The self titled song “Talk Talk” from 1982
The year was 1982 and alternative radio station KROQ in Los Angeles started playing a new song by a band with a double name: Talk Talk. The song “Talk Talk” was pretty big in airplay.
I was hooked and wanted more from this London based band, with the lead vocals of a then unknown Mark Hollis. Granted, except for us fans, his name is not well know amongst even the die hard alternative music fans.
“It’s My Life” from 1984
Their next big hit was “It’s My Life” which came out in 1984. I heard this song a lot on mainstream radio, which means the band broke through the alternative genre and got even bigger. The song had a nice beat to it, adding bird sounds into the mix, which made it instantly identifiable during the songs opening seconds.
Covered
“It’s My Life” covered by No Doubt from 2003
In 2003, the song “It’s My Life” made a comeback in the form of a cover by the ska/alertnative band No Doubt. Gwen Stefani took on the lead vocals of Mark Hollis and made the song her own, making it a hit worldwide. The above music video has a Bonnie and Clyde feel to it, in a dark sort of way.
“Life’s What You Make It” from 1986
Easily my favorite of Talk Talk songs is “Life’s What You Make It” which came out in 1986. The opening sounds and the souring vocals of the chorus were very strong and I could easily hear this song anytime and stop what I was doing to enjoy it. To this day, I still like going out to YouTube or one of the streaming sites like Amazon Prime Music or Pandora and play it as often as I like, which some weeks, is quite often. I even shared it over on my Chillywilly.org blog back in October 2015.
Currently
The band broke up in 1992 after their final album, “Laughing Stock” failed to chart. The sound was more subdued and had a less pop sound to it, compared to their first few albums. Mark Hollis ended up making a solo album in 1998, which when I was doing research for this blog post, I never knew he made one, which means I’ve never heard it. Mark ended up leaving the music industry completely in 1999 and all we have for Talk Talk fans like myself is a legacy of music.
Any of my readers Talk Talk fans?