle-onlizinenet.pi1522]

PTL? X's played there ROCKEFELLERS much more me 'n Shannon...

[@mobius273]

...humor is a gimmick?

[@jarzhinio]

I was going to write something really stupid, I am gland I didn't. I am just posting this instead. bye.

[@rongravy]

i might not've been as civil as they were to that snooty lady. those guys are too good for that lame ass line of questioning. smart people music that fucking rocks.

[@Eyepocampix]

Why does the guy at the beginning look like a 12 year old lol

[@Billkwando]

Geez that interviewer was obnoxious.