Mark Hollis: A Perfect Silence

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Talk Talk may be the visionary sound of one extraordinary mind, but it came about through collective effort – the sounds didn’t come from Hollis, and Hollis couldn’t create it alone. In his ruthlessly honest pursuit of a musical vision that held no compromise, this biography is a testament to the gifts and costs of this artistic pursuit. The mysterious long final period of retreat occupies less than 20 pages during which we are informed that Hollis was friends with the head of music at his sons’ school, played golf occasionally and enjoyed riding a motorbike. Yet over the years, Hollis, working in intense and rewarding collaboration with Friese-Greene, confounded his critics – as well as EMI, with whom he was often mired in bitter legal disputes – by going entirely his own way. The fact that Talk Talk started as a New Wave band and opened for Duran Duran on tour was more a case of mismarketing than an expression of intent by the band.

By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Tracing Mark Hollis's life from earliest beginnings through his formative years, author Ben Wardle offers genuine insight into the creative forces which helped shape the sound and songs recorded by Talk Talk. The progression from the naïve charm of the New Wave debut The Party’s Over (1982), the sophistication in the songwriting craft of the sophomore It’s My Life (1984), to the rhythmic exploration that found its way on their third album, The Color of Spring (1986), each album was a natural evolutionary step – a refinement of vision – not a revolutionary leap. After retirement Hollis lived quietly with his wife Felicity Costello (“Flick”) and their two sons in Wimbledon, declining all interviews, releasing no more records. They both have “2022 Master” – does this mean we are about to see a re-release / remastering campaign ?There is nothing bombastic or overstated about this music in which the silences and long pauses are as important as the sound.

The transformation of this band over a relative few albums is unrivalled in terms of how much the sound and direction changed.Well, the world of music of cinema or TV is complex and full of unrealised projects, but that's particularly frustrating. A Life (1895 – 1915), which has been referred to as “the album’s epic centrepiece” refers to Roland Leighton (1895–1915), a British soldier and poet who was the fiancé of Vera Brittain at the time of his death in World War I. He achieved commercial success in the 1980s as the lead singer of Talk Talk, a synth pop/post-rock band. He was legendised as a misunderstood visionary, or post-rock pioneer, or as an uncompromising innovator persecuted by treacherous music industry executives. They help him fill in some of the gaps in the story: where Hollis was living at certain times; how the albums were recorded and in what circumstances (rumours about opium-laced sessions during the recording of Spirit of Eden are shown to be nonsense); and what it was like to be around Hollis – sometimes fun and sometimes maddening.