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Artist News
Talk Talk frontman Mark Hollis dies
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 26 February 2019
Former Talk Talk frontman Mark Hollis has died, aged 64, according to reports. The musician retired from the music industry 20 years ago and has remained out of the public eye ever since.
News of Hollis’s death came from writer Anthony Costello, who is related to him by marriage. “RIP Mark Hollis”, he wrote on Twitter. “Cousin-in-law. Wonderful husband and father. Fascinating and principled man. Retired from the music business 20 years ago but an indefinable musical icon”.
Tim Pope, who directed many of Talk Talk’s music videos, later tweeted: “Goodbye to Mark Hollis of Talk Talk. Condolences to his lovely family. We had many, many laughs together”.
Paul Webb, the ex-Talk Talk bassist who now records as Rustin Man, also wrote on Facebook: “I am very shocked and saddened to hear the news of the passing of Mark Hollis. Musically he was a genius and it was an honour and a privilege to have been in a band with him. I have not seen Mark for many years, but like many musicians of our generation I have been profoundly influenced by his trailblazing musical ideas. He knew how to create a depth of feeling with sound and space like no other. He was one of the greats, if not the greatest”.
Hollis broke up Talk Talk in 1991 in order to spend more time with his family. He returned with his only solo album, ‘Mark Hollis’, in 1998, before retiring from the music industry entirely. No cause of death has yet been confirmed.
