About Mark Hollis

Mark David Hollis (born 4 January 1955, Tottenham, London) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved commercial success in the 1980s as singer with the synthpop/post-rock band Talk Talk, but retired from the music industry after his 1998 solo debut album. 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, where he eventually formed 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. In 1998, he released an eponymous solo debut album, Mark Hollis, and participated in occasional musical projects, including playing melodica and bass guitar on Anja Garbarek's 2001 album Smiling & Waving, as well as producing it. He has now retired from the music industry. 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." 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. In 2004, Hollis resurfaced briefly to receive a Broadcast Music Inc. Award for having written "It's My Life". His withdrawal from the public continues to fascinate music critics. By the time his solo album was released Hollis had moved back from the countryside to London, to provide his two sons with a more cosmopolitan environment. In 2012, a piece of specially commissioned music, entitled "ARB Section 1", was used in the television series Boss. Collaborations Mark Hollis played the piano on the track "Piano" from the 1998 minimalist album AV 1 by Phil Brown and Dave Allinson (under the pseudonym "John Cope"). Talk Talk's ''New Grass'' was sampled on the track ''Rabbit in Your Headlights'' on the 1998 trip-hop album Psyence Fiction by UNKLE. Mark Hollis provided several roles in support of Anja Garbarek's 2001 album Smiling & Waving.