Talk Talk
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
"Such a Shame" was inspired by Luke Rhinehart's The Dice Man, one of composer Mark Hollis' favourite books. When asked what drove him to respond to Rhinehart's book, Hollis replied, "A good book, not a lifestyle I'd recommend." --Sholem Stein |
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Talk Talk were an English rock band known for such compositions "It's My Life" (1984), "Life's What You Make It" (1985) and "Such a Shame" (1984) and "The Rainbow" (1988). Formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass), the group achieved early chart success before moving towards more experimental music in the mid-1980s, pioneering what became known as post-rock.
Friction with the band's label, EMI, resulted in legal action and countersuing. Webb departed, and the band switched to Polydor for their final album, 1991's Laughing Stock, but split soon afterwards. Singer Mark Hollis released one solo album in 1998 before retiring from the music industry. The band's founding bass player and drummer, Paul Webb and Lee Harris, played in several bands together; long-term collaborator Tim Friese-Greene continued in the business as a musician and producer. Talk Talk saw a mild resurgence in popularity after the band No Doubt covered "It's My Life" in 2003.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | US | AT | CA | FRA | ES | GER | ITA | NL | NO | NZ | AUS | SWE | SWI | FIN | BE | |||||||||||
| 1982 | The Party's Over | 21 | 132 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 94 | 47 | – | – | – | |||||||||
| 1984 | It's My Life | 35 | 42 | – | 59 | 12 | – | 4 | 10 | 3 | – | 27 | – | 49 | 2 | – | – | |||||||||
| 1986 | The Colour of Spring | 8 | 58 | 16 | 14 | – | 5 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 71 | 25 | 3 | 15 | 9 | |||||||||
| 1988 | Spirit of Eden | 19 | – | – | – | – | – | 16 | 30 | 32 | – | – | – | – | 12 | – | 3 | |||||||||
| 1991 | Laughing Stock | 26 | – | – | – | 26 | – | – | – | 60 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
Live albums
- London 1986 (Hammersmith Odeon) (1998)
