They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles is the third album by English punk rock/new wave band Television Personalities.

In 2011, it was included in NME's "The 100 Greatest Albums You've Never Heard" list. It was chosen by Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT.

The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Their varied, volatile and long career encompasses post punk, neo-psychedelia and indie pop; the only constant being Treacy's songwriting. Present and former members include Chelsea childhood mates 'Slaughter Joe' Joe Foster, one time best friend Ed Ball (early line-up, later briefly) and Jowe Head (ex-Swell Maps), with Jeffrey Bloom from 1983-94. The threesome of Dan, Jowe and Jeff is considered by many to be the band's definitive line-up. Although prolific, the Television Personalities are best known for their early single "Part Time Punks", second and fourth albums, as well as the critically acclaimed Privilege and Closer to God LPs.
Despite their relatively minor commercial success (their third album was sardonically titled They Could Have Been Bigger than the Beatles), the Television Personalities are highly regarded by critics and have been widely influential, especially on the C86 generation, on many of the bands signed to Creation Records in the 1990s, and on American artists such as Pavement and MGMT. Treacy's unconventional but dryly witty and culture infused lyrics, have led to his reputation as a seminal and iconic figure within the independent music scene.
In 2006 music critic Cam Lindsay described Treacy as having "recorded some of the most bizarre, unlistenable and brilliant pop songs in the last three decades
Television Personalities split up in 1982, after five years as D.I.Y. pioneers. It turned out to be a temporary development (although Ed Ball, Dan Treacy's artistic foil, never did return, busying himself by turning his side project, the Times, into a full-time -- sorry -- proposition), but the split was marked by the mysterious compilation They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles. An unannotated collection of re-recorded versions of tracks from their first two albums, early singles, and unreleased outtakes, this should by all rights be a complete mess. Funnily enough, it works a treat, being more consistently entertaining than 1982's Mummy Your [sic] Not Watching Me, though not as conceptually perfect as 1981's excellent And Don't the Kids Just Love It. Highlights include a much-improved new version of "David Hockney's Diaries" and the gentle freakbeat of "The Boy in the Paisley Shirt" and "Psychedelic Holiday." Treacy also pays tribute to the then-forgotten Creation, with enthusiastically sloppy versions of "Painter Man" and "Making Time." The original Whaam! release of this album came in hand-painted black-on-tan sleeves with no liner notes or other information.