Stuff I'm Listening to #59 - Lawrence Gowan

Aritst: Gowan

Title: A Criminal Mind

Lyrics:
I stand accused before you
I have no tears to cry
And you will never break me
Till the day I die

Despite my derpy, he gave me an autograph <3

Why?: I met Lawrence Gowan when I was working at First Night celebrations years ago at Harbourfront in Toronto with my awesome boss Polkaroo. Yeah... that's right peeps! Polkaroo was my boss! That was the same year, Love Inc. played Nathan Phillips Square for their New Year's fest. But I wasn't into Love Inc., even though you could hear them from Harbourfront in Toronto. 

I'd managed to thoroughly embarrass myself by declaring to Gowan that I had a crush on him when I was nine. Sorry, Lawrence! You must understand, I was very starstruck at that moment. But you were ever a gentleman and I thank you for that! 

He chatted with me for a bit, asking me what songs did I think he should play for his set. And wouldn't you know it... he did. Every single song I'd asked for. So it should only be noted that I stood corrected by him. 'I had a crush' at that point and forever is now 'I've had a crush on him since I was nine.' It's still there. It's never going away. 

He's currently touring with Styx as their lead singer and from everything I've seen online, doing an awesome job of it too.

Thanks to Boom 97.3 for posting this clip about Lawrence Gowan going on about the first time he heard his music on the radio. I love how he relates being super stoked about it. And for my international friends and followers, that intersection he notes in the clip below? Yeah... It's not that far from me. Scarborough represent! 

Stuff I'm Listening to #58 - Erasure

Artist: Erasure
Title: Drama!
Favourite Lyrics: 
Do unto yourself as you see fit for your brother. 
Is that not within your realm of understanding? 
A fifty second capacity of mind 
Too demanding? 

Why?: I've mentioned before how in love I am with Erasure. Andy Bell is a phenomenal showman. Vince Clark is a musical genius. Also, this is an awesome song to throw shade. Am I throwing shade? Possibly? I could have posted Carly's Simon's song, but we all know this song isn't about you. ;)

The Mark Hollis and Tim Pope Music Box Interview Transcription

And so it begins...A screen-cap of my desktop.

Hello everyone! As promised, here is the transcription of the famous/infamous Mark Hollis/Tim Pope interview from 1986.

I do have a special bonus for any Francophones! The most wonderful Yael Bolender (link to her YouTube channel here) has actually translated this interview in to French. And was kind enough to allow me to post the video here. I also encourage you to go to her YouTube channel though. She's a wonderful person with lovely videos. You'll learn a lot and her passion for Mark Hollis and Talk Talk... well, that just automatically makes her a great person, eh? :) 

For anyone else, there is a handy Google Translate tool just to the right of the post which should allow you to translate this into the language of your choice.

Some things to note: The notation -(?)- designates a part I was unable to understand. Words surrounded by (?) indicates that I made a guess but am not confident of the word that was spoken. As always, I have trouble with their accents and the fact they were speaking on top of one another means I have likely made mistakes. Please feel free to add your corrections in the comments below! Finally, if you know the name of the interviewer I'd love if you could provide it to me. UPDATE: Thanks!! Alla from instagram who gave me the interviewer's name and helped me correct some of the spots where I had zero clue what they were saying. You are truly awesome!

Without further ado, the transcription. Video of the interview itself and Yael's French translation follow the script. 

Music Box Interview with Tim Pope and Mark Hollis

Simon Potter: Tim, let me put the first question to you: Talk Talk and It’s My Life-

Tim Pope: Yeah.

Simon: Um… to what extent did the song conjure up those sorts of images to you in the first place for the video?

Tim: Well it wasn’t much certainly the way the song conjured up. It was like a way of life really that whole film really. It was about … It was about evolution, I think, wasn’t it? And animals. That’s what it was about. 

Simon: Okay… Hey, Mark, were you happy with the end result or…?

Mark Hollis: Well it wasn’t a question of being happy or not with the end result, it was just a question the way in which you (?)lead your life(?).

Tim: It was a manifesto I think is what he’s saying.

Mark: Yeah I think it was a (?)practical reference(?) (?) party conference (?).

Tim: Yeah.

Mark: Yeah.  

Simon: So did you have a lot of input though Mark? I mean throughout the video production.

Tim: No…

Mark: Well, in actual fact I did actually. In actual fact I did. Because all of those animals that you see in that video are in fact me inside little outfits.  
Simon: Really?

Tim and Mark: Yeah. 

Simon: He’s a master of disguise isn’t he?

Tim: Yeah. In fact that cost actually more to shoot than all those Duran Duran videos ‘cos we actually shot most of it around the world. We actually went around the world didn’t we when we shot it?

Mark: Yes. Yes. Well you did.

Tim: Yeah well I did. Well you did all the animals.

Mark: Yeah. 

Simon: See I told you it was going to be a lot of trouble, friends.

Tim: The thing is It also took about five years to make because there different quarantine regulations around the world…

Mark: (laughing) Yeah.

Tim: So he had to be left in quarantine for like six weeks. 

Simon: So it’s nice to see you out and about again Mark, that’s all I can say.

Mark: Yeah. It feels good. It feels good. Feels good. 

Simon: So how did the pair of you -

Mark: It isn’t much fun being on heat in quarantine. 

Simon: Wasn’t it?

Mark: No.

Tim: It didn’t smell good either. 

Simon: That’s what it is now, is it? I wondered what that was.

Tim: Yeah, it wasn’t. When he’s on heat, watch it. 

Simon: Okay. (laughter). Well you’re sitting next to him. Listen. How did the pair of you come to work together anyway in the first place. Let me try and get serious just for a minute.

Tim: I think when we first met each other it was like, um, a sort of animal relationship wasn’t it?

Mark: Oh God.

Tim: Naw. No, it was. It was. No. I mean… How did we meet? Ah. Ah.. One day we were like called up and that and then we were, like, thrown together in, like, one of these meetings. And, um. And then I came up with a terrible idea for that thing. And then somebody went out the room. And then we met I think. And then I said this is what it should be about, didn’t I?

Mark: Oh yeah, and then you said… You said ‘I’ve got just the suit for you’.

Tim: That’s right. And it fitted.

Mark: “I’ve got just the suit,” and it fitted. 

Simon: it was a Zebra.

Mark: Yeah.

Tim: You know I’m a tailor. Yeah. It was a zebra crossing. And it was a big crossing in our life.

Mark: Yes.

Tim: That was a good link .

Simon: This one could run and run for us. I think it’s time for another video right now and I know Mark is much more keen to talk about this one. Well at least he said so two minutes ago, but he could have changed his mind in the meantime. This one’s called Such a Shame.

Simon: That's from Talk Talk in the studio with me and film maker Tim Pope. Mark..

Mark: Well I wouldn’t exactly describe you as a film maker.

Tim: Well, I make some sort of films don’t I. You know what sort of films I make.

Mark: Yeah seedy films…Yes.

Tim: Same colour as this sofa, you know what I mean? 

Simon: They always give me this interview folks. The sort of people like Nick Hayward, I get. Kevin Rowland of Dexy’s Midnight Runners and now these two gentleman.

Tim: Like how they put us into that bracket with Nick Heyward.

Mark: Yeah. I’ve always thought of myself as a cross between Nick Heyward and uh, Kevin. 

Simon: Mark. Can I ask you about uh. Can I ask you about Such A Shame. The video. What inspired first of all the song… ‘cos it was a book, wasn’t it?

Mark: Yes. 

Simon: Tell me about the book then. Like what interested you about it.

Mark: Uh. It is just a book called The Dice Man. It’s just about changing personality at random through throwing dice. And all we did with the video you see is it was just sort of to think more in in terms of a, like a film. It’s just think in terms of making like a little three minute film of the book trying to sum up that book in three minutes. Well, four minutes twenty five but uh. Just thought I throw that in as a little touch.

Tim: Yeah, yeah.

Mark: Well all that was you see was to actually use the premise of the book, uh which… And just follow that for the film so we just, uh, threw a dice and just changed personality with the throw of that dice.

Tim: Yeah, Yeah. 

Simon: Was that a difficult thing to do though Tim? I mean, to actually convey what is essentially a game of chance visually.

Tim: Well a lot of people think that film looks like a load of crap. I don’t personally, but you know, I’m a bit biased. But there were like a lot of of ideas like within, like, loads of ideas. Which I can’t quite remember. But I remember some of them like, if you look, we played with the dice ideas a lot, like he plays six characters in it sort of thing. And when we were actually doing it the way we sort of did it was like I literally gave him a little piece of paper and I’d written a word on it, right? I’ve literally written a word and then start the camera and then you would do that character wouldn’t you? Maudlin?

Mark: Yes. Yes. Yes.

Tim: Remember Maudling?

Mark: Yeah. I thought he meant Reginald Maudling, but you know…

Tim: So he started playing Reginald Maudling which is a very political character he came from

Mark: Yeah. Sure, sure.

Tim: But that how, we like come up with the characters. And then those, the bits we did outside like, we went out it’s very arty this, ‘cos we went out, i would say so. I would say… artsy?

Mark: Yeah, we just went out and chose locations by, you know, if we wanted a number one location we’d look for something that had one prominent figure in it if we want -

Tim: Like the post box, right so the two… 

Mark: Well, the post box was in fact the three actually. Yeah, but I…

Tim: Was it? (laughter). It's good someone was counting.

Mark: Yeah. Yeah.

Tim: And then that building was where Mark walks outside of that’s got five major bits in it…

Mark: Six.

Tim: So that was five…

Mark: Six actually. Six.

Tim: Oh cool, and then his jacket has six buttons on it -

Mark: Five actually. Five.

Tim: Did it?

Mark: Yeah. 

Simon: Aw, give him a chance Mark.

Tim: Yeah, give me a chance. He’s like this all the time.

Mark: I just like the facts that’s all. I just like.. you know.

Tim: Yeah, it like has got six buttons on it sort of thing, so like all the way through the film, and like the band being lined up ‘cos the record company said to me they wanted something like with the band in. So I thought we’ll put in a straight line, you know, that’s what we thought. Wasn’t it?

Mark: Yes.

Tim: Straight line? Put them in a straight line. And there’s six of them, then it’s five, four. So there’s loads of play on dices really. That was like the basic idea.

Mark: Everything’s done, even the editing, was down to dice throwing, I think the whole thing -(?)-

Tim: I shut me eyes in parts of it. I literally…

Mark: -The whole thing was absolutely to do it in…

Tim: -The structure -(?)-

Mark: -In the way the book was written you know absolutely…

Tim: So the actual method we used to make the film was like throwing the dice literally. Didn’t we, like the order we shot things in and everything.

Mark: Yeah. Yeah that kind of shoot…

Simon: Really? You’re not winding me up again because it sounds .. believable.

Tim: No. This one isn’t a wind up.

Mark: -(?)- … true.

Simon: There’s often a lot of hanging about on videos Mark. I mean, do you have to make them under sufferance really, or do you enjoy them?

Mark: No you see the thing is, when you’re working with someone who actually has sort of the personality and the beauty of Popey here you know you never sort of lost for… I mean he’s fascinating. I mean if you know things, you know all the bus time tables don’t you for the last eight years, all the rain fall?

Tim: But you see where he hangs about. I’m not going to tell you where he hangs about when we’re not filming 'cos I know. 

Simon: Really?

Tim: I’ve got it on film. One day we’ll release it. 

Simon: A bit tacky is it?

Tim: A little bit that way, yeah a little bit that way.

Simon: Okay. I think cue another video then. This time we’re gonna take a look at Talk Talk’s Dum Dum Girl. I’ll have Mark and Tim hanging around for a bit more comments after this.

Mark: I like how you said Mark and Tim and not Tim and Mark that’s… -(?)-

Simon: Yeah, well you know.

Tim: He’s tired of (?)understating(?) it isn’t he? 

Simon: Any particular difficulties with that one? Because once again, although it was fairly simple in it’s concept I mean all the shots look pretty complicated to me.

Tim: Well. It wasn’t really .. the whole idea was it should be quite simple really. ‘Cos we just shot it in a field. It was like the idea of just doing something, ‘cos like, you know we don’t really like all that, you know, that sort of, like, that stuff we have to work too hard and that. So it was like literally a matter of setting up in the middle of the field. I mean it was hard for him really ‘cos he had to sing live vocals. It’s actually a live vocal which i don’t think many people would have the bottles to do. So that was like the hardest thing. Although we didn’t scream out that. And it was quite good fun to cut ‘cos I like leaving all those shots of the camera goes like that to give it a feeling of spontaneity. I mean I could have cut it all together to be really beautiful and pretty stunning but i thought you know better to make it all look spontaneous a bit like that. I like a bit of that myself. 

Simon: (Laughs) What about you Mark? I mean, do you feel that he managed to capture that kind of spontaneity?

Mark: I think what we were really looking for there, you know, we just, with all these videos that we’ve made together or with any of them that they’ve been just sort of, as much as anything as a reaction against other things that are going down at the time. At the time we came up and made that video there were just so many videos getting made everywhere which were having so much money spent on them they were being, you know, so gross in terms of their production and everything and they were getting more and more distance from music and just getting closer and closer just to pure and cheap advertising. You know that all we wanted to do with that was try and make something that was very simple and very honest and that was it. It really was that simple. You know. 

Simon: Ok. The pair of you have been working on a movie you were telling me as well which sounds quite interesting. So what’s been going on there?

Mark: Well, it’s like a sort of cross between Terry and June and Dallas isn’t it. It’s got a little bit of porn in it.     

Tim: Yeah, just a little bit.

Mark: Yeah, just a touch.

Tim: Like 90% of it. It’s called the “Green Kagool”. It’s quite interesting we were just on location up in the, um, the Lake District which was quite fabulous really, wasn’t it?

Mark: Yeah. Yeah. It was.

Tim: But we, like, swapped roles in it. Actually a little bit this time. ‘Cos we believe in that sort of commune sort of way of working and I -

Mark: Yeah. ‘cos you see my belief about art is that art is open to everyone. I mean, you know, the thing of technique doesn’t come into anything. The thing of chance, and randomness and spirit is definitely the most important thing. So that’s the way we worked, it was all to a spirit, you know,we all just got a lot of gin, got totally out of it, and then maded it.

Tim: I like, for example in this wife-swap, well, I wouldn’t quite call it a wife-swap, but this sort of system I was like camera operator which I don’t usually do. And he was, like, first assistant which is like the person who gives you all this sort of stuff, all that, and who shouts “Be quiet!” all that sort of stuff. So he was doing that. And then Tim Friese-Green, who’s his, um, producer on the record who he works with a lot, he was the locations but he didn’t find us many great locations really did he, I felt.

Mark: Oh yes, but he had some good ideas though.

Tim: Oh, he’s got fabulous ideas.

Mark: I mean his latest idea is the esophagus, that’s his latest idea for location, yeah. 

Simon: Really? Sounds fascinating.

Mark: Yeah. 

Simon: So when can we expect to see the film? Is it gonna go out on release ever do you think?

Tim: Well hope one day it will go out on general release. Um. It’s fairly mainstream I think. And I think that’s really what, you know, I think a lot of people would get a lot from it. 

Simon: Ok. Keep us posted on that one. I wanna move the conversation round now to your brand new single and video Mark, which is Life Is [sic] What You Make It. Uh… a little bit disappointed in one aspect you were saying earlier because the video’s been fiddled with?

Mark: Yeah.. uh.. Like I say, you see, the thing in making all these videos, all along is been that they should be different. You know, they should try and do things that out of the value of doing them not.. ah… at the minute, you see I .. I don’t like the way all these videos are sort of working in that they’re getting closer and closer to advertisements. And advertisements are getting closer and closer to pop videos. And you’re ending up with very little difference between something selling soap powder and someone actually making a video for their record and I think that’s quite shameful. I mean, you know, with this video for our new record we went in and we went into making it like a film. We went in and approached the soundtrack in the way you would approach it for a film. We shot it all so that it would work to the mood of the film and so that the band would be incidental to what we’d actually made they’d just be there like as kind of like a motivating force but they wouldn’t be what was trying to sell it at all. You know and what has happened is someone’s gone in and just re-cut all these horrible shots into it and just made it look like a regular promo. 

Simon: So somebody outside of your working relationship has actually tampered with the thing, I mean, some people at the record company maybe?

Tim: - Yeah, I thought, ‘cos it’s like sort of the first time this has ever happened to me. So it’s terrible. I hear about a lot of these things happening to other people. ‘Cos I just don’t…

Mark: Yeah. We’ve never had this.

Tim: No. We’ve never had this happen. We had a few problems with It’s My Life because everyone thought it was a bit weird, and that, but they sort of accepted it. But, um, so you know, um it’s is a bit sad because as Mark said the whole idea, right, when we started something was like the whole see like there is this other version which is basically like a performance cut against animals then it’s stuck over the soundtrack. Then it’s completely superfluous to the song you see which is a bit sad really because as Mark said our whole idea was that the thing should really work as a whole, right, but the band and all these little animals and that, and then, and we actually remixed the soundtrack you see, not in an ostentatious way, that’s near Ostend, not in that sort of a way, but um, just to really make, you know not so we’d get an award, for hey they’ve remixed the soundtrack but really to make, i mean that  is the thing about all of these films, i think, they’re not made to get awards and that, they’re just like supposed to really like sort of show the song.

Simon: And convey the music.

Tim: Yeah. That’s right. Well you see a lot of of them, it’s very easy if you cut them on the beat right and you do all this snappy snappy stuff, you see, then it’s great and I’ll be up there you know for this award and you know we’ll be up there and making emotional speeches about awards but they’re sort of about the opposite to that really. Simon: Ok. Tim, sorry. If can stop you there because we are right out of time. I wish you luck in trying to get the thing as you wanted it, in other words, getting the original back together. And it’s called Life’s What You Make It. We’re going to take a look at that right now and thanks for joining me in the studio, Mark Hollis and Tim Pope.  

   
Link to the Interview:



#CreditWhereCreditIsDue: Link to Yael Bolender's French Translation: (re-posted with kind permission from Yael - Merci!)

2003 - Blackout - A quick recollection

Author's rendition of how the blackout appeared

Around 4:10 p.m. on Thursday, August 14th in 2003, the power went out. I was working in publishing at the time and was on my way to work. In Toronto, we had, at the time, a fairly decent transit system, the TTC (I can't speak to it now. I haven't taken transit in years. I'm sure it's still great). On the main east-west line, you go over the span of the Don Valley via the Bloor Viaduct, so it's one of a few spots where you are actually outside, under this massive bridge, with a really nice view. That's where the train stopped. I was fortunate. We had a crosswind up there, so we were kept relatively comfortable. I've heard tales of people trapped in trains in the tunnels who roasted. 

Rather than give you a play by play recollection of the day, here are the things that stand out for me:

Mel Lastman & Son (click on pic for source page)

- Toronto city mayor, Mel Lastman, furniture salesman supreme, told off the Americans early in the game. They ('murica) had insisted the whole issue was Canada's fault. Mel told them off insisting that Canada was not to blame. Turns out he was right. It was Ohio's fault. Sometimes it's nice to have an outspoken mayor. Mel was the best Mayor of this city (but I digress and that is just my personal opinion). 

- While trapped below, my cellular coverage was sporadic, in that, I was able to receive incoming calls, but unable to successfully make outgoing ones after a time. My husband would call with updates as he was doing his best to make his way over to try and rendezvous with me. As a ham radio operator, he, via a network of hams, had quickly established the sheer size of the outage area. So quickly, in fact, that I had relayed the information to the train operator and guard who weren't even aware the blackout was outside of Toronto at this point, and they had communications with other trains and head office via their rail radios. They quickly spread that information to their compatriots. 

- I had made a total of 10 paper origami cranes (the ones where the wings flap when you pull on the tail) for the kids trapped in my immediate vicinity on the train as the last thing I wanted to hear was crying children. It worked. 

- I had 47 cents in my pocket and a useless bank card. As I started to walk home, hoping to meet with my husband along the way, I'd had enough of the heat and walked into a store, hoping just to get a glass of water or something. The owner told me to just take the bottles of water and wished me well. There were tales of this kind of human decency coming from all over Toronto for weeks later. At a time when human decency seemed at an all time low, it was so refreshing to hear that nothing serious happened that night, no one got seriously hurt and people were helping each other. 

- Because of 9/11, the radio broadcast kept repeating the message that this wasn't a terrorist attack. That was the most chilling memory of the day I have.

- That night, because we had nothing else to do, we hit the bar. A friend of ours who had a cache of cash via her parents, lent it to us and we hit the bar that was open, serving beer with ice. It was a friendly atmosphere, of people making the most of a bad situation. 

If this happens, we're all dead. - click on pic for source

- That month Mars was making it's closest approach to Earth in a gazillion years and sparked the beginning of those stupid 'Mars will be as big as the moon' stories across the internet. I remember standing outside the bar, giving impromptu astronomy lessons to anyone who wanted to know what that giant red star was beside the moon and was that what caused the blackout? I was Sir Bedevere in a village of people who wanted to burn the witch. Really. (Link to the scene of which I'm referring to below because any excuse to post Monty Python is a good one.)

And that's really it folks. We had our camp stoves hauled out and made an awesome meal of Korean barbeque and some leftovers, my friend had a gas stove in her house and her neighbours came over to finish cooking their evening dinners. People had neighbourhood barbeques. I would expect nothing different. Thankfully, our Canadian shone through that day. 

Stuff I'm Listening to #58 - Special Triple Bill: Kate Bush, Booker T and the MGs and Talk Talk

Today I wanted to present to you two songs that planted the seed for a wonderful third song. So there's a lot going on. This is also a bit of an I'm sick and in bed and trying to write stuff thing, so I figure this might be a 'take my mind off things' kind of post. Good music is involved and some trivial items to tuck under your belt for the the next time one would need such information. Like, when talking someone like me, who thrives on trivia and wants nothing more than to show up on Jeopardy and smash Ken Jenning's record win. 

FIrst, let me present one of my favourite songs by this awesome artist, Kate Bush and wish this phenomenal artist a belated happy birthday. I remember watching Kate's performance of Running Up That Hill in the Secret Policeman's Third Ball, which I used to own on vinyl (not sure if I still have it, will look). What a phenomenal voice and such power. And I remember being so dismayed that all anyone else seemed to focus on was that she'd gained weight. Being heavy set myself, it got under the skin, and I stupidly remained quiet about it. But I digress and her performance was amazing and no one would deny that. 

I could not find the performance online so I present the official video instead:


Second I present Green Onions by Booker T and the MGs. The organ part of this song is unmistakable right? I know there's a ton of you out there going, oh... that's the name of this song? I think in Toronto, people in my age group were most familiar with it being the backing soundtrack to some promotional filler for either channel 47 or CityTV. I can't, for the life of me remember, so anyone who can, please, fill me in. Of course, naturally, I'm going to find the video link that comes from a most influential movie in my life, Quadrophenia, which is why I ride a motorcycle now. The song was featured in the movie. I like this tune.




So. What do these two songs have in common with the third song, Life's What you Make It by Talk Talk you must be asking yourself (except all you die-hards Talkie-Talkie's out there. You're all like, "Skipping to video, stop yer yammering"). 

From Wikipedia:
'The song was one of the last to be conceived for The Colour of Spring, following concern from the band's management at the lack of an obvious single among accumulated work. Initially unwilling, Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, the principal source of original material for the band, accepted the task as a challenge. Friese-Greene: "I had a drum pattern loosely inspired by Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' and Mark was playing 'Green Onions' organ over the top." ... The track was embellished with David Rhodes' guitar hook.^'

So I present the child of the first two songs, but not the official video. Instead here is a taped ‘performance’ from what I assume is from France, wherein they make so little effort to convince anyone they’re playing this live, and gives us some great candid footage of these guys. My understanding is that they're 'taking the piss' out of lip-syncing. Forgive the incorrect usage if any. I'm still not fluent in British slang. Enjoy.

Steve Newton's 1984 Phone Interview with Mark Hollis - Transcribed

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights and my transcriptions aren't 100%. Oh and hey! Any Brits out there who can correct and add to this, please feel free to comment or email me and I'll keep this as up to date as possible. I was able to translate the Canadian just fine. This transcription is for educational and accessibility purposes and with the kind permission of Steve Newton, we've been allowed to keep the transcript here. There is a link to Steve's page at the bottom and portions of the audio can be heard here. There's a 'Translate' tool to the right. While it's not 100% it will better help any non-anglophone have a better idea of what this interview was all about. 

Enjoy!

Steve Newton: Hello?

Ziggy: Hi Steve?

Steve: Yeah?

Ziggy: Steve Newton? This is Ziggy from Capitol Records.

Steve: How you doing?

Ziggy: Not bad. How are you?

Steve: Good.

Ziggy: Good. Good. How’s the weather out in Vancouver?

Steve: Ah it’s nice today. Beauty actually.

Ziggy: Do you like golfing?

Steve: Yeah. (both laughing)

Ziggy: Okay. I’ve got Mark here.

Steve: Okay.

Ziggy: Okay. And you’re all set?

Steve: You bet.

Ziggy: Okay. I’ll pass you over to him, buddy. Thanks.

Mark: Hello.

Steve: Hi Mark? How you doing?

Mark: Yeah. Okay. Thanks.

Steve: Uh. Where you calling from?

Mark: Uh. Toronto.

Steve: Toronto, eh? What’s happening with the band right now?

Mark: Uh. Well, what they are at the minute they’re back in London rehearsing for a tour that we’ll start. We start our British tour in about three week’s time. And then hopefully we would be over here about June or July. I mean, one of the purposes of this visit is uh, actually to go down and sort the touring arrangements out.

Steve: Uh huh. So are you going to be touring Canada?

Mark: Yes. Definitely.

Steve: Making it out to Vancouver?

Mark: Well, we’d certainly hope so. Yeah.

Steve: Alright. Um. Talk Talk. Did it used to be a guitar-less band?

Mark: Yes. That’s right.

Steve: With just three? Just three of you?

Mark: So there would…  Yeah. Uh, three instruments. Yeah. it was just, you know, It was just vocals, keyboards, bass and drums.

Steve: Why the change?

Mark: Well, you see the original premise for that first thing was at the time you see we started, uh,  i mean the actual idea is, you know, like, I mean, I, I know you won’t, i’m sure you won’t see a direct comparison,

Steve: Mmm hmmm.

Mark: But you know like with John Coltrane, when he’s in his quartet?

Steve: Uh huh.

Mark: That was the initial idea for that actual line up so that it was like, you know, a bass that could be sort of melodic at some points and could be rhythmic at other points

Steve: Mmm hmm.

Mark: and then, like, keyboards and drums and the vocals to actually state the melody. Uh, the other thing about it, you see was, being a line up like that it was an easy one to actually increase upon because it - it immediately made everything, sort of, you know, keyboard orientated.

Steve: Mmm hmm. Um. “It’s My Life”, is that your second album?

Mark: Yes. That’s right.

Steve: Mmm hmm. And Robbie McIntosh plays guitar.

Mark; That’s right. He plays acoustic, yes. That’s right.

Steve: Oh. It that the same Robbie as in Pretenders?

Mark: Yes. Yes. Yes.

Steve: How did you happen to get into him?

Mark: Well, he’s someone that Tim Friese-Greene has worked with in the past.

Steve: Oh yeah.

Mark: And, you know, I mean when we were talking about getting an acoustic guitar player on, he just said, you know, how ‘bout trying Robbie. And I mean the bloke’s great, he’s very sharp.

Steve: Mmm. hmm. How many tracks does he play on? Approximately? Do you know?

Mark: Oh. Uhh… well I …

Steve: Most of them?

Mark: If I think through the album… Let me think. Uhm. One… Two… Uh… Three… Four… Oh. I mean… I’ll guess. Say about six or seven.

Steve: Mmm hmm.  So uh, more than half anyway.

Mark: Yes.

Steve: Uhm. Well, uh. what about your touring band? Will you have a guitar player with you then? or…

Mark: Yeah. We’re actually going to tour as a six piece.

Steve: Oh yeah.

Mark: So uh, which would be two keyboard players, you know, one specifically for acoustic piano, and then one for, uh, synthesizer. 

Steve: Um hmm.

Mark: Uh. A guitarist, bass, drums. and you know maybe on a couple of things I would like pick up an acoustic myself.

Steve: Um. Hmm. I saw your video out uh, the other day. I don’t know if it’s the new one or not I forget for which song it was… How many videos do you have out now, Mark?

Mark: Well, did the video you saw the other day have a lot of animals in it?

Steve: Um. I forget. I only saw it once. Uh.  

Mark: Well, I mean, if it was the new video, you see, it’s- virtually the whole of the video are animals.

Steve: Oh. Did it -  Yeah. I think I saw a monkey in there.

Mark: Oh. No, no. You-You’ve an early.. (?)

Steve: Oh. It’s a different one. Huh.

Mark: You see, with - with the new video we’ve actually done two videos for “It’s My Life”.

Steve: Uh huh.

Mark: You see, uh, during the course of the album… I - I dunno. Have you heard the whole album?

Steve: Um hmm. Yeah. I’m listening to it right now.

Mark; Well you know there are quite a few animal noises that crop up during the album.

Steve: Oh yeah. 

Mark: You see on the video what we’ve actually done - we just wanted to take a different approach to videos you see, I think they’ve become so sort of cliched in their ideas and everything in terms of, you know, expecting, you know, the girls and the fast cars and all this sort of stuff where, you know, story lines which is so sort of esoteric no one at the end of the day has a clue what it’s even about anyway.

Steve: Um hmm.

Mark: Ah. So what we actually wanted to do then, you see , uh, we got together with Tim Pope and what we’ve done, we’ve done two videos for “It’s My Life”.

Steve: Um hmm.

Mark: The ideas behind them are like… a few (?), you see with one of the videos uh, what it is it spends about 95 % of the time with animals. Of the other 5%, the band aren’t in it anywhere, and in this other 5 %, when I’m in it, I actually have my mouth taped so I can’t sing or anything.

Steve: Um hmm.

Mark: Now, what happens is at the same time you see there is a small graphic that runs along the bottom of the screen which, sort of, you know, moves from like, you know, like say a little sperm into like zebra stripes, you know, an into, like, an egg and then, into, like a third eye and all that sort of business.

Steve: Oh yeah.

Mark: Into cell division and stuff.

Steve: Um hmm.

Mark: So then that is mean to be like say, you know, like a sort of subtitle to an extent in terms of like a theory of evolution.

Steve: Oh yeah.

Mark: Then you see coupled - coupled with this again because-because of the fact that there is no lip-syncing in this thing at any point the actual idea of it, is, you see, what I think’s happened - ‘appened a lot with videos is you’ve been given the song and then the videos have to sort of, you know, fit around the song.

Steve: Uh huh.

Mark: Now what I think should be happening with videos and what we’ve tried to actually, you know, implement here, is that what you actually do is the video is a film and that is all important as being a film and the music actually becomes a soundtrack to that film.

Steve: Oh I see

Mark: But we like reverse it so you see with this… with one of these videos for “It’s My Life” what you can actually do is watch the video and have someone else’s record playing to it, if you wanted to…

Steve: Oh. That’s interesting.

Mark: Do you see what I mean?

Steve: Yeah. Um hmm.

Mark: It - It isn’t restricted to anything

Steve: That’s a good idea.

Mark: But you see why we’ve done two of these is this second video that you can play to anything is actually.. you know like, if you watch a, you know, you’re watching TV and on the TV that you’re watching you’ve got people watching TV (Steve: yeah) and they’re watching a film and you think well I’d rather see that film than this film. So what you’ve actually got… this - this animal video is that film within the film. Do you see what I mean? So in our other video you will see us and then this sort of, you know, animal thing with me without a mouth and everything is almost like say like sort of a surrealist film within our performance that then we’ve removed it a stage further so that it is actually a video within it’s own right as well.
 
Steve: Mm-hmm. Excellent. Uh Talk Talk toured with, uh, Duran Duran?

Mark: Yes (-?).

Steve: An extensive tour of England there. How did that go?

Mark: Well that was very early days. That was when we first - very first signed to EMI in England.

Steve: Oh that was, uh -

Mark: I mean, that was like, about two and a half years ago.

Steve: Oh, I see.

Mark: So um, you know. I mean-

Steve: Is Duran Duran as - I guess they weren’t as popular then as they are now? They’re - they’re huge now.

Mark: Yes. That’s right and you know. I mean, since then, when we tour England we do our own tours, I mean, you know, that was just, uh… I dunno, it’s just, you know, like, an early tour, I mean, I don’t think it really has much relevance to us.

Steve: How would you describe Talk Talk musically?

Mark: Who did-?

Steve: How would you describe Talk Talk musically?

Mark: The track or the band?

Steve: Uh, the band.

Mark: The band. Oh. We just say uh, concerned above any - everything with song-writing and then trying to be uh, as diverse as possible in terms of influences that we bring into it.

Steve: Mm hmm. Your, um, older brother, Ed Hollis,

Mark: Yes?

Steve: Uh, former Eddie and the Hot Rods -

Mark: That’s right, yeah.

Steve: Was he in Eddie and the Hot Rods?

Mark: No he. What he used to was produce and manage them.

Steve: Oh yeah.

Mark: I mean, he’s been very influential to me because, you know, I mean, I’m sure if you’ve got an older brother, you’ll know, I mean, his age difference between him and me is about slightly over three years.

Steve: Mm hmm.

Mark: So what meant was, like, at a stage when I was ten and he was thirteen he was starting to get - starting to listen to music that was, you know, slightly more off the track, than… do you know what I mean.

Steve: Mm hmm.

Mark: It’s like you start sort of …

Steve: Yeah

Mark: … hearing other - other input coming in so… what he’s done, you see, all the way through, I mean he’s - he still does it now as well, he just - he just listens to a phenomenal amount of records. I mean his collection is extremely extensive.

Steve: Oh yeah.

Mark: and what he does he just sort of, you know, guides me into things that I should be listening to, you know, so that, say like, you know, maybe like when I was sixteen he was, sort of, you know .. oh… it was, say like, when I was ten, you know he started playing me, like, the Traffic stuff, you know, and the Doors and all that sort of thing and then, you know, on the Floyd and everything and then sort of you know he’d say “Well start listening to this,” and it would be all this sort of early blues stuff like Howlin’ Wolf and that.

Steve: Oh Yeah.

Mark: You know early Hooker and stuff… (?)

Steve: Yes it’s nice to have someone turn you on to that stuff-

Mark: Then he’d sort of go “Well, now, you know, start listening to this” and it’d be like Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, you know, and early Mars(?) and stuff and then he’d go “Listen to this” and it’d be like Carl Orff and you know, Shostakovich. People who were sort of quite intense.

Steve: Um Hmm.

Mark: Uh. This is just sort of been like that all the way down the line, you know,

Steve: Um hmm.

Mark: As… You know. He’s been a… You could say he’s like a mentor to me in a way ‘cos he’s just always, sort of trying to give me new ideas in terms of things I should be listening to basically.

Steve: Great. How is the album selling, do you know?

Mark: Uh, this … well, it’s actually, I think, in it’s first three days I think it’s done 50,000.

Steve: Oh yeah… In uh, Britain that is?

Mark: No. That’s in America.

Steve: Is that right, eh?

Mark: Yes.

Steve: Alright! That’s not bad.

Mark: Oh, I think it’s wonderful.

Steve: Mmm hmmm. What’s the single out right now?

Mark: “It’s My Life”

Steve: “It’s My Life”… right. Uh huh. Um hmm. Okay! Well, when you get to Vancouver* here I’ll try to get backstage and say ‘Hi’ Mark.

Mark: Sure! That’d be great.

Steve: Thanks for calling.

Mark: Ok. Thank you.

Steve: Take care, eh.

Mark: Ok.

Steve: Bye.

Mark: Bye. 

*Note: It is my understanding that they never made it to Vancouver for this tour. They played Kingswood Theatre (just outside Toronto) with the Psychedelic Furs that year. I'm unclear if there was a Montreal or Edmonton/Calgary date that year. Canada just used to get so little love back in the day. Thanks Steve for letting me know that this interview had been intended to be published in a magazine called Georgia Straight weekly but it didn't happen because Talk Talk never made it to Vancouver. 

#CreditWhereCreditIsDue - Obviously, this interview is by Steve Newton. If you wish to utilize parts or all of this interview (text or audio), please contact Steve Newton steve@earofnewt.com for permission. He also hosts a Patreon here and he's a pretty prolific interviewer so pop over and take in the sights (and sounds)! 

Many thanks also to @threadpennyvinyl and @alla.pw on Instagram for bringing the interview to my attention and to the sheer number of Facebook Talk Talk fans who's first language is not English who (by way of 'Like's for my other two posts) encouraged me to transcribe this whole thing. It takes me about three minutes to transcribe a minute of audio, so forgive me if it's a while before I'm brave enough to take the Tim Pope / Mark Hollis interview.