...The Party's Over.

Mark Hollis | 1955 - 2019. A collaboration between Randy Fung and James Marsh.

Photo: seadogmusic

Goodbye Mark Hollis.

It was issue #146 of MOJO magazine in January 2006. David Gray named Spirit of Eden as his "Last Night a Record Changed My Life." And to David, I am eternally grateful.

I had never heard it before, and it went on to become my favorite album of all-time and is perhaps one of the most beautiful recordings ever made. It was Talk Talk's fourth album, just six songs, released in September 1988.

Rest easy (1955-2019).

Photo: Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images

Friday's Find.

 

Spirit of Talk Talk is now available on itunes in the U.S. 

Photo: Spirit of Talk Talk

Say Hello To Snow In Berlin.

 

With no official website in existence, Talk Talk enthusiasts have long had to rely on fan sites for information and news and a beautiful new one has sprung up called Snow in Berlin. Named after the working title of "I Believe in You" from Talk Talk's magnificent album Spirit of Eden, the non-profit Snow in Berlin aims "to build up a comprehensive database of Talk Talk articles," and welcomes contributions in any language. 

Photo: Spirit of Talk Talk

The Party's Over Turns 30.

The debut album by Talk Talk, The Party's Over was released in July 1982 and kicks off with the original version of "Talk Talk" which had been released as a single in March (a remixed version was released in October and is the version most are familiar with). Not everyone's favorite Talk Talk album, The Party's Over also features "It's So Serious," "Today," and "Another World."

Until Talk Talk Reforms...

which is never, we have Sean Carey and Justin Vernon.

The Spirit Of Talk Talk.

 

A website has been set up to gauge interest in a book that will celebrate the art and music of Talk Talk.

The Spirit of Talk Talk will feature all of the iconic artwork by award winning author and illustrator James Marsh who has chronicled all of pieces that he produced for the band during their time together from 1981-1991.

The main essay of The Spirit of Talk Talk, which is set to be published in the spring of 2012, will be written by rock writer and huge Talk Talk fan Chris Roberts and will include 80 more contributions all from those who have been influenced by the art and music of the band including Alan Wilder, Guy Garvey, and Richard Wright.

Soon to be the "definitive visual companion to the Talk Talk legend," The Spirit of Talk Talk

will contain:

A cloth cover featuring one of James Marsh’s artworks

High quality heavyweight art paper

Hand written lyrics from Mark Hollis

Full color throughout

Roll of Honour listing the names of readers who pre-order the book

Original cover concept sketches

Unseen photos of the band from 3 sessions with photographer Richard Haughton.

The projected price of The Spirit of Talk Talk is £40 ($62). To register your interest go here.

Photo: spiritoftalktalk.com

Found! Talk Talk Art On Merchandise!

 

While I continue to await the one reunion that will never happen I was pleased this week to discover the Talk Talk merchandise collection by James Marsh Art & Design at CafePress.

Award winning author and artist James Marsh's abstract work hangs in private and public collections throughout the world and he is celebrated as the designer of all of Talk Talk's iconic album covers including Waist High's all-time favorite album; 1988's Spirit of Eden.

The James Marsh Design Collection includes The Colour of Spring and It's My Life t-shirts and mugs, The Party's Over mouth mug, Spirit of Eden greetings cards, and "My Foolish Friend" wall clocks.

James Marsh can be found at jamesmarsh.com.

Photo: CafePress.com

Attention Lowlifes That Send Hate Mail On Christmas Day:

I've got a world class blog to run here, do you mind if I return to the music?

Welcome to a brand new year of "Happy 25th Birthdays!" 1984 was another outstanding year for Waist High music, let us begin with the second album by Talk Talk.

It's My Life was the beginning of the relationship between Mark Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Green, the pair later responsible for 1988's Spirit of Eden, an album some say is one of the most haunting and beautiful ever made.

"Friese-Greene's production imbued the material with an ambitious sound and arrangement which, though less obviously commercial than before, seemed far more natural for the band. Guitars also appeared on a Talk Talk record for the first time (courtesy of ace sessionman Robbie McIntosh), though in fact the distinctly Floydian solos were performed on treated keyboards. Despite its promise, however, the LP was still the work of a band in transition - no doubt one reason why it stalled at a disappointing #35 in the U.K. Another was that the group, already deeply embarrassed by EMI's past image-mongering, now began to cultivate a resolute non-image which would only deepen as time passed."

It's My Life's lead single, the great "It's My Life," was released in January 1984 and started Talk Talk's "drift from straightforward Synthpop sound into more experimental albums. Both the song and the album are synthpop, but their instrumentation is richer" than in their debut album.

"There are two versions of the video for 'It's My Life.' The first, envisioned by director Tim Pope as a statement against the banality of lip-synching, consists almost entirely of footage from nature documentaries, interspersed with shots of Talk Talk lead singer Mark Hollis standing in the midst of the London Zoo, with his mouth pointedly shut tight and often obscured by hand-drawn animated lines. The second version, recorded at the behest of EMI, consisted of the entirety of the original video projected on a green screen behind Hollis and his two bandmates as they lip-synched and mimed the song, deliberately poorly and with comic exaggerated gestures. Hollis was 'pissed off' in that shoot."

The second single from the album, "Such a Shame," reached the Top 10 in several European countries, and went to #1 in Italy and Switzerland.

It's My Life track listing:
"Dum Dum Girl" (Friese-Greene/Hollis)
"Such a Shame" (Hollis)
"Renee" (Hollis)
"It's My Life" (Friese-Greene/Hollis)
"Tomorrow Started" (Hollis)
"The Last Time" (Curnow/Hollis)
"Call in the Night Boy" (Brenner/Harris/Hollis/Webb)
"Does Caroline Know?" (Friese-Greene/Hollis)
"It's You" (Hollis)

Material: Within Without & wikipedia.org

Waist High's Favorite Song Turns 25.

Thank you Mark Hollis. Thank you Tim Friese-Greene.

Happy 25th Birthday Talk Talk.

Known simply as Talk Talk in the U.S., the band's debut album was their most electronic of all. The first track, "Talk Talk," was the first single to get air play in America before "It's My Life" hit the top 40 a few years later.

Talk Talk, comprising singer Mark Hollis, bassist Paul Webb, and drummer Lee Harris, formed in England in 1981. From the start, Hollis cited jazz and classical artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Claude Debussy as major musical influences.

While they never completely embraced the fading New Romantic trend, Talk Talk's name drew unenviable Duran Duran parallels, which were cemented by the hiring of Colin Thurston to produce The Party's Over, as he had done with Simon Le Bon's band. The LP went on to sell over a quarter of a million copies, although an extensive American tour supporting Elvis Costello produced only modest results. Tellingly, this would be the first and last of their albums on which writing credits were shared by the entire band.

Material: wikipedia.org & Within Without

Happy Birthday Paul Webb.

Former Talk Talk bassist.

Talk Talk, a Waist High favorite, made their first UK appearance as an opening act for Duran Duran in 1982. From a 1982 article, NME "shouts the praise of a brand new pop band."