Talk Talk / Mark Hollis

JerryHandbag

Any fans here??

Got into them a few years ago, bought their albums in chronological order and was amazed at how they made the transition from what was basically a Duran Duran style synthpop sound, to an experimental sound that was said to have influenced the whole post-rock movement.

Spirit of Eden is a superb record.

And lead singer Mark Hollis one and only solo album is also a thing of beauty.

loyatemu

they certainly took an odd career path - their last couple of albums have been quite influential on post-rock and electronica. Even their synth-pop stuff was pretty good though.

pappyodaniel

I'm only aware of their hits like Life's what you make it and It's my life

Would they be worth getting into?

mike65

Saddest voice on the planet! Talk Talk is well worth the time and trouble to get to know and there are only 5 albums to get to grips with.

JerryHandbag

pappyodaniel wrote: »

I'm only aware of their hits like Life's what you make it and It's my life

Would they be worth getting into?

I think so yes, altough their later stuff isn't for everyone, certainly not chart bothering material!! I just admire the way they changed their sound so much from album 1 to album 5

Dizraeligears

Laughing Stock is great too

BurnsCarpenter

Great band.

Probably my favourite song of theirs, wasn't on any studio album:

ojwhite

Yes, Talk Talk are absolutely incredible. Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock would probably have to rate in the top ten albums I've ever heard. Mark Hollis isn't bad. I actually prefer the Talk Talk record before Spirit - The Colour Of Spring.

Delighted to see there are fans on this forum.

Dazd_N_Confusd

I remember listening to the whole of Laughing Stock on Youtube and was so impressed (rare for me to be so impressed on first listen) I bought it the next day.

Spirit Of Eden is very good too. I'm interested in getting their earlier material, even if it's markedly different.

Not to mention this class tune!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXQYyKzyDaE

thegreengoblin

Thought I'd bump this. It's a good time to be a Talk Talk fan. The Colour of Spring and Spirit of Eden are being re-released on vinyl/dvd packages next week and there is also a special tribute album and book set for release next month. Although the full list of artists covering their songs has yet to be announced, there is a website set up which gives us a few hints of what's coming... http://spiritoftalktalk.com/

There's also lots of great stuff about them on the Talk Talk & Mark Hollis Facebook page.

Having been intrigued by the band through the late 80s, I bought Laughing Stock on tape in 1991 and I haven't looked back since. Their music is joyful and spellbinding. For those who haven't discovered Talk Talk yet I urge you to do so right now!

Scubadevils

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Thought I'd bump this. It's a good time to be a Talk Talk fan. The Colour of Spring and Spirit of Eden are being re-released on vinyl/dvd packages next week and there is also a special tribute album and book set for release next month. Although the full list of artists covering their songs has yet to be announced, there is a website set up which gives us a few hints of what's coming... http://spiritoftalktalk.com/

There's also lots of great stuff about them on the Talk Talk & Mark Hollis Facebook page.

Having been intrigued by the band through the late 80s, I bought Laughing Stock on tape in 1991 and I haven't looked back since. Their music is joyful and spellbinding. For those who haven't discovered Talk Talk yet I urge you to do so right now!

Only own these on CD at the moment but look forward to picking up the vinyl reissues, quality albums.

cranks

Colour of Spring & Spirt of Eden - both sublime albums.

Their drummer Lee Harris is featured on Bark Psychosis' Codename: Dustsucker album. Another great album that really made me appreciate all the more Harris' contribution to these 2 Talk Talk albums. If you're into this era Talk Talk do check out this BP album.

SilverScreen

cranks wrote: »

Colour of Spring & Spirt of Eden - both sublime albums.

Their drummer Lee Harris is featured on Bark Psychosis' Codename: Dustsucker album. Another great album that really made me appreciate all the more Harris' contribution to these 2 Talk Talk albums. If you're into this era Talk Talk do check out this BP album.

Spirit Of Eden, Laughing Stock and Colour Of Spring are amazing albums. The production and sparseness of the music is captivating and keeps you coming back for more and more. They sounded like a very original and unique band during their later period.

Bark Psychosis were a great band. I prefer their debut album Hex though, the whole late night ambience that the album provokes is amazing and very reminiscent of the last two Talk Talk albums. Also their Game Over compilation which collects some of their non-album material is well worth checking out.

AhrSkidar

Seem best to post to this thread rather than start a new one.

If you like Talk Talk and have a nice coffee table this could be the book for it: http://spiritoftalktalk.com/

I've no involvement in the book, other than just ordering one. Not out til September so hopefully they'll remember me then.

woof im a dog

i still dont know what to make of talk talk, its taking awhile to get my head around spirit of eden

SilverScreen

woof im a dog wrote: »

i still dont know what to make of talk talk, its taking awhile to get my head around spirit of eden

Spirit Of Eden and Laughing Stock take a few listens to get into, but both are incredible albums. Their first two albums are more poppy and accessible, but probably the best Talk Talk album to start with is Colour Of Spring. It bridges the gap between the two periods of the band very well, if you want poppier stuff move back, if you want more experimental stuff move forward.

dd972

Superb band, lived in The Netherlands for a while and '' Such a Shame'' is still big on commercial radio there and Germany.

Only got majorly into them in the last few years, was a schoolkid when they were out first time round, whilst knowing of them, back then you didn't have all the YouTube means of digging into bands musical archives like youngsters do now.

Can't see them reforming though, looks like Mark Hollis has turned his back on music

thegreengoblin

dd972 wrote: »

Superb band, lived in The Netherlands for a while and '' Such a Shame'' is still big on commercial radio there and Germany.

Only got majorly into them in the last few years, was a schoolkid when they were out first time round, whilst knowing of them, back then you didn't have all the YouTube means of digging into bands musical archives like youngsters do now.

Can't see them reforming though, looks like Mark Hollis has turned his back on music

Apparently not!

http://pitchfork.com/news/47680-talk-talks-mark-hollis-resurfaces-with-new-music-for-the-kelsey-grammer-tv-show-boss/

I know the music being released was recorded a while ago but who knows...maybe this is the start of a comeback.

Rothko

I've been listening to Talk Talk quite a bit lately. Spirit Of Eden is a fantastic album. I've yet to give Laughing Stock a listen though.

markesmith

Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock are criminally underrated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuYNidNgQic

thegreengoblin

Let's keep this thread going all you Talk Talk fans!

Did anyone listen to the small piece of music Mark Hollis did for that Kelsey Grammar show Boss? Very intriguing I thought. Has anyone heard any news of more music on the way?

If by bumping this post and even one person gets to hear this song for the first time and enjoy it then it's job done...Now, excuse me while I go off to shed a quiet tear!

seachto7

Spirit of Eden is an excellent ambitious album. Need to get Laughing Stock.

thegreengoblin

seachto7 wrote: »

Spirit of Eden is an excellent ambitious album. Need to get Laughing Stock.

You should, it's an amazing album. I always get something new out of it every time I hear it. Same with Spirit of Eden, which I have been listening to a lot lately...hence my trying to revive the thread!

iomega

Spirit of eden is great. Especially loud when you can hear every little creek.

seachto7

I only have Spirit of Eden on MP3. Might be worth a CD purchase...

loyatemu

seachto7 wrote: »

I only have Spirit of Eden on MP3. Might be worth a CD purchase...

I'd say its a record that would sound good on vinyl (I actually have their greatest hits record on vinyl, but don't own a turntable any more).

SilverScreen

The Colour of Spring sounds amazing on vinyl.

thegreengoblin

Apparently Mark Hollis has died. It's unconfirmed for now but awful news if it's true.

Anesthetize

This is being reported everywhere, still no official confirmation. I'll be devastated if this is confirmed, those last three Talk Talk albums have had a huge impact on me.

thegreengoblin

Confirmed by a family member it seems.

https://twitter.com/globalhlthtwit/status/1100077058372366342

Zeek12

RIP.

I was listening to Spirit of Eden again for first time in ages just yesterday.
A superb album.

Anesthetize

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Confirmed by a family member it seems.

https://twitter.com/globalhlthtwit/status/1100077058372366342

Damn

RIP

NapoleonInRags

I listened to Colour of Spring three times over the weekend- having just bought it on vinyl in Freebird last week. Terrible news

Rothko

RIP. Love Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock. Two albums unlike anything else I've ever heard.

Owl.

Awful news.

AhrSkidar

There was always the vague hope of something new - sadly not to be. The pop stuff was great and the later work was pure genius. RIP.

loyatemu

He was only 64. Particularly sad as he'd retired from music to live a quiet life with his family.

Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock are rightly lauded as groundbreaking albums, but I also think The Colour of Spring is as good an alt-rock album as any released in the 80s. If you haven't seen it, check out their performance at the Montreux festival from 1986 on YouTube, they were a cracking live band and Hollis is a great vocalist/frontman.

Richard Roma

Where’s a good place to start with Talk Talk?

loyatemu

Richard Roma wrote: »

Where’s a good place to start with Talk Talk?

the "Natural History" compilation is a good chronological summary of their career.

of their actual albums, probably "The Colour of Spring" which is the midpoint between their poppy early material and the more experimental direction they went in afterwards.

return guide

Damn I was sure when his family were raised we would here from him again.
A great loss, RIP.

Tchaikovsky

Brilliant band. Condolences to his family and hopefully this opens his work up to more people.

bullpost

Watched their performance at the Montreux festival from 1986 on YouTube over the weekend.

Its just a fantastic concert with some brilliant performances.