Mark Hollis: A Perfect Silence

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The story of how Mark Hollis wrestled with the commercial demands of the 1980s has become the stuff of myth. This amount includes seller specified domestic postage charges as well as applicable international postage, dispatch, and other fees.

This genuine ‘lost classic’ is now available again on heavyweight vinyl, with original artwork – printed inner sleeve with lyrics and credits. In his ruthlessly honest pursuit of a musical vision that held no compromise, this biography is a testament to the gifts and costs of this artistic pursuit. Silence was always the end journey for Mark Hollis and Talk Talk: silence was the final step on their evolutionary ladder.First edition hardback in slipcase, signed by Ben Wardle and Talk Talk album illustrator James marsh to title page. Among the interviewees for this book are Simon Brenner, producer Rhett Davies, Phill Brown, James Marsh, musical collaborators George Page, Phil Ramocon, Martin Ditcham, Dominic Miller, Mark Feltham, Johnny Turnbull, Robbie McIntosh and others.

Later on, legendary independent record label 4AD tried to convince Hollis into recording again, on his terms, but ultimately Hollis was in a world and time of his own. Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. Mark Hollis was always something of an enigmatic, reclusive figure right up to his untimely passing in 2019, but boy did he produce some great music once he hit his stride. The book is available in two distinct editions, both featuring a cover design created by long-time Talk Talk collaborator James Marsh.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. In the first complete, in-depth biography of the Talk Talk leader, author and music industry insider Ben Wardle has interviewed scores of Mark Hollis' friends, musicians, collaborators and record company executives to complete this important and substantial biography. Yet over the years, Hollis, working in intense and rewarding collaboration with Friese-Greene, confounded his critics – as well as EMI, with whom he was often mired in bitter legal disputes – by going entirely his own way. They help him fill in some of the gaps in the story: where Hollis was living at certain times; how the albums were recorded and in what circumstances (rumours about opium-laced sessions during the recording of Spirit of Eden are shown to be nonsense); and what it was like to be around Hollis – sometimes fun and sometimes maddening. The Lo-Fi recording quality, the rattle, and the distortion made it sound bruised as if it was a vessel in the process of shedding all excess weight – its protective shields burning up – until it finally escaped gravity and achieved weightlessness.

NME were particularly venomous, once describing him at an early gig as looking like a “nervous accountant who had stumbled onstage”.Hollis was close to his brother, who became addicted to heroin and died in his thirties, and in those early interviews he cited the influence of John Coltrane and Miles Davis as well as the classical composers Béla Bartók and Claude Debussy and experimental rock and blues bands. Ed Hollis, Mark’s elder brother, was manager of the Canvey Island punks Eddie and the Hot Rods and had an eclectic, wide-ranging record collection, which he shared with Mark. Talking of Talk Talk, I notice that they have started to release the original singles onto digital / streaming / hi-res platforms – Mirror Man / Strike Up The Band came out in Feb and Talk Talk / ?