You Will Never Work in Television Again

"You Will Never Work in Television Again" is a song by the English rock band the Smile. It was released on 5 January 2022 as the debut single from their debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention.^[2] The Smile first performed it in the 2021 Glastonbury livestream Live at Worthy Farm.^[3]

"You Will Never Work in Television Again"
Single by the Smile
from the album A Light for Attracting Attention
A-side	"The Smoke" (double A-side 7" single)
Released	5 January 2022
Genre	Post-punk[1]
Length	2:48
Label	XL
Songwriter(s)	Jonny Greenwood Nigel Godrich Thom Yorke Tom Skinner
Producer(s)	Nigel Godrich
The Smile singles chronology
"You Will Never Work in Television Again" (2022) "The Smoke" (2022)
Music video
"You Will Never Work in Television Again" on YouTube

Reception

Some publications compared "You Will Never Work in Television Again" favourably to Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood's main band Radiohead.^[4][5] Tyler Golsen of Far Out Magazine gave it 8.3/10, calling it "a solid and powerful rocker that lets the guys in Radiohead just hang loose and rock out for the first time in a while".^[5] The NPR writer Brian Burns likened it to the post-punk acts Mission of Burma and Swell Maps,^[6] while the Guitar World writer Jackson Maxwell compared it to Sonic Youth.^[7]

Music video

The band released a lyric video alongside the single directed by Duncan Loudon.^[8] The video features the song's lyrics scrolling past on a teleprompter. Far Out Magazine described the video as "eerie".^[5]

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes.^[9]

The Smile

• Thom Yorke – vocals, guitar
• Jonny Greenwood – guitar, bass
• Tom Skinner – drums

Production

• Nigel Godrich

See also

• "Bunga bunga", a phrase used in the song, with links to ex-Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's prostitution trial.^[10]