Talk Talk (RIP Mark Hollis)

I'm sure he makes ok money from royalties, that No Doubt cover of Its My Life is on the radio every five minutes still (or was the last time I listened to 'modern rock radio') and he doesn't strike me as someone who needs to live in luxury.

That noisey article led me to discover that Hollis played piano on UNKLE’s “Chaos”, which is a song I love and a pretty good, characteristic way to go out (if indeed that proves to be one of his final credits).

Was playing Laughing Stock the other morning when my wife's visiting 70 year old stepdad came down for coffee. He poured himself a cup, sat down, perked his weak ears, tilted his head and said, boy, this sure is pretty.

:)

ears clearly are not that weak

Love that

nice

It sure is

Paul Webb album out next year on Domino!

https://www.thewire.co.uk/news/53053/rustin-man-debuts-on-domino

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyrGv1d8gFk

sounds pretty good to me, his vocals are somewhere between hollis and wyatt

Sweet.

We're delighted to announce a new album from Rustin Man, aka Paul Webb, formerly of Talk Talk. Drift Code will be released 1st Feb 2019 & follows his superb first release Out Of Season; the collaborative album with Beth Gibbons.
Pre-order Drift Code here https://t.co/EEeQvyKt73 pic.twitter.com/Qiwo2uUIx0

— Domino Recording Co (@Dominorecordco) November 15, 2018

hoping for some juicy hollis updates when he does the promo interviews for this

"Nope, still chilling and being a mystic."

he's been decreasing the number of colors in his life and is now down to two

Is it Webb who sings on some of the orang tracks? Nice voice. Psyched for this!

new song sounds like the Guess Who

The only song I ever heard by this band before tonight was, duh, "It's My Life," but I just got high and texted a friend and he said I should listen to Laughing Stock. What's interesting to me right now is that it's almost the opposite of what I thought anything else by this band would sound like - I mean, I'd been hearing it was some kind of masterpiece for a while now but I figured it would sound at least something like their one (US) hit. Also it fucking rules. And I hate the "ahead of its time" cliche, but I'm honestly shocked this record was released in 1991.

hehe, sounds like the perfect introduction to late career Talk Talk

From that Wire item:

He's previously worked under the name once before

Not true: he also used it for his work on James Yorkston's The Year of the Loeopard.

hadn't realised Rustin Man was a person or that he had a past in Talk Talk. I thought they were Beth Gibbons backing band.
Now i need to finally get that even more.

He sounds a lot like Bill Fay on this. Can't decide if I like it or not. It's very earnest.

Reading the Pitchfork review of Spirit of Eden today got me wondering: is there a decent book out there on Talk Talk?

(Spirit of Talk Talk comes up on Google although it seems none of the band were involved with it)

Phil Brown’s book is perhaps the best you’ll get other than Spirit of Talk Talk. Surely a good contender for a 33 1/3 series.

I've only discovered the glory that is Spirit of Eden in the last year. It's frustratingly impossible to find a place to legally download or stream Laughing Stock in Australia right now though.

An absolutely tragic day.

Mark Hollis has passed.

Very sorry to hear the news that #MarkHollis of #TalkTalk has died. He was behind some of the finest albums of the 1980s / early 1990s. R.I.P. pic.twitter.com/IoTuAkGCUf

— THE THE (@thethe) February 25, 2019

There was a rumor or two yesterday but nothing concrete so I held off. But if Matt Johnson's saying it...

oh shit :-(

dammit

:(

shit, RIP

Literally just listened to his solo album for the first time in years last night 😢

fuuuuuuck

No, why? He was still so young. I was always hoping that they reunite one day and make another "Spirit of Eden".

anyone else confirming this yet?

My understanding from a tweet yesterday was cancer, but nothing more specific than that.

Graham Sutton is saying it now as well.

I have just heard the heartbreaking news that #MarkHollis has died. Mark's music has meant everything to me over my lifetime. RIP.

— Graham • Sutton (@GPSutton) February 25, 2019

Agreed on the reunion hopes. Very sad news.

what the fuck, oh no

Fuck, this is horrible.

hope his last 20 years were peaceful tbh

Well this is a horrible shock, Spirit Of Eden was a gateway record for me into jazz, ambient and more (not that it was anything other than sui generis really). RIP to one of the innovators.

Holy shit.

:-(

I'm so sad.

i have never wept for the death of someone i did not know personally. but when i just put on the solo album and listened to the following lines of the first song:

"I've lived a life
For wealth to bring
And yet I'll gaze
At the colour of spring
Immerse in that one moment
Left in love with everything"

there was no way to stop the tears. this is so unbelievably sad. what a loss.

i definitely have not listened enough to that album. i always found it too depressive, too uninviting. but it is absolutely breathtaking, of course.

ugh this sucks, rip

So sad to hear this, RIP

Celebrity death notices tend to leave me cold, no matter how much I appreciate the singer/musician in question, but this time I just can't shrug it off. He made some of the most meaningful and moving music I will ever hear in my life. RIP.