Mark Hollis of Talk Talk, one of our most favorite 80’s bands, is no more. By the time these lines are written, -and while the information about the artist’s passing is limited-, no official confirmation has come to surface by Hollis’ official channels yet. The sad news came from author/academic Anthony Costello, who states Hollis is part of his extended family, and this is his tweet: “RIP Mark Hollis. Cousin-in-law. Wonderful husband and father. Fascinating and principled man. Retired from the music business 20 years ago but an indefinable musical icon.”
Mark Hollis co-founded the group in 1981, with Lee Harris and Paul Webb, being the main song-writer, -and singer-, of anthems like ‘It’s My Life‘, ‘Talk Talk‘ & ‘Such A Shame‘. But Talk Talk, were not just the first 3 albums, ‘The Party’s Over‘, ‘It’s My Life‘ and ‘The Colour of Spring‘ (the initial step away from synth-pop), since after their commercial success with their impeccable new wave/synth-pop style, they changed direction. The least popular, 1988’s ‘Spirit Of Eden‘ & 1991’s ‘Laughing Stock‘ revealed their masterful musicianship, with their exceptional minimal art-rock/experimental sound conquering (“post-rock innovators”) and leaving aside their pop identity.
The band ultimately broke up in 1992, and Hollis released a self-titled solo album in 1998.
‘Such a shame to believe in escape
A life on every face
And that’s a change
‘Til I’m finally left with an eight
Tell me to relax, I just stare
Maybe I don’t know if I should change
A feeling that we share
It’s a shame‘
Thank you for the tunes Mark….
Christos Doukakis
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