- Mark Hollis (English musician)
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Mark Hollis Birth name Mark Hollis Born 4 January 1955 Origin Essex, England Genres New Wave, synthpop, art rock, post-rock, folk, jazz, ambient Occupations Musician, Singer, Songwriter Instruments Vocal, guitar, piano, organ Years active 1977–2001 Associated acts Talk Talk Mark Hollis (born 4 January 1955, Tottenham, London) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He achieved commercial success in the 1980s as singer with the synth pop/post-rock band Talk Talk, but retired from the music industry after his 1998 critically praised solo album.
Contents
Biography
The younger brother of Ed Hollis, a disc jockey and producer who went on to manage bands such as Eddie and the Hot Rods, Hollis originally planned to become a child psychologist but in 1975 left university to relocate to London, eventually forming a band called The Reaction. In 1977, The Reaction recorded a demo for Island Records; among the tracks was a Hollis original titled "Talk Talk" which later surfaced on the Beggars Banquet punk compilation Streets. After just one single, 1978's "I Can't Resist," The Reaction disbanded, and through his brother, Hollis was first introduced to musicians Paul Webb, Lee Harris and Simon Brenner, with whom he formed Talk Talk in 1981, soon signing to the EMI label.
Hollis is most famous as the lead singer of the band Talk Talk, and was praised for his "always remarkable voice."[1] It was he, along with unofficial Talk Talk member Tim Friese-Greene, who took the lead in evolving the band's style from New Romantic into what would later become known as post-rock.
In 1998, he released an eponymous solo debut album, Mark Hollis,[2] and participated in occasional musical projects, including playing on and producing Anja Garbarek's 2001 album Smiling & Waving.[3] He has now retired from the music business.[4] He has stated about his decision to retire from performing, "I choose for my family. Maybe others are capable of doing it, but I can't go on tour and be a good dad at the same time."[5] Despite Hollis's absence from the public eye, he (as well as Talk Talk) continue to be mentioned in the press, inside Britain and outside, often as an example of an artist who refused to sacrifice his artistic ambition to commercial success and as a yardstick for current artists.[6][7][8]
In 2004, Hollis resurfaced briefly to receive a Broadcast Music Inc. award for having written "It's My Life." [9] His withdrawal from the public continues to fascinate music critics.[4][10] Hollis lives in London[11] with his wife and two children,[12] born in 1987/1988 and 1990/1991.[5]
Solo discography
See also: Talk Talk discography- Mark Hollis (1998)
Collaborations
- Hollis played the piano on the track 'Piano' from the 1998 minimalist album AV 1, by Phill Brown and Dave Allinson, under the pseudonym John Cope.
- Hollis played piano on the track "Chaos" on the 1998 trip-hop album Psyence Fiction by UNKLE.
- Hollis provided musical accompaniment on Anja Garbarek's 2001 album Smiling & Waving.
References
- ^ Gilbert, Ruth (1989-01-23). "Hotline: Music (Spirit of Eden)". New York Magazine. http://books.google.com/books?id=7ugCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA29&dq=%22mark+hollis%22+talk+talk&lr=&client=firefox-a. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ "A record that floors me each time." Parkes, Jason A. (2007-05-12). "Rev. of Mark Hollis, Mark Hollis". Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage. http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/1728. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mark-hollis-p87459/credits/date-asc/ AllMusic
- ^ a b McGee, Alan (2008-04-09). "Wherefore art thou Mark Hollis?". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2008/apr/09/markhollis. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ a b http://www.palyniam.co.uk/content.php?page=interview-mark Music Minded interview Archived
- ^ Aizlewood, John (2002-11-18). "Why Ashcroft is missing Verve". Evening Standard.
- ^ Schmickl, Gerald (2001-12-14). "Rev. of Talk Talk, Missing Pieces". Wiener Zeitung. http://www.wienerzeitung.at/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4454&Alias=WZO&cob=8739. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ Lees, Alasdair (2008-09-19). "Shearwater, Bush Hall, London". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/shearwater-bush-hall-london-935240.html. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234221
- ^ Masi, Bruno (2006-03-18). "Retour sur la planète Merz". Libération. http://www.liberation.fr/culture/010142469-retour-sur-la-planete-merz. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ http://users.cybercity.dk/~bcc11425/IntSUBAUDIO.html Subaudio interview
- ^ http://www.nonalignmentpact.com/2007/04/laughing-stock-road-to-mark-hollis.html
External links
- Within Without - large unofficial Mark Hollis and Talk Talk homepage
- Talkingspace German Mark Hollis and Talk Talk fan page
- It's My Talk Talk Pages - Unofficial French Talk Talk page
Albums Singles Compilations Video Live at Montreux 1986Related articles Categories:- 1955 births
- Living people
- People from Tottenham
- English male singers
- English pop singers
- English songwriters
- English composers
- Alumni of the University of Sussex
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