My dog died yesterday and last night and this morning I was singing spirit to myself to console myself, not playing it out loud just playing it in my head. I can’t believe this.
All my love to you during this exceptionally difficult time.
BTW, Richard Blade of SiriusXM's First Wave channel paid tribute to Mark Hollis this afternoon.
― The Colour of Spring (deethelurker), Monday, 25 February 2019 22:56 (five years ago) link
"Mark was the main songwriter of some truly great songs” @TalkTalk pic.twitter.com/beH4kGPcmA— Duran Duran (@duranduran) February 25, 2019
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 25 February 2019 23:30 (five years ago) link
spirit how long
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Monday, 25 February 2019 23:53 (five years ago) link
giftedstolen
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Monday, 25 February 2019 23:59 (five years ago) link
RIP.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 00:22 (five years ago) link
Another facet of the man -- turns out he was a motorcyclist.
Appalled. A good mate. Was riding with him and a bunch of others only last March...seemed fit well and was delighted with his recent house move. Massive condolences to the family. He laughed when I said his music would be played at my funeral... Blue skies Mark.— Adrian Butcher (@adebika) February 25, 2019
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 00:31 (five years ago) link
Correcting that -- a bicyclist (which makes far more sense).
I saw that too. It gladdened me.
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 01:15 (five years ago) link
Surprised how few places (relatively speaking) I've seen covering his passing. Somehow I think that's almost how he would want it?
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 02:32 (five years ago) link
for me this news has gradually converted from weird-feeling to totally devastating. i just put on "renée" and i find it hard to believe a songwriter of this caliber ever existed
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 02:33 (five years ago) link
xp as whiney speculated on the pitchfork thread, maybe the lack of coverage is because his death hasn't been confirmed yet. but yeah, it does feel weird because it became pretty widely known several hours ago
― Karl Malone, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 02:39 (five years ago) link
this band was fucking incredible and mark hollis was incredible
― you know who deserves sitewide mod privileges? (m bison), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 03:01 (five years ago) link
on my fb timeline it's close to when bowie and prince died.
― Acting Crazy (Instrumental) (jed_), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 03:04 (five years ago) link
Need to admit that I never listened to an entire album of theirs before, despite liking "New Grass". I just listened to Laughing Stock and really liked it. (I don't really know what I was on about years ago on this thread tbh.)
― oh, shut up and listen, will you? (Sund4r), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 03:09 (five years ago) link
where have all the visionaries gone.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 03:50 (five years ago) link
in the last three years:
david axelrod bowie prince
now mark.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 03:53 (five years ago) link
Talk Talk are a band that I've been listening to for 25 years now. One of those rare bands that have outlasted every different musical phase I've had. I listened to The Colour Of Spring, Spirit Of Eden and Laughing Stock today and felt very emotional. Three of the greatest albums ever created.
RIP Mark.
― kitchen person, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 03:54 (five years ago) link
listening back to his solo record from 1998. the first two minutes of 'the daily planet' could be mistaken for an outtake from the most recent julia holter record.
just how truly innovative he was is still yet to be understood i reckon.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 05:15 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mTlYPEH3jIi think it is an important point he made here about talk talk's late music being totally spontaneous and loose and at the same time very deeply textured.
― Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 05:37 (five years ago) link
never heard him speak before. actually, i've never even SEEN him before (i missed his pop 'it's my life'-era hey day). what a lovely guy. :(
― Karl Malone, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 05:45 (five years ago) link
Hi Ned, have you seen any social media posts that confirm that? It's oddly important to me to know about this (not just as an insight into his life but also almost all the Hollis fans I've known irl have been cyclists of one sort or another). That previous tweet you posted was definitely from a motorcyclist from the looks of his twitter profile.
― goats eat grandma (NickB), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 05:50 (five years ago) link
it's surprising, given t he qualities of his singing voice, that hollis had such a strong north london accent.
― affects breves telnet (Gummy Gummy), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 06:28 (five years ago) link
or surprising to me, anyway.
― affects breves telnet (Gummy Gummy), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 06:29 (five years ago) link
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 07:19 (five years ago) link
Given the references upthread, I would assume Steve Winwood was a strong vocal influence, at least later on
― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 07:20 (five years ago) link
The late Talk Talk albums are the ones that get all the attention, but while their earlier music is unfashionable with critics and chinstrokers, they were fucking good at pop, too. 'Talk Talk' is as good as anything on Rio, and played better. A fine group of musicians.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 07:26 (five years ago) link
Just listening to everything now, again. "After the Flood" is still wondrous. Thanks for it all, Mark.
― Sam Weller, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 09:42 (five years ago) link
"Lifes What You Make It" is great pop
― . (Michael B), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 11:27 (five years ago) link
Listening to The Party's Over at the moment. There's some great songs on it - just love Mark's singing voice.
― groovypanda, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 11:48 (five years ago) link
Nice piece by lex over on the Guardian site:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/26/mark-hollis-talk-talk-reluctant-pop-star-who-redefined-rock
― groovypanda, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 13:13 (five years ago) link
THAT'S NOT LEX
― See me in mi heels an' tinge (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 13:14 (five years ago) link
OMG LOLz
― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 13:21 (five years ago) link
if this was any other thread that'd be much funnier
i have succumbed to listening. my choice was 'life's what you make it'. the later stuff....not now
― imago, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 13:23 (five years ago) link
Lex does not strike me as a fan.
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 13:27 (five years ago) link
Shit, I always thought that was who lex was for some reason.
I'm on Asides Besides now. John Cope is fantastic.
― groovypanda, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 13:27 (five years ago) link
For once I'm glad lex isn't here to find out he's been confused with Petridish all this time.
― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 13:28 (five years ago) link
Seems official now:
"Sadly it's true," said Mark Hollis' former manager Keith Aspden. "Mark has died after a short illness from which he never recovered." News: @BBCNewsEnts report https://t.co/iMdcUlXksm#MarkHollis Obituary: https://t.co/nvrALusFY5 pic.twitter.com/q8Z7ygzDus— BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) February 26, 2019
― groovypanda, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 13:29 (five years ago) link
That obit has some quotes and bits I’ve never heard before.
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 14:22 (five years ago) link
somehow i'd totally missed that he said he'd studied at sussex. if true, he would probably have been in the same year as billy idol (also born in 1955; he dropped out after just a year too). hillary benn and nigel planer would've been knocking around on campus at the same time. visions of them all sharing a house just like in the young ones...
― goats eat grandma (NickB), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 15:09 (five years ago) link
Curious about him going to Southend Tech, as per the tweet below. Paul Webb also has photos from his "childhood stomping ground" Southend on his Instagram. Were they partly Essesx boys then? I always thought Norf London.
I've often recalled how #MarkHollis made us weep with laughter from the back of our maths class at Southend Tech. I've always found it kind of mind boggling that I was around someone for a short while who went on to make such achingly gorgeous music.— jojo90 (@jonathanjo90) February 25, 2019
― Position Position, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 16:07 (five years ago) link
wilko johnson made an essex-y tweet about him yesterday, but it looks like it's deleted now
― goats eat grandma (NickB), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 16:34 (five years ago) link
did enjoy looking looking at these pictures and imagining the life lived therein
Mark Hollis's piano room. pic.twitter.com/bMYL7rjKfJ— Colour of Spring (@colourofspring) February 25, 2019
Mark Hollis's living room. #RIP Thanks to Mark Hollis for introducing me to Satie, Debussy and Can. pic.twitter.com/yMKrqGD9Qy— Colour of Spring (@colourofspring) February 25, 2019
― goats eat grandma (NickB), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 16:35 (five years ago) link
no idea as to their authenticity btw (were they published somewhere previously?)
― goats eat grandma (NickB), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 16:41 (five years ago) link
Graham Sutton of Bark Psychosis:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuWgmWgg5D6/
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 16:42 (five years ago) link
someone said something similar upthread but they are one of the most *ILX* bands to me, I vaguely knew who they were and knew "It's My Life" and "Life's What You Make It" but I guess I didn't really know them anymore than like Flock of Seagulls or The Call or any other band with a couple of new wave hits I dug...
ILX talk got me interested and I bought the reissue of Spirit of Eden and was hooked on that album for a couple of months...just staggering to me still
Though today I'm going through the early stuff and as Turrican said its' really good! It's My Life minus a couple of poppier numbers is actually kind of a strange new wave record...also the mournfulness in his voice couldn't really be contained, there's a sadness to it all to me, even the stuff that seems really dated --- and as new wave qua new wave they were really great songwriters and arrangers
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 16:47 (five years ago) link
Two other good Guardian pieces -- Jude Rogers on Hollis as withdrawn outsider:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/26/mark-hollis-talk-talk-singer
Graeme Thomson on Hollis as English gospel singer:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/26/a-sacred-voice-mark-hollis-sang-the-english-gospel
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 17:18 (five years ago) link
Three, I should say!
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/26/talk-talk-mark-holliss-ambition-co-existed-with-commercial-success
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 17:30 (five years ago) link
where does the biographical bit about his brother and "I Believe in You" in the Petridis piece come from?
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 17:31 (five years ago) link
Here perhaps? https://onlyrockandroll.london/2017/03/15/too-much-too-soon-ed-hollis-and-speedball-records/
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 17:37 (five years ago) link
I just lost it when the coda appears on Time It's Time. And here I thought this would be a "safe" album for the office.
― doug watson, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 19:03 (five years ago) link