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48-548: Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, The Party's Over (1982) and It's My Life (1984), reached top 40 in the UK and produced the international hit singles " Talk Talk ", " Today ", " It's My Life ", and " Such a Shame ". They achieved widespread critical success in Europe and
96-421: A good dad at the same time." Despite Hollis' absence from the public eye, he continued to be mentioned in the music press as an example of an artist who refused to sacrifice his artistic ambition for commercial success, as a yardstick for current artists and one of the most important musicians of his generation. His withdrawal from the public continued to fascinate music critics. By the time his solo album
144-497: A grumpy Hollis who mocks lip-synching; after EMI protested, they re-shot the video, turning it into "a total piss-take of lip-synching", in Alan McGee 's words. The artist James Marsh designed the first cover image for It's My Life based on the band's name. He followed the theme for subsequent singles, remaining the band's artistic frontman and creating all their covers and posters throughout their career. Talk Talk abandoned
192-422: A reason to play it." He also commented: "The silence is above everything, and I would rather hear one note than I would two, and I would rather hear silence than I would one note." In 1982, he cited his greatest influences as Burt Bacharach and William Burroughs . Talk Talk disbanded in 1991. In 1998, Hollis released a self-titled solo debut album, Mark Hollis . In an interview at the time, he said: "To me
240-682: The Bark Psychosis 2004 album, ///Codename: Dustsucker . Mark Hollis died on 25 February 2019, aged 64. Talk Talk's influence upon musicians has exceeded the band's visibility among the general public. Along with the band Slint , Talk Talk are credited with inventing " post-rock " in their last two albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock . The artists who have praised the band or cited them as an influence include Pearl Jam 's Jeff Ament , Kate Bush , Tears for Fears , Matthew Good , Radiohead , Doves , Elbow , Shearwater , M83 , Bark Psychosis , The Notwist , Cedric Bixler-Zavala of
288-532: The "complete lack of rules" there. After studying part time whilst working in an industrial laboratory, he accepted a place at University of Sussex in 1975 to study child psychology but dropped out in 1976 to pursue music. He worked at what he later described as a "succession of horrible jobs" whilst he began to write songs. Reflecting on this period in his life, he later said, "I could never wait to get home and start writing songs and lyrics. All day long I'd be jotting ideas down on bits of paper and just waiting for
336-415: The 1972 compilation Nuggets . In a later interview, Hollis said, "Up until punk, there's no way I could have imagined I could get a record deal because I didn't think I could play, but punk said, 'If you think you can play you can play.'" In 1977, The Reaction recorded a demo for Island Records . A song from the demo, "Talk Talk Talk Talk", was included on the punk compilation Streets , released by
384-1133: The 1980s and 1990s as the co-founder, lead singer and principal songwriter of the band Talk Talk . Hollis wrote or co-wrote most of Talk Talk's music—including hits like " It's My Life " and " Life's What You Make It "—and in later works developed an experimental, contemplative style. Beginning in 1981 as a synth-pop group with a New Romantic image, Talk Talk's sound became increasingly adventurous under Hollis's direction. For their third album, The Colour of Spring (1986), Talk Talk adopted an art pop sound that won critical and commercial favour; it remains their biggest commercial success. The band's final two albums, Spirit of Eden (1988) and Laughing Stock (1991), were radical departures from their early work, taking influence from jazz, folk, classical and experimental music. While they were commercial failures in their own time, these albums were retrospectively highly critically acclaimed and have come to be seen as early landmarks of post-rock music. After Talk Talk disbanded in 1991, Hollis returned to music in 1998 with his only solo album , which continued
432-571: The Belgian director Gwenaël Breës was screened for the first time at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival . Entitled In a Silent Way , filmed before Mark Hollis' death and without the participation of the main band members, it pays tribute to the musical journey and integrity of Talk Talk. In September 2021, the film won the prize for best music documentary awarded by the jury of
480-551: The Mars Volta , Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree , Storm Corrosion (a joint project between Opeth 's Mikael Åkerfeldt and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson), Steve Hogarth of Marillion , Richard Barbieri of Japan and Porcupine Tree, Death Cab for Cutie , and Richard Wright of Pink Floyd . The main influence of the Held By Trees project is Talk Talk and Mark Hollis and it has come to involve many associates of
528-604: The Musical Ecran festival in France. Hollis and Talk Talk continue to be praised as artists who did not cave in to the pressures of corporate and commercial interests. Says Alan McGee , "I find the whole story of one man against the system in a bid to maintain creative control incredibly heartening." Mark Hollis Mark David Hollis (4 January 1955 – February 2019) was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in
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#1732781108824576-624: The Netherlands and Germany where the album peak-charted at numbers 2, 3 and 4, respectively. In the Netherlands, the album stayed in the charts for 64 weeks between 1984 and 1986. It also reached number 35 in the UK albums chart. In the United States, the album just missed the top 40, reaching number 42. In 2000, it was voted number 872 in Colin Larkin 's All Time Top 1000 Albums . In 2021, Rhino Entertainment re-released
624-551: The Royal Festival Hall, London, UK. Founding band member Simon Brenner, who played keyboards on studio album, The Party's Over was amongst the long list of guest musicians who performed songs from all five Talk Talk studio albums and Mark Hollis' solo album. The evening was described as A Majestic Tribute by the London-based daily newspaper The Evening Standard. In March 2020, a documentary about Talk Talk by
672-684: The Top 30 in Germany and the Top 75 in the Netherlands). The band sued EMI for releasing the remixed material without their permission. By 1990, the band had essentially morphed into a vehicle for the studio recordings of Hollis and long-term collaborator Friese-Greene, along with session musicians (including long-term Talk Talk drummer Harris). The group signed a two-album contract with Polydor Records and released Laughing Stock on Polydor's Verve Records imprint in 1991. Laughing Stock crystallised
720-619: The Top 40 in the UK and France). By this time, all Talk Talk songs were being written by Hollis and Friese-Greene. The extended line-up for the 1986 tour consisted of Hollis, Webb and Harris, plus John Turnbull (guitars), Rupert Black and Ian Curnow (keyboards), Phil Reis and Leroy Williams (percussion), and Mark Feltham (harmonica). Most notable among these concerts was their appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival , 11 July 1986, released on DVD in 2008 as Live at Montreux 1986 . The success of The Colour of Spring afforded
768-523: The UK with the album The Colour of Spring (1986) along with its singles " Life's What You Make It " and " Living in Another World ". 1988's Spirit of Eden moved the group towards a more experimental sound informed by jazz and improvisation, pioneering what became known as post-rock ; it was critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful. Friction with the band's label , EMI , resulted in legal action and countersuing. Webb departed, and
816-479: The album entered the U.S., Canadian, French, German, New Zealand and Netherlands Top 40. A third single, "Dum Dum Girl", was a success in some European countries and in New Zealand; however, the album and its singles were largely ignored in the UK. Commercial success notwithstanding, the band made deliberate choices that moved them away from the mainstream. The music video for "It's My Life", for instance, featured
864-518: The album reached the UK Top 20 and was certified Silver by the BPI for sales of over 60,000 copies. The band announced they would not be attempting to recreate the album live (since, according to Hollis, "People would just want to hear the songs as they are on the album and for me that's not satisfying enough"). Without touring or music videos or singles as the band intended, there was little marketing left that
912-589: The band .O.rang , while Tim Friese-Greene started recording under the name Heligoland . In 1998, Mark Hollis released his self-titled solo début Mark Hollis , which was much in keeping with the minimalist post-rock sound of Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock , but he retired from the music industry shortly afterwards. Webb also collaborated under the name of Rustin Man with Portishead lead singer Beth Gibbons and released Out of Season in 2002, Drift Code in 2019 and Clockdust in 2020. Harris also featured on
960-465: The band a bigger budget and schedule for the recording of their next album. Over a year in the making, and featuring contributions from many outside musicians, Spirit of Eden was released in 1988, on EMI's Parlophone label. The album was assembled from many hours of improvised instrumentation that Hollis and Friese-Greene had edited and arranged using digital equipment. The result was a mix of rock, jazz, classical, and ambient music. Critically praised,
1008-407: The band switched to Polydor for their final studio album, 1991's Laughing Stock , but split soon afterwards. Singer Mark Hollis released one solo album in 1998 before retiring from the music industry; he died in 2019. The band's founding bass player and drummer, Paul Webb and Lee Harris, played in several bands together, including .O.rang ; long-term collaborator Tim Friese-Greene continued in
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#17327811088241056-564: The band. The bands Placebo , Weezer , the Divine Comedy and the Gathering covered their song "Life's What You Make It" and No Doubt scored a global hit with a cover of "It's My Life" in 2003 which reached number 20 on the UK charts. Lights recorded a cover of "Living in Another World" Guy Garvey of the band Elbow said: "Mark Hollis started from punk and by his own admission he had no musical ability. To go from only having
1104-426: The business as a musician and producer. Talk Talk began as a quartet consisting of Mark Hollis , formerly from The Reaction (vocals/main songwriter), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass guitar), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). In their early years they were often compared with Duran Duran . In addition to a band name consisting of a repeated word, the two shared a Roxy Music -inspired musical direction, as well as
1152-437: The case was thrown out of court. Webb left the band in late 1988. With the band now released from EMI, the label released the retrospective compilation Natural History in 1990. It peaked at number 3 on the UK album chart and was certified Gold by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 copies. It was also an international success and eventually went on to sell more than 1 million copies worldwide. The 1984 single "It's My Life"
1200-429: The conditions surrounding the dispute: "in essence our motivation in the court case with EMI was all about money and an opportunity to secure a better deal with another record company. EMI in our view had misinterpreted the meaning of the clause which specified when they should exercise their option. They lost the case on appeal." EMI then sued the band, claiming that Spirit of Eden was not "commercially satisfactory", but
1248-807: The direction of Talk Talk's sound but in a more minimal, sparse, acoustic style. Following the release of the album, Hollis largely retired from the recording industry. He died, aged 64, in February 2019. Hollis was born on 4 January 1955 in Tottenham , London. He had two brothers, one elder and one younger. Little is known about his early life as Hollis was a reluctant interviewee throughout his career. His family moved from London to Rayleigh, Essex in 1962 and Hollis started at Rayleigh's Sweyne Grammar School (now The Sweyne Park School ) in 1966. He left Sweyne after completing his O-levels in 1971 and dropped out of college without completing his A-levels blaming
1296-480: The experimental sound the band started with Spirit of Eden (which has been retroactively categorised as " post-rock " by some critics). Even more minimalist than its predecessor, Laughing Stock reached just No. 26 on the UK Albums Chart . After Laughing Stock , Talk Talk disbanded in 1991; Hollis said that he wished to focus on his family. Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris, and the two went on to form
1344-492: The fledgling label Beggars Banquet . Written by Hollis, "Talk Talk Talk Talk" is an early version of Talk Talk's 1982 second single, " Talk Talk ". George Gimarc noted the Reaction's rendition of the song is about twice as fast and has "a completely different feel" than the 1982 version. Island released the Reaction's only single, "I Can't Resist", in 1978. The Reaction disbanded the following year. Hollis's musical taste
1392-447: The media on 26 February. It%27s My Life (album) It's My Life is the second studio album by English band Talk Talk , released on 13 February 1984. Mike Oldfield 's bass player, Phil Spalding made an uncredited appearance on the album, substituting for Paul Webb on "The Last Time" – "Paul was exclusively a fretless bass player and they needed a fretted bass on this particular track." Spalding admits to having played
1440-511: The moment when I could put it all down on tape." Mark's older brother, Ed, mentored him and introduced him to the music industry. Ed was a disc jockey , producer and manager of several bands, including the pub-rock group Eddie and the Hot Rods . With Ed's encouragement and assistance, Mark formed his first band, The Reaction. Emerging in the post-punk era, the Reaction's sound reflected Hollis's interest in early garage rock as found on
1488-484: The other side." The cover to the album was produced by James Marsh , incorporating elements of The Boyhood of Raleigh by John Everett Millais . It's My Life was released in February 1984 by record label EMI . It's My Life was a top 5 hit album in several European countries, thanks to the big international success of its singles (notably " Such a Shame "), and was particularly successful in Switzerland,
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1536-529: The record company could do; in the end the band grudgingly agreed to a video for the remixed version of " I Believe in You ", released as first single. Hollis, though, was unhappy with the video, as he made clear in an interview with Q Magazine : "I really feel that [the video] was a massive mistake ... I thought just by sitting there and listening and really thinking about what it was about, I could get that in my eyes. But you cannot do it. It just feels stupid. It
1584-535: The same record label ( EMI ) and producer ( Colin Thurston ). The band also supported Duran Duran on tour in 1982. The band released their first single, "Mirror Man", on EMI in February 1982. The single was not a great success, but was quickly followed by their self-titled single in April 1982 (a rerecording of a track by The Reaction) which reached No. 52 in the UK. The band's first album, titled The Party's Over ,
1632-867: The solo track "Piano" on the 1998 minimalist album AV 1 , by Phill Brown and Dave Allinson, under the pseudonym John Cope. This was later included on the 2001 Talk Talk compilation album Missing Pieces . He played piano on and co-wrote the track "Chaos" on the 1998 trip hop album Psyence Fiction by Unkle , later asking for his name to be removed from the album credits. He also co-produced and arranged two tracks ("The Gown" and "Big Mouth") on Anja Garbarek 's 2001 album Smiling & Waving , as well as playing bass guitar, piano and melodica. From 1998 until 2017, Hollis lived in Wimbledon, London with his wife Flick (a teacher) and their two sons, before moving to Heathfield, East Sussex where he lived until his death. Hollis' desire to spend more time with his family
1680-460: The synthpop style completely with their third album, 1986's The Colour of Spring . It became their biggest success in the UK, making the Top 10 (and certified Gold by the BPI for sales over 100,000 copies), in part due to the Top 20 single " Life's What You Make It ", which was also successful internationally. Another single, " Living in Another World ", charted in the Top 40 in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy (and just outside
1728-474: The time, but picked by Hollis because of his involvement with David Bowie 's Heroes . It was a moderate success in the UK reaching No. 21, and was later certified Silver by the BPI for sales of 60,000 copies by 1985. It was a Top 10 hit in New Zealand. Brenner left after the 1983 non-LP hit single "My Foolish Friend", which was produced by frequent Roxy Music collaborator Rhett Davies . At this point, Talk Talk
1776-557: The touring band on live dates, and was absent from the band's publicity material. Although major success eluded them in the UK, Talk Talk achieved considerable international success in 1984/85, particularly in continental Europe, North America and New Zealand, with the album It's My Life . The accompanying single "Such a Shame" (inspired by the book The Dice Man ) became a Top 10 hit in Austria, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland during this period. The title track of
1824-537: The ultimate ambition is to make music that doesn't have a use by date, that goes beyond your own time." He also said: "Technique has never been an important thing to me. Feeling always has been, and always will be, above technique." According to a 2008 article in The Guardian , he then largely retired from making music. He stated about his decision to retire from performing, "I choose for my family. Maybe others are capable of doing it, but I can't go on tour and be
1872-565: The urge, to writing some of the most timeless, intricate and original music ever is as impressive as the moon landings for me." A tribute album and anthological book, both titled Spirit of Talk Talk , were released in 2012. The book includes all the artwork James Marsh did for the band, and hand-written lyrics (by the band). The album includes covers by various artists, proceeds going to the conservation organisation BirdLife International. On Tuesday 26 November 2019, Spirit of Talk Talk organised A Celebration of Mark Hollis and Talk Talk concert at
1920-559: The values they work with are faultless." Hollis was best known for being the lead singer and primary songwriter of the band Talk Talk between 1981 and 1991. He was praised for his "always remarkable voice" and, along with Talk Talk's producer Tim Friese-Greene , took the lead in evolving the band's style from New Romantic into the more experimental and contemplative style that later became known as post-rock . Hollis has been credited with saying: "Before you play two notes, learn how to play one note. And don't play one note unless you've got
1968-407: The whole session while disastrously hung-over, and that – foreshadowing the approach Talk Talk would take on subsequent recordings - Tim Friese-Greene and Mark Hollis insisted that he record a whole afternoon and evening of multiple takes, despite the simplicity of the part. Ian Curnow adds "we always had to go all around the houses to get next door, just in case there was anything that turned up on
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2016-412: Was a major reason that Talk Talk stopped touring after 1986, and his reason for retiring from the music industry in 1998. Hollis died from cancer in February 2019, aged 64. Initial reports of his death included a tweet from his cousin-in-law, the paediatrician Anthony Costello , and a tribute by Talk Talk's bassist Paul Webb , before his former manager, Keith Aspden, confirmed Hollis's death to
2064-422: Was a trio, as Brenner was never officially replaced. However, Tim Friese-Greene was recruited to assist with the recording of their second album, It's My Life , and he became the band's producer as well as keyboardist and Hollis' songwriting partner. Although a major contributor to the band's studio output and a de facto fourth member, Friese-Greene never officially joined the band. As such, he did not play with
2112-478: Was also re-released, and this time became the band's highest charting single in their native country, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart . A re-release of the single "Life's What You Make It" also reached the Top 30. Following up on this renewed popular interest in the band, the label then released History Revisited in 1991, a compilation of new remixes, which made the UK Top 40 (it also reached
2160-401: Was depressing and I wish I'd never done it." During the making of Spirit of Eden , Talk Talk manager Keith Aspden had attempted to free the band from their record contract with EMI. Relations between the band and label continued to degrade after the album's release, eventually culminating in litigation brought by Aspden which extracted the band from their EMI contract. In 2011, Aspden clarified
2208-479: Was owed greatly to Ed. He introduced Mark to a wide range of music from garage rock to modal jazz , particularly Miles Davis 's collaborations with arranger Gil Evans on Porgy and Bess (1959) and Sketches of Spain (1960). Hollis later said Davis and Evans's work together "has space, tight arrangement and technique but it also has movement within it" and said those two albums "were extremely important albums to me then and they still are, because
2256-483: Was released in July 1982. The band had their first UK Top 40 hits with the singles " Today " (UK No. 14) and a re-release of " Talk Talk " (UK No. 23). These singles also were hits in other countries, including Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The re-release of the "Talk Talk" single reached the U.S. Top 75. The album was produced by Colin Thurston , who was Duran Duran 's in-house EMI producer at
2304-400: Was released, Hollis had moved back from the countryside to London in order to provide his two sons with a more cosmopolitan environment. In 2004, Hollis resurfaced briefly to receive a Broadcast Music Inc. Award for having written "It's My Life". In 2012, a piece of specially commissioned music by Hollis titled "ARB Section 1", was used in the television series Boss . Hollis performed
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