Very sad news has come in this evening of the passing of Mark Hollis, who was the lead singer of Talk Talk. As yet the specific details regarding the cause of death have not as yet been officially released. He was only 64 years of age.
On Monday Hollis’s cousin-in-law Anthony Costello tweeted “RIP Mark Hollis. Cousin-in-law. Wonderful husband and father. Fascinating and principled man. Retired from the music business 20 years ago but an indefinable musical icon.”
Hollis’s bandmate, bass player Rustin Man aka Paul Douglas Webb, has posted his tribute on Instagram saying “I am very shocked and saddened to hear the news of the passing of Mark Hollis, Musically he was a genius and it was a honour and a privilege to have been in a band with him. I have not seen Mark for many years, but like many musicians of our generation I have been profoundly influenced by his trailblazing musical ideas.”
Talk Talk who were led by Mark Hollis on vocals, guitar and piano and featured Paul Webb on bass and Lee Harris on drums. During their early days they were a quartet as they featured Simon Brenner who was their keyboard player. They were active from 1981 through to 1991 and released five Top 40 albums during that period, namely ‘The Party’s Over’ (1982), ‘It’s My Life’ (1984), ‘The Colour Of Spring’ (1986), ‘Spirit Of Eden’ (1988) and ‘Laughing Stock’ (1991). There was also a few compilations and a live album recorded at Hammersmith Odeon on 8th May 1986, which eventually saw the light of day in 1999.
They are arguably best remembered for their success of their UK Chart singles, ‘Talk Talk’ (1982), ‘Today’ (1982) and ‘Life’s What You Make It’ (1985). The band disbanded after a decade in the limelight as Hollis stated that he wished to focus on his family.
