Mark Hollis
Mark David Hollis (4 January 1955 – February 2019) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter who was the co-founder, lead vocalist, lyricist, and songwriter of the new wave and post-rock band Talk Talk. Hollis achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s as a member of the band and wrote most of the songs, including hits like "It's My Life" and "Life's What You Make It". Though primarily a vocalist, Hollis became a prolific multi-instrumentalist, as he played guitars (including the acoustic and electric guitars) and keyboards (including the piano and organ).
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 and 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, and experimental music. Despite being commercial failures upon release, retrospective reviews were highly positive and have come to be seen as early landmarks of post-rock music.
After Talk Talk disbanded in 1991, Hollis went on hiatus but returned in 1998 with his only solo album, which continued the direction of Talk Talk's sound but in a more minimal, sparse, acoustic style. Following the release of the album, Hollis retired from the recording industry to focus on his family. In February 2019, Hollis died from cancer at the age of 64.
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