Mark Hollis frontman of the new wave band TALK TALK has passed away at age 64. Today the music world has lost a pioneer and legend. -DjPaulT
Talk Talk’s influence upon musicians has exceeded the band’s visibility among the general public. Along with the band Slint, Talk Talk is credited with inventing “post-rock” in their last two albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock. The artists who have praised the band or cited them as an influence include Tears for Fears, Matthew Good, Elbow, Shearwater, M83, Bark Psychosis, Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, Storm Corrosion (a joint project between Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt and Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson), Steve Hogarth of Marillion, Richard Barbieri of Japan and Porcupine Tree, and Death Cab for Cutie.
The bands Placebo, Weezer, The Divine Comedy and The Gathering covered their song “Life’s What You Make It” and No Doubt scored a global hit with a cover of “It’s My Life” in 2003. Guy Garvey of the band Elbow 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.”
A tribute album and anthological book, both titled Spirit of Talk Talk, were released in 2012. The book includes all the artwork James Marsh did for the band, and hand-written lyrics (by the band). The album includes covers by various artists, proceeds going to the conservation organization BirdLife International.
Hollis and Talk Talk continue to be praised as artists who did not cave into the pressures of corporate and commercial interests. Says Alan McGee, “I find the whole story of one man against the system in a bid to maintain creative control incredibly heartening.” – source Wikipedia
