Talk Talk - Talk Talk 1982

Top quality video recorded from Top Of The Pops 1982. Talk Talk was an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World". In their later years the band's commercial appeal receded, and their critical reputation increased as they moved from synthpop to a more experimental form. Their last two albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, were highly acclaimed and remain influential to experimental alternative rock genres. Talk Talk began as a quartet consisting of Mark Hollis (vocals), Simon Brenner (keyboards), Lee Harris (drums) and Paul Webb (bass guitar). They were generally associated with the New Romantic movement; more specifically, in their early years, they were often compared with Duran Duran, as both bands not only featured a double-barrelled name and a Roxy Music-inspired musical direction, but also shared the same record label (EMI) and producer (Colin Thurston). Talk Talk's first line-up released a self-titled debut EP in 1982 which was quickly expanded into a full-length album entitled The Party's Over, typical for what Allmusic called a "slavishly derivative, Duran Duran-styled, new romantic synthpop band." The band charted in the UK Top 40 with the singles "Talk Talk" (a remake of the 1977 song "Talk Talk Talk Talk" by The Reaction, released on Beggars Banquet Records' compilation album "Streets") and "Today", both produced by Thurston (whose other production credits include The Human League, Duran Duran and Kajagoogoo). The album itself was not a huge success upon release, but was later certified Silver by the BPI for sales of 60,000 copies by 1985. They were introduced to a much wider live audience in October 1982 when they supported a Genesis reunion concert in Milton Keynes Bowl, England. However, the reaction of the audience to their New Romantic guise that day was one more of hostility than mild acceptance, as Mark Hollis spent a lot of time on stage avoiding missiles directed at him. The irony of the situation was that it would only be a matter of three years before the band would be making music that an average Genesis audience would find acceptable. Brenner left after the 1983 non-LP single "My Foolish Friend", which was produced by frequent Roxy Music collaborator Rhett Davies. At this point, the band replaced Brenner with unofficial fourth member Tim Friese-Greene, who became Talk Talk's keyboard player, producer, and Hollis' frequent songwriting partner. Although a major contributor to the band's studio output, Friese-Greene did not regularly play with the band during live shows or appear in publicity material. In 1990, Talk Talk signed a two-album contract with Polydor Records. They released Laughing Stock on Polydor's Verve Records imprint in 1991. By this time, Webb had left the group and Talk Talk had 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, and peaked at No.26 in the UK Albums Chart. After Laughing Stock, Talk Talk disbanded in 1992. 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. Hollis retired from the music industry shortly afterwards. Webb also collaborated under the name of Rustin Man with Portishead lead singer Beth Gibbons and released Out of Season in 2002, while Lee Harris featured on the Bark Psychosis 2004 album, ///Codename: Dustsucker. No Doubt scored a hit with a cover of "It's My Life" in 2003. Please visit my other Channel. Keep Rockin!. http://www.youtube.com/user/squizzy104?feature=mhum#p/a/u/2/6MHSf1SP2nM

Added 2 Oct 2026