Richard Lloyd, the co-founding guitarist of Television, has been diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a serious form of bile duct cancer, and a GoFundMe has been launched to help him and his wife, Sheila, cope with the financial impact of his illness.
The fundraiser was launched by Lloyd’s Richard Lloyd Group bandmate Sean Seymour, who is asking fans to donate to help cover Lloyd’s medical expenses, living costs and other expenses resulting from his inability to work while Sheila acts as his full-time caregiver.
Lloyd was the co-guitarist alongside Tom Verlaine in Television, where his intricate electric guitar lines formed a critical part of the band’s distinctive sound. Along with groups including the Ramones and Patti Smith Group, Television was a driving force behind the transformation of CBGB into the defining club of New York City’s 1970s punk scene.
According to Seymour, Lloyd has “tumors in his liver, including one located dangerously close to a major blood vessel.” Because of the tumor’s location, doctors cannot safely operate to remove it at this time.
Lloyd has been in the ICU seven times and has suffered serious complications, including sepsis twice, as well as other problems involving his liver and kidneys.
“And through all of this,” Seymour wrote, “he’s fighting.”
Lloyd is currently unable to tour, leaving him without his primary source of income as a working musician.
“Richard is currently unable to tour,” Seymour wrote. “For a working musician, that’s devastating, not only because performing is what he loves, but because touring is his primary source of income.”
Seymour said there had also been “unresolved royalty issues going back roughly two years, creating another significant financial strain at an already incredibly difficult time,” while Lloyd is also being overwhelmed by what Seymour described as “crushing medical expenses.”
“Richard has spent decades giving his music to other people,” Seymour wrote. “Now it’s our turn to give something back to him. If Richard’s music has meant something to you — if you’ve listened to Marquee Moon, seen Television perform, followed Richard’s career, or simply know and love him as a person — please consider donating.”
Seymour also urged those unable to donate to share the fundraiser, saying that doing so “may be just as important as giving.”
“I’ve been lucky enough to stand beside Richard on stage for the past four years,” he wrote. “Right now, I’d like to stand beside him in a different way. Let’s help Richard and Sheila get through this.”
The GoFundMe also includes a message from Lloyd.
“I am usually a pretty upbeat person and I am taking this in stride,” he writes, “but it has become very difficult on our own and financially we are strapped. That’s why I’m asking for your help.
“If you can see your way clear to make a donation please do that. Otherwise, please pass it around to your friends that might help and people that know me.”
Donations have already come in from Patti Smith and Susan Tweedy, wife of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. The target fundraising goal is $80,000, and at the time of writing, the campaign is just shy of the halfway mark.
Visit GoFundMe to donate to Richard Lloyd’s campaign.
