# talk talk lead singer passes on at 64 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217 "2019-02-26T00:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/1 "2019-02-26T00:40:41Z")
[https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/celebrity/mark-hollis-lead-singer-of-talk-talk-dies-at-age-64-reports-say/ar-BBU4K7S?li=BBnbfcL#page=2](https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/celebrity/mark-hollis-lead-singer-of-talk-talk-dies-at-age-64-reports-say/ar-BBU4K7S?li=BBnbfcL#page=2) Wow one of the first new wave singers I remember as a little kid ……. im getting old …… ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/2 "2019-02-26T01:22:34Z")
If you’re young enough to remember them when you were a little kid and you’re getting old, then I’ve gotten old. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/3 "2019-02-26T01:28:34Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/4 "2019-02-26T01:31:49Z")
Gwen Stefani should have a memorial somewhere on social media soon …… ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/5 "2019-02-26T01:32:52Z")
I was listening to “Living In Another World” on repeat yesterday. That song slays. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/6 "2019-02-26T03:03:00Z")
This calls for a tasteless joke involving the title “It’s My Life.” Alas, it’s too late in the evening. RIP Mark ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/7 "2019-02-26T07:35:54Z")
I’m actually more of an early Talk Talk fan than later, but this is sad news indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/8 "2019-02-26T10:52:50Z")
**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. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/9 "2019-02-26T12:50:58Z")
[Moderating] I’ve edited the title to what I think was intended. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/10 "2019-02-26T14:41:07Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 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. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/11 "2019-02-26T15:27:12Z")
Side note: heard a sample from that Rustin Man/Beth Gibbons project in [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ChDLtpxvAI) eerie little ditty. I was turned on to this [article](https://thequietus.com/articles/06963-talk-talk-laughing-stock) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/12 "2019-02-26T16:40:21Z")
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. > **[Streets (punk album)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streets_(punk_album))** > > Streets is a compilation album of early British and French punk rock bands from a variety of independent record labels. It was an attempt at an end of year ‘round up’ and, significantly, was the first album released on Beggars Banquet Records (catalogue number BEGA1). > The sleeve notes stated that: "1977 was the year that the music came out of the concert halls & onto the streets; when independent labels sprang out of the woodwork to feed new tastes; when rock music once again became about energ... ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/13 "2019-02-26T20:15:40Z")
Lookit what I found. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xDK5tk5iZlw/hqdefault.jpg "The Reaction - Talk Talk Talk Talk") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDK5tk5iZlw) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/14 "2019-02-26T22:48:42Z")
I have that album too; there’s some great stuff there. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/15 "2019-02-27T13:41:15Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 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? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/16 "2019-02-27T19:45:55Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/17 "2019-02-28T14:07:46Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/18 "2019-02-28T14:10:26Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Cliff Richard, dude, not Keith Richards. There appears to be some controversy regarding this. > **[Lyrics to isgodaman by Arthur Comics? / The Snivelling Shits](https://able2know.org/topic/48778-1)** > > Discussion Tagged: Music Lyrics Punk Streets Snivelling Shits, Replies: 8 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-talk-lead-singer-passes-on-at-64/830217/19 "2019-02-28T15:42:40Z")
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.