Biography of Talk Talk

At the outset of their career, Talk Talk was pegged as a synth-pop group, but as their career progressed, and as New Wave fell by the wayside, it became clear had more in common with the ambient explorations of Brian Eno than the dance-pop of Duran Duran. Formed in England in 1981, Talk Talk comprised Mark Hollis (vocals), Simon Brenner (keyboards), Paul Webb (bass), and Lee Harris (drums). They were quickly signed to EMI, Duran Duran's record label. Since they relied on synthesizers, some observers labelled Talk Talk as a "new romantic" and their first two hits -- "Talk Talk" and "Today" -- were classic examples of synth-pop. Both songs became hits in 1982 and their debut album, The Party's Over, was also a success. Despite being aligned with the New Wave, Talk Talk was darker and more experimental than any synth-pop group, which became evident with the group's second album, 1984's It's My Life.Talk Talk began recording their second album after they completed an extensive US tour with Elvis Costello in 1983. Shortly after the tour, Brenner left the band. Hollis took control of the lineup and masterminded It's My Life, a record that established their cult by selling over million copies in Europe. Two years later, the group returned with The Colour of Spring, an adventurous, progressive album which clearly separated Talk Talk from the legions of New Romantics they were initially grouped with. Although some critics didn't notice the change, The Colour of Spring earned the group their best reviews yet and out-sold It's My Life. As Talk Talk was recording their fourth album, EMI failed to exercise their option of the band's contract, thereby dropping the group from their label. The group filed a lawsuit against the label and began looking for a new home when EMI sued them for breach of contract. Talk Talk wound up winning their legal battle but their fourth album, Spirit of Eden, had to be released on EMI in 1988. The label gave the record no support and it sold modestly, despite uniformly strong reviews. It would later be viewed by many fans as one of the group's best records. Following the release of Spirit of Eden, every major label -- with the exception of EMI, of course -- was competing to sign Talk Talk. They settled for Polydor, which gave Mark Hollis complete artistic freedom. As the band was working on their fifth album, Paul Webb and Lee Harris left the group; in 1993, the pair formed O'Rang. Laughing Stock was released to positive reviews in 1991. That same year, EMI released a Talk Talk remix collection History Revisited which was compiled and released without the band's knowledge or permission. History Revisted was a sequel to the previous year's Natural History. Although the entire History project was a success -- spawning three hit singles and selling over a million albums -- the band sued the label for the unauthorized release of History Revisted. The band won their lawsuit, and the remix masters were destroyed.As Hollis spent the next several years working on the sixth Talk Talk record, EMI released The Very Best of Talk Talk in January 1997. Talk Talk was scheduled to release a new album in late 1997. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine