Talk Talk

Talk Talk were an English new wave band who were active from 1981-1991. They began as a synthpop group and scored hit singles with "Talk Talk", "It's My Life" and "Such a Shame". Due to the pressures of the pop industry, however, they later began to make more experimental music. They achieved hits such as "Life's What You Make It", but their commercial appeal soon waned and the band eventually broke up in 1991. Nevertheless, they are still praised as one of the more interesting synthpop bands and for their refusal to sacrifice their artistic talent for the sake of popularity.

The group's name, as well as their self-titled song, is taken from a song called "Talk Talk Talk Talk" by The Reaction, a band for which singer Mark Hollis wrote and sang lead vocals.

Overview
The band was originally a quartet consisting of singer-songwriter Mark Hollis, drummer Lee Harris, bass guitarist Paul Webb and keyboardist Simon Brenner. They released their first single "Mirror Man" on February 1982, but this was unsuccessful. Their self-titled single "Talk Talk" and debut album The Party's Over brought them more popularity and their live audience expanded when they supported Genesis on their reunion tour of 1982.

Starting with their album The Colour of Spring, Talk Talk moved away from mainstream pop, refusing to give in to the demands of popular interest. They reached their commercial peak with this album and single "Life's What You Make It", but subsequent releases failed to live up to this success. The group disbanded in 1992 as Mark Hollis wanted to spend more time with his children.

Duran Duran
In addition to being pioneers of the New Romantic movement, Talk Talk were often compared to Duran Duran, as both of their names consisted of a single repeated word, they were both musically inspired by Roxy Music, and they shared the EMI record label. Another interesting point is that Colin Thurston, who produced Duran Duran's debut album and Rio, also produced Talk Talk's album The Party's Over.

Talk Talk were the opening act for Duran Duran during certain dates of The Careless Memories Tour in 1981. As they had only recently formed, most of their setlist consisted of demos of songs that would be released the following year, such as "Talk Talk" and "Mirror Man".

John Taylor has expressed fondness for the group in the past.