Talk Talk

All Music Guide:

With the exception of a handful of common threads -- chief among them the plaintive vocals and haunting lyrics of frontman Mark Hollis -- there is little to suggest that the five studio LPs which make up the Talk Talk oeuvre are indeed the work of the same band throughout. After beginning their career with records which virtually epitomize the new wave era which spawned them, the British group never looked back, making significant strides with each successive album on its way to discovering a wholly unique and uncategorizable sound informed by elements of jazz, classical, and ambient music; their masterful final recordings, while neglected commercially, possess a timelessness rare among music of any genre, and in retrospect they seem the clear starting point for the post-rock movement of the 1990s.

The story of Talk Talk begins with singer/songwriter Hollis, the younger brother of Ed Hollis, a disc jockey and producer who went on to manage such punk-era bands as Eddie & the Hot Rods. Mark originally planned to become a child psychologist, but in 1975, he left university to relocate to London, eventually forming a band called the Reaction; Ed Hollis called in a few favors, and in 1977, the Reaction recorded a demo tape for Island Records. Among the tracks was a Hollis original titled "Talk Talk," which later surfaced on the Beggars Banquet punk compilation Streets. After just one single, 1978's "I Can't Resist," the Reaction disbanded, and through his brother, Hollis was first introduced to bassist Paul Webb, drummer Lee Harris, and keyboardist Simon Brenner, with whom he formed Talk Talk in 1981.

After recording a number of demos with producer Jimmy Miller, Talk Talk signed to EMI, who assigned Duran Duran producer Colin Thurston to helm their first two singles, "Mirror Man" and "Talk Talk." Clearly, EMI's intent was to mold the band in the spirit of the new romantic movement, and toward that end, they also tapped Talk Talk as the opener on Duran Duran's 1982 U.K. tour. Their debut LP, The Party's Over, was indeed a product of its times, defined by contemporary synth pop sensibilities but with an honesty and lyrical depth absent from most other records of the moment. In 1983, Talk Talk resurfaced with the single "My Foolish Friend," which in itself marked a major leap from the first record with its denser and more mature sound; the subsequent dismissal of Brenner made it plain that the band's days of relying on synthesizers were over for good.

The remainder of 1983 was spent writing and recording It's My Life, Talk Talk's breakthrough recording. The turning point was the arrival of producer and multi-instrumentalist Tim Friese-Greene, who was to remain an unofficial fourth member of the band for the remainder of its existence. In Friese-Greene, Hollis found the ideal partner to realize his ambitions; It's My Life made major strides away from The Party's Over, rejecting the debut's new wave trappings in favor of richer, more natural textures. The gambit worked, with the title track becoming a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. 1986's The Colour of Spring continued the trend, and on the strength of the smashes "Life Is What You Make of It" and "Give It Up," it became Talk Talk's best-selling album to date. A major world tour followed, with EMI allotting an enormous budget for the group's next effort.

In 1987, Talk Talk settled into an abandoned Suffolk church to begin working on their fourth LP; EMI executives eagerly awaited the finished product -- and they were to continue waiting, as the group worked far past its deadline, seemingly with no end in sight. Already well over budget, Hollis refused to allow label heads any advance tapes, and informed EMI that not only would there be no singles from the record, but that the group would be unable to recreate the complex arrangements on-stage and, as a consequence, would perform no live dates in support of the disc's release. Finally, after some 14 months in the studio, Spirit of Eden was issued to thunderous critical acclaim, albeit little commercial interest; an intricate, meditative work, it bore little resemblance to standard pop music, with its lengthy songs and spacious, organic arrangements perhaps closest in theme and texture to jazz.

With relations between EMI and Talk Talk already at their breaking point, the label made the decision to issue an edited single version of the Spirit of Eden track "I Believe in You" without the band's consent; EMI then attempted to drop the group from their roster, although their contract had not yet expired. Talk Talk then sued the label; improbably enough, EMI countersued, claiming breach of contract. The band eventually prevailed in court, later signing to Polydor to begin work on its next LP; Paul Webb subsequently left Talk Talk, and the masterful Laughing Stock was recorded primarily with guest musicians. Issued in 1991, the LP marked a complete break from convention, adopting an almost free-form aesthetic; however, it was also Talk Talk's final work -- in 1992, Webb and Harris reunited in 'O'Rang, while Hollis disappeared from view, finally issuing his self-titled solo debut in early 1998. A live Talk Talk release, London 1986, appeared in 1999.

Wikipedia:

Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World".

In their later years the band's commercial appeal receded, but their critical reputation increased as they moved from synthpop to a more experimental form. Their final two albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, were highly acclaimed and remain influential to experimental alternative rock genres, especially post-rock.

History

Beginnings and first successes (1981–1983)

Talk Talk began as a quartet consisting of Mark Hollis formerly from The Reaction (vocals), Simon Brenner (keyboards), Lee Harris (drums) and Paul Webb (bass guitar). In their early years, they were generally associated with the New Romantic movement; more specifically, they were often compared with Duran Duran, as both bands sported a name which was a single word repeated, a Roxy Music-inspired musical direction, and shared the same record label (EMI) and producer (Colin Thurston). The band also supported Duran Duran on tour in late 1981.

The band released their first single, "Mirror Man", on EMI in February 1982. The single was not a success, but was quickly followed by their self-titled single in April 1982 which reached No.52 in the UK. The band's first album, entitled The Party's Over, was released in July 1982. The band had their first UK Top 40 hits with the singles "Today" (UK #14) and a re-release of "Talk Talk" (UK #23). These singles also were hits in some other countries including Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand. The album itself was not a huge success in the UK upon release (reaching No.21), but was later certified Silver by the BPI for sales of 60,000 copies by 1985. However, it was a Top 10 hit in New Zealand.

They were introduced to a much wider live audience in October 1982 when they supported Genesis at their reunion concert with original lead singer Peter Gabriel at Milton Keynes Bowl, England.

Brenner left after the 1983 non-LP single "My Foolish Friend", which was produced by frequent Roxy Music collaborator Rhett Davies. At this point, the band replaced Brenner with unofficial fourth member Tim Friese-Greene, who became Talk Talk's keyboard player, producer, and Hollis' frequent songwriting partner. Although a major contributor to the band's studio output, Friese-Greene did not regularly play with the band during live shows or appear in publicity material.

Worldwide success (1984–1986)

Talk Talk achieved considerable international success in 1984/85, particularly in continental Europe, with the album It's My Life. The accompanying single "Such a Shame" (a song inspired by the book The Dice Man) became a Top 5 hit in Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland during this period. The title track of the album was also a top 10 hit in Italy, and made the U.S., Canadian, French, German, New Zealand and Netherlands Top 40, and a third single, "Dum Dum Girl", was a success in some European countries and in New Zealand, though the LP and its singles were largely ignored in their native UK.

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.

They eventually abandoned the New Wave style completely with The Colour of Spring in 1986. This became their biggest studio album 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". The album was also a hit internationally, featuring another Top 40 single, "Living in Another World". By this time, all Talk Talk songs were being written by Hollis and Friese-Greene. Guests on the album included Steve Winwood.

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 the Montreux Jazz Festival, released on DVD in 2008 as Live at Montreux 1986.

Later period (1988–1991)

The success of The Colour of Spring afforded the band a bigger budget and schedule for the recording of their next album. About 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. While critically praised, the album was not as commercially viable as its predecessors (though it was certified Silver by the BPI for sales of over 60,000 copies). Although the album made the UK Top 20 upon release, the band declared they would not tour in support of it.

During the making of Spirit of Eden, Talk Talk manager Keith Aspden had attempted to free the band from their recording contract with EMI. "I knew by that time that EMI was not the company this band should be with", Aspden said. "I was fearful that the money wouldn't be there to record another album." EMI, however, wished to keep the band on their roster. After many months of litigation, the band ultimately succeeded in extracting themselves from the contract. EMI then sued the band, claiming that Spirit of Eden was not "commercially satisfactory", but the case was thrown out of court.

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" 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 12 inch singles and alternative versions which made the UK Top 40, an unusually high placing for what was effectively a remixes album (it also reached the Netherlands Top 75). The band sued EMI for releasing the remixed material without their permission.

In 1990, Talk Talk signed a two-album contract with Polydor Records. They released Laughing Stock on Polydor's Verve Records imprint in 1991. By this time, Webb had left the group and Talk Talk had morphed into what was essentially a brand name for the studio recordings of Hollis and Friese-Greene, along with a bevy of session studio players (including long-term Talk Talk drummer Harris, who featured intermittently). Laughing Stock crystallised the experimental sound the band started with Spirit of Eden (which has been retroactively categorised as "post-rock" by some critics). Laughing Stock adopted an even more minimalist style than its predecessor, and peaked at #26 in the UK Albums Chart.

Break up

After Laughing Stock, Talk Talk disbanded in 1992, as Hollis wished to focus on his children. Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris, and the two went on to form 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. Hollis 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, while Lee Harris featured on the Bark Psychosis 2004 album, ///Codename: Dustsucker.

Legacy and influence

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. Sigur Rós has played Talk Talk songs before their shows.

Bands and artists that have claimed to be influenced by and/or a fan of Talk Talk include Portishead, Bark Psychosis, Catherine Wheel, Radiohead, DJ Shadow, Elbow, Shearwater and Death Cab for Cutie. The band Weezer covered their song "Life's What You Make It" and No Doubt scored a hit with a cover of "It's My Life" in 2003. John Taylor of Duran Duran also has expressed fondness for the group; Talk Talk opened for Duran Duran back in 1982. Guy Garvey of the band Elbow has said: "Mark Hollis started from punk and by his own admission he had no musical ability. To go from only having the urge, to writing some of the most timeless, intricate and original music ever is as impressive as the moon landings for me."

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