Wow one of the first new wave singers I remember as a little kid ……. im getting old ……
If you’re young enough to remember them when you were a little kid and you’re getting old, then I’ve gotten old.
Oh no
This is very sad news. Mark Hollis wasn’t just the lead singer of Talk Talk: he was Talk Talk. And he was a frikkin genius. Each successive album was markedly better and more abstract than the previous, each reach lofty new heights by being music that could only reasonably be compared to itself. Tense yet comforting, uncomfortable yet familiar, and always ALWAYS gorgeous wonderful ear candy.
RIP Mr. Hollis; you done fucking amazing.
Gwen Stefani should have a memorial somewhere on social media soon ……
I was listening to “Living In Another World” on repeat yesterday. That song slays.
This calls for a tasteless joke involving the title “It’s My Life.” Alas, it’s too late in the evening.
RIP Mark
I’m actually more of an early Talk Talk fan than later, but this is sad news indeed.
Talk Talk’s a band that I vastly underrated growing up. They were ok but I didn’t really pay attention to their music. When I was about 14, a friend, who was a massive fan, tried to tell me how great they were. I remained unconvinced.
It took me some time to realize that he was right. I only started paying attention to their stuff 20 years ago and, yes, they were really outstanding. Obliquely anthemic choruses, weird but infectious ideas (the pounding piano and the guitar riff in Life’s what you Make it, the minimalistic, synthetic (?) oboe solo in It’s my Life, the laconic, slow-motion drum rolls in Such a Shame…).
Probably one the few 80s bands that manage to combine chart success with genuine musical invention.
[Moderating]
I’ve edited the title to what I think was intended.
Well said. Of all the many British new wave/synth pop bands who had hits in the 80s, Talk Talk were the most original and my favorite. Their last album with still rather conventional pop songs, Colour Of Spring, and their following step into abstraction, Spirit Of Eden, are both masterpieces. And Life’s What You Make It probably is the most mature and best pop song of the decade. Mark Hollis’ only solo album also is very worth checking out.
Only one nitpick: I don’t know how much he contributed to the magic of the band, but besides Mark Hollis the band had at least one more very talented member, bassist Mark Webb aka Rustin Man. He did some great solo stuff and a fantastic collaboration with Portishead’s Beth Gibbons under that moniker.
Side note: heard a sample from that Rustin Man/Beth Gibbons project in this eerie little ditty.
I was turned on to this article that describes Hollis’s uncompromising artistic vision. It sounds like Talk Talk could have easily been a group with his name on it, in the latter years for sure.
I had/have a Brit punk compilation called Streets. It had the original release of Talk Talk, by the Reaction, Hollis’s band. Good rough and ready punk styley. Imagine my surprise when I hear the synthed up pop version some years later.
Lookit what I found.
I have that album too; there’s some great stuff there.
Has he heard of rock and roll? Is he wearing any pants? Would he really rather be Keith Richards given half a chance?
Cliff Richard, dude, not Keith Richards.
I am famous all over town for my mondegreen tendencies. Thanks for straightening this one out.
Frankly, however, I’d rather be Keith Richards than Cliff Richard any day.
There appears to be some controversy regarding this.
I just listened to it and now it sounds like Keith Richard to me. Great. In ten years it’ll prolly sound like Cliff Richards. I suppose I’ll get concerned when I start hearing Keith Cliff or Richard Richards eh.