Some of the initial influences on Lawrie as a songwriter were The Beatles, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Neil Young, Einstürzende Neubauten, Can, Faust, Lydia Lunch, Sonic Youth and Sun Ra.

[1] By the time The Telescopes were formed, influences were drawn from artists such as The Velvet Underground, Suicide, The Stooges and The 13th Floor Elevators.

[2] The Telescopes have influenced the shoegaze, space rock and neo-psychedelic movement including artists such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre,[3] Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Füxa, The Warlocks, Revolver, Whipping Boy, Vanishing Lines, Seefeel, Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, Frances Bean Cobain, Portishead, Mogwai and Radiohead.

[4] In recognition of their ongoing influence on a new generation of artists, a tribute compilation titled Anticipating Nowhere, A Homage To The Telescopes was released in 2016 by The Blog That Celebrates Itself Records.

The album featured 17 Telescopes tracks covered by various artists from the Flavor Crystals, Jaguwar and One Unique Signal.

[7] In a statement provided to NME, Lawrie wrote, "As a noise guitarist David was born beyond the realm of natural vision, a true original, in a field of his own.

They moved to the American What Goes On Records and released their debut album Taste and "The Perfect Needle" single which is perhaps their most famous song.

[13] In April 2012 came two new singles, the first a drone version of Nick Drake's "Black Eyed Dog" on the Trensmat label.