Talk Talk

Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). 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".

Talk Talk achieved widespread critical success in the UK and elsewhere in Europe as a new wave band with the album The Colour of Spring (1986) and 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 the band switched to Polydor for their final studio album, 1991's Laughing Stock, which elaborated further on the style of Spirit of Eden. However, the band split soon afterwards. Hollis released an eponymous solo album in 1998 before retiring from the music industry; he died in 2019. Webb and Harris played in several bands together, including .O.rang; long-term collaborator Tim Friese-Greene continued in the music business as a musician and producer.

History

1981–1983: Formation

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 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, The Party's Over, was released in July 1982. They 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 were also hits in other countries, including Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The re-release of the "Talk Talk" single reached the US Top 75. The album was produced by Colin Thurston, who was Duran Duran's in-house EMI producer at 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 were a trio, as Brenner was never officially replaced. 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, 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 the touring band on live dates, and was absent from the band's publicity material.