Talk
Talk - Today excerpt (
Success
Talk Talk had a huge success in 1984/85 in continental Europe with the
album It's My Life.
While still accessible, this LP slowly moved the band away from "New
Wave" towards a more experimental sound. The accompanying single "Such
a Shame" (a song inspired by the book The
Dice Man) became a major hit and a number one
in several countries during this period, and an icon for many New Wave European
listeners. The aforementioned title cut was also a big hit. But,
strangely, this album and its singles
were relatively ignored in their native UK,
even though they maintained a substantial cult following.
They eventually abandoned the New Wave style completely
with the minor classic The
Colour of Spring in 1986. This became their biggest studio album
success in the UK, partly thanks to the Top 20 single "Life's What You
Make It", and was again a hit album in Europe, featuring another Top 40 single:
"Living in Another World". By this time, all Talk Talk songs were being
written by Hollis and Friese-Greene. Guests on the album included Steve
Winwood.
Later period
The success of The Colour of Spring
afforded the band an open budget and schedule for the recording of
their next album. About a year in the making, and featuring
contributions from many outside musicians, Spirit
of Eden was released in 1988. The album was
assembled from many hours of improvised instrumentation that Hollis and
Friese-Greene had edited and arranged using digital equipment. The
result was a mix of rock, jazz, classical, and ambient music. While
critically praised, the album was not as commercially viable as its
predecessors, and the band declared they would not tour in support of
it.
During the making of Spirit of Eden,
Talk Talk manager Keith Aspden had attempted to free the band from
their recording contract with EMI. "I knew by that
time that EMI was not the company this band should be with," Aspden
said. "I was fearful that the money wouldn't be there to record another
album."
EMI, however, wished to keep the band on their roster.
After many months of litigation, the band ultimately succeeded in
extracting themselves from the contract. EMI then sued the band,
claiming that Spirit of Eden was not "commercially
satisfactory," but the case was thrown out of court.
In 1990, Talk Talk agreed to a two-album contract with Polydor. They
released Laughing Stock
on the Verve Records imprint in 1991. By this
time, Webb had left the group. Talk Talk had by then morphed into what
was essentially a brand name for the studio
recordings of
Hollis and Friese-Greene, along with a bevy of session studio players
(including long-term Talk Talk drummer Harris). Laughing Stock
crystallised the experimental sound the band started with Spirit
of Eden (which has been retroactively categorised as "post-rock"
by some critics). Laughing Stock adopted an even
more minimalist style than its predecessor, but this did not stop it
achieving a respectable Top 30 showing in the UK
Albums Chart.
With the band now released from EMI, the label released
the retrospective compilation Natural History
in 1990. Surprisingly, it went on to sell over one million copies in Britain
alone and rose to number 3 in the UK album chart. The 1984 single "It's
My Life" was also re-released, and this time became the band's biggest
success in their native country, making number 13 in the UK
Singles Chart. Following up on this renewed popular interest in the
band, the label released History
Revisited in 1991, a compilation of 12 inch singles
and alternative versions which made the Top 40, an unusually high
showing for a remix album. The band sued EMI for remixing their
material without permission.
Breakup and aftermath
After Laughing Stock, Talk Talk
disbanded. Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris, and the two went on to form
the band .O.rang,
while Tim Friese-Greene started recording under the name Heligoland.
In 1998, Mark Hollis released his self-titled solo début Mark
Hollis, which was very much in keeping with the
minimalist post-rock sound of Spirit of Eden and Laughing
Stock.
Webb also collaborated under the name of Rustin Man
with Beth Gibbons and released Out
of Season in 2002, while Harris featured on the Bark
Psychosis 2004
album, ///Codename: Dustsucker.
In 2002, German 80s pop sensation Sandra
released a cover version of "Such a Shame" which
became a minor hit in Germany but reached the Top 20 and Top 30 in
Hungary and Czech Republic respectively. Also in 2002 the song "Life's
What You Make It" was featured in the Rockstar
Games video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice
City.
In 2003, No Doubt released a cover version of "It's
My Life" which became a major international hit.
Selected discography
-
Main article: Talk
Talk discography
- 1982: The Party's Over
- 1984: It's
My Life
- 1986: The
Colour of Spring
- 1988: Spirit of Eden
- 1991: Laughing Stock
Notes
-
Irvin, "Paradise Regained," 54.
-
Neiss.
-
Tape Op
External links
References
