Thursday 2/2/83 5pm ET: Feature LP: Talk Talk – The Party’s Over (1982)

The Party’s Over is the debut album by Talk Talk. It was released July 13, 1982 and produced by Colin Thurston, who was a former engineer for David Bowie but was better known for producing Duran Duran’s first two albums.

In the United Kingdom, the album’s single “Today” was a top-twenty hit. The remixed version of the single “Talk Talk” reached number 1 in South Africa in 1983 and number 23 in the UK. In the United States the album entered the Billboard Top 200, reaching number 132, while the single “Talk Talk” peaked at number 75. In New Zealand, the album was a hit, peaking at number 8 due to the success of “Today”, which reached number 10 in 1983.

1. “Talk Talk” 3:23
2. “It’s So Serious” 3:21
3. “Today” 3:30
4. “The Party’s Over” 6:12
5. “Hate” 3:58
6. “Have You Heard the News?” 5:07
7. “Mirror Man” 3:21
8. “Another Word” 3:14
9. “Candy” 4:41

Mark Hollis – vocals
Simon Brenner – keyboards
Lee Harris – drums
Paul Webb – bass guitar

Thursday 1/19/23 8pm ET: Feature LP: Talk Talk – It’s My Life (1984)

It’s My Life is the second studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in February 1984.

1. “Dum Dum Girl” 3:51
2. “Such a Shame” 5:42
3. “Renée” 6:22
4. “It’s My Life” 3:50
5. “Tomorrow Started” 5:57
6. “The Last Time” 4:23
7. “Call in the Night Boy” 3:47
8. “Does Caroline Know?” 4:40
9. “It’s You” 4:41
10. “It’s My Life” (Extended Mix) 6:13
11. “Such a Shame” (Single Mix) 4:12

Mark Hollis – lead vocals and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Paul Webb – fretless bass (except on “The Last Time”), backing vocals
Lee Harris – electronic drums
Tim Friese-Greene – synthesizers, piano, programming and drum machine
Ian Curnow – keyboards
Phil Ramocon – piano
Robbie McIntosh – guitars
Morris Pert – percussion
Henry Lowther – trumpet on “Renée” and “Tomorrow Started”
Phil Spalding (uncredited) – bass guitar on “The Last Time”

Thursday 9/8/22 7pm ET: Feature LP: Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring (1986)

The Colour of Spring is the third studio album by English band Talk Talk, released February 17, 1986.

1. “Happiness Is Easy” 6:30
2. “I Don’t Believe in You” 5:02
3. “Life’s What You Make It” 4:29
4. “April 5th” 5:51
5. “Living in Another World” 6:58
6. “Give It Up” 5:17
7. “Chameleon Day” 3:20
8. “Time It’s Time” 8:14

Mark Hollis — lead vocals, piano (tracks 3, 5, 6, 7), Variophon (tracks 1, 4 and 7), organ (track 4), Mellotron (track 6), electric guitar (track 8), melodica (track 8)
Lee Harris — drums (except 4, 7)
Paul Webb — bass guitar (tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8), backing vocals (tracks 3 and 5)

Tim Friese-Greene — producer, piano (tracks 1, 2, and 8), Kurzweil Synthesizer (tracks 1, 4 and 7), organ (tracks 3, 6 and 8), Variophon (tracks 4 and 7), Mellotron (track 3)
Ian Curnow — synthesizer solos (tracks 2 and 6)
Martin Ditcham — percussion (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8)
Mark Feltham — harmonica (track 5)
Alan Gorrie — electric bass (track 1)
Robbie McIntosh — guitar (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 8), Dobro (tracks 4 and 6)
Morris Pert — percussion (tracks 1, 2, 5, and 8)
Phil Reis — percussion (track 1)
David Rhodes — guitar (tracks 3, 5, and 6)
David Roach — soprano saxophone (tracks 2, 4, and 5)
Gaynor Sadler — harp (track 2)
Danny Thompson — acoustic bass (track 1)
Children from the school of Miss Speake — children’s choir (track 1)
Ambrosian Singers — choir (track 8)
Steve Winwood — organ (tracks 1, 2, and 5)

In Memoriam: Mark Hollis (1955 – 2019)

Mark David Hollis (January 4,1955 – February 25, 2019) was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-founder, lead singer and principal songwriter of the band Talk Talk. Hollis wrote or co-wrote most of Talk Talk’s music, including hits like “It’s My Life” and “Life’s What You Make It”, and increasingly developed an influential experimental and contemplative style.

Beginning in 1981 as a synth-pop group with a New Romantic image, Talk Talk’s sound became increasingly adventurous under Hollis’s direction. For their third album, The Colour of Spring (1986), Talk Talk adopted an art pop sound that won critical and commercial favour; it remains their biggest commercial success. The band’s final two albums, Spirit of Eden (1988) and Laughing Stock (1991), were radical departures from their early work, taking influence from jazz, folk, classical and experimental music. While they were commercial failures in their own time, these albums have come to be seen as early landmarks of post-rock music.

After Talk Talk disbanded in 1992, Hollis returned to music in 1998 with a self-titled solo album, which continued the direction of Talk Talk’s sound but in a more minimal, spare, acoustic style. Following the release of his only solo album, Hollis largely retired from the recording industry.

Hollis died, aged 64, in February 2019 after a short illness.