Gonzai Magazine - Talk Talk Revisited - a 6-Part Article Series (en français) by Gwenaël Breës

The Reaction - Aylesbury Friars - September 2, 1978 - Mark Jordan

 

So it is with much surprise and much delight that I have become a footnote in an article about Talk Talk.

My new and amazing friend Gwen who directed this beautiful movie about Talk Talk called In A Silent Way has embarked on writing a six part series about Talk Talk.  I have been bestowed the title of "Shadow Archeologist" by the author. I am absolutely ok with this and will eventually design a certificate or diploma to hang in my office. 

Links for the article below (in French):

In a Silent Way - https://www.facebook.com/inasilentwayfilm/

The Introduction - https://gonzai.com/talk-talk-revisited/

Part 1 of 6 - https://gonzai.com/talk-talk-revisited-1-6-mark-hollis-en-reaction/

Part 2 of 6 - https://gonzai.com/talk-talk-revisited-2/

Part 3 of 6 - https://gonzai.com/talk-talk-revisited-3/

Part 4 of 6 - https://gonzai.com/talk-talk-revisited-4/

Part 5 of 6 - Pending

Part 6 of 6 - Pending

In a Silent Way (de Gwenaël Breës) - Trailer VOSTFR from Dérives asbl on Vimeo.

The Reaction - New Musical Express - Marquee Concert Review 1978

 

Bruce Douglas & Mark Hollis - Photo by George Bodnar, NME

New Musical Express - August 26, 1978

Caption: THE REACTION: “So cop the new single, right?”

The Reaction
MARQUEE CLUB, LONDON

REACTION, You wanna reaction? Aw, right - try this.

Hey gang - Remember those fabulous ‘60s? No? Rowboat the slick ‘70s? Reaction do. They checked out transatlantic Pop Rhythm ’n’ Rock Hall of Fame. And decided that’s where they’re coming from.

They’re young and they play good. Sound is structured round controlled interplay between lead and rhythm guitars, with heavy rhythmic support at the back. I heard them make a mistake on “Live Alone”, but otherwise the playing was just about flawless. Tasty harmonies too.

Mark Hollis (rhythm guitars) take the lead vocals and catches the main visual action. He kneels (prayer wise?) in front of the speakerstack. He reached for the volume switch… I felt a lump in my throat: this is feedback. And Gino Williams Jr. (drums) played a solo. That’s right - a drum solo. Laugh? I nearly cried as their cover version of Cream’s “Badge” chop-chopped through the speakers. Oh to be thirteen…

The Reaction look like up and coming corporate rockers should. Bruce Douglas (bass) is like Willie De Ville in a smartie suit. Bruce handles the material with finesse. He’s a suave player.

Perhaps they’ll headline and make albums. Just like Taste, Ten Years after and all that crew. Then the business really moves in and they get bagged as Rock stars.

Catch them now while they’re still fun.

Caris

(Fun fact: George Page mentioned to me that the two people at the mike was their nod to the Beatles.) 

The Reaction-Promotional Poster - courtesy George Page

Geoff Baker's review of The Reaction @ the Routes Club in Exeter

photo: Mark Jordan - Aylesbury Friars April 15th, 1978 - used here for illustrative purposes only 😄

(All photos and documents herein provided by George Page (unless noted^^) and published/shared with his kind permission.) 

In the previous post, there was a letter from Geoff Baker to the Reaction asking to attend their gig at the Roundhouse for July 23. In the letter he mentions an unpublished  review, which I've transcribed for you here.

God bless Geoff, he was truly a great fan of the band. A 'gushing' review according to George Page. But I disagree and think he's just being humble. I think it's probably spot on. Geoff's description of George made me truly regret never seeing the Reaction live. Mind you, I would have been three years old at the time and nobody wants a crying toddler around them.

GWB July 12

After getting drunk on warm beer, and feeling better for the belches, I hung around (trying to look hard and failing) waiting for the support band - The Reaction.

They came on like they knew they were good. They had an instant buzz in their blues which hit you like a smack in the face.

Like may of the bands that have emerged since J. Rotten esq. started puking over punters and saying it was cool, they had that aggressive energy that hippies lack, but they added a definitive touch that put them miles above the bands whose names people like to mention in “hip” conversation at gin and tonic records parties - musicianship. They don’t just strut like turkeys playing B flat, they know their way around an axe.

Gino Williams, who drummed like a threshing machine on amphetamine sulphate, summed up the band’s ethos for the ligging journalist.

“The most important thing lacking today is the ability to play what’s hanging round your neck. The Pistols started the vibe - which was great cos it proved you could get to the crowds without coming on like some super guitarist. But then it degenerated and you got bands just getting up and playing anything as long it was loud and fast.

“What we try to do is link both areas so you get this high energy and musical ability”.

Which is what they’ve got. As a band they are enigmatic on stage. Mark Hollis, lead vocals and rhythm axe, stands, legs askance, ready to blow a lot of “name” bands off the boards. To an extent this kid is personified rock and roll.

- Gruff, wild, skinny and raw - R&R ain’t about be[ing] fat and comfortable in your silk armchair. Let’s hope that no executive from Island “matures” the image and wrecks the band with business-inclined compromise.

Even though his brother - who brought a new meaning to the Hot Rods and to sunglasses - helped shaped Barrie Masters into one of the best front men in the country - Mark’s gonna wreck that reputation if the Press give him a chance.

On lead there is this demon who comes on like some cross between Wilko Johnson (in dress) and Billy Wyman in his dancing. Wilko, who half the country acclaimed as king when he was with the Feelgoods, just ain’t in the same league as this guy, he whips solo’s out with all the ease of someone darning socks.

The band is tight - tres tight - a lot of that, I think is due to Bruce’s bass, I haven’t seen a guy move over the frets with such power and dexterity since wotshisname left Free.

You can’t describe the effect a band like this has in an article. But the best way to sum them up was by their version of “Badge”.

They broke this 60s classic into the 70s by mixing the epitome of musicianship (viz. Cream) with all the raw power and energy of punk This was music how it should be played - brining new ideas and interpretations to old, but intact, doctrines.

See them when you can, impress your friends with tales of these Titans of young rock. Your future and the health of music lies in their hands. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

The Reaction - You Have Got a Rare Magic, Don't Compromise

Live at the Marquee 1978

(All photos and documents herein provided by George Page and published/shared with his kind permission.) 

If you follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, then you might have this inkling that recently, I've been in touch with their guitarist, a legend, so far as I'm concerned and all around gentleman. 

For those not in the know, the Reaction is Mark Hollis' band prior to Talk Talk. They toured (a lot! Their tour itineraries are below) and recorded a few things here and there for an album that never came to pass. What came was a single, the b-side and a contribution to a compilation album. 

George has been digging tirelessly throughout his own files and archives and has been kind enough to share his finds with me and with his kind permission, with you. I've always been firm on my belief that these kind of thing should be accessible to the fans. Among the Talk Talk fans, there sits plenty of us that discovered Mark's first band with George Page, Bruce Douglas and Gino P. Williams and absolutely fell in love with the three tracks (I Can't Resist, I'm a Case and Talk Talk Talk Talk) that we were allowed to hear. 

The Reaction photoshoot @ Electric Avenue

Over the last two years demo tracks and even a live recording surfaced on YouTube. Gold! Pure gold for us. But unfortunately, so far as I can tell, all of these tracks have since been pulled down from YouTube. If new recordings pop up on YouTube (or on a public forum elsewhere) I'll be sure to share them with you. For now, here is a link to a playlist with everything I've been able to find, Reaction related, on YouTube.

I was fortunate enough to have received this from George Page. A letter from reviewer Geoff Baker from the Express & Echo newspaper in Exeter. I don't have the actual review yet (UPDATE: within hours of posting, the most excellent Mr. Page came through and sent me the review. I've transcribed it in next post or you can click on the link here), but I think the last line of Geoff's letter says it all. Clearly Geoff saw in a 23 year old Mark what we all now know.

(For those not in the know, Geoff Baker moved on to become Paul McCartney's PR guy for a while. Special thanks to Alla Webster for providing me with that tidbit.) 

Transcript of the letter is below. 

Letter from Geoff Baker to Mark Hollis and the Reaction

Letter Transcript: 

Dear Mark,

Regarding me and the bird coming to see you blast Sharr Murray* to bits at the Marquee. Well, we can’t make it, cos my editor won’t give me that day off. But, there’s always a but, we can come up to see you at the Roundhouse. Are you playing the Roundhouse? On Sunday July 23? I fucking hope so. If so, could you get my name on the door - plus two (cos I’ll bring the bird and I’ve told my brother what a blast you are on stage (I’ve also told half of the Westcountry) and he wants to come). If you can’t manage it, we’ll pay cos I don’t mind forking out for bands like you, it would just make it all easier if we were “on the door”.

I’ll send the single review up when its published on Saturday. I think they might have cut it cos I wrote a lot - I also wrote a review of your Exeter gig and I think they’ve spiked that as well - I have no control on what appears in the paper. In case it don’t get printed, I’ve included what I wrote about you that night.

Could you phone me some time to say whether you’re playing the Roundhouse? Thank you. Best of luck with future gigs - you have got a rare magic, don’t compromise.

Geoff   

______________

*Note: George explains that Sharr gave them a bad review which is what Geoff is referring to in the letter. From Geoff's enthusiasm in the letter, I assume they definitely blasted Sharr 'to bits'.

Oh... and happy birthday Mark Hollis, man of rare magic and few compromises.

Mark Hollis @ the Marquee, performing with The Reaction, 1978

 

The Reaction Tour itineraries:  

May 1978

July 1978

July 1978 with the Shirts

September - November 1978 with the Radio Stars

Stuff I'm Listening To #100 - Guilty Pleasures #6 - Demos - Caralyn - Mark Hollis (the Reaction)

Caralyn by the Reaction (Mark Hollis) from Finn on Vimeo.
Artist: the Reaction/Mark Hollis*

Title: Caralyn (or I'm Telling You)**

Favourite Lyrics: 
Caralyn, let me take you into a brand new world
You won’t go without
Get a car. Get a great big house
Never need


Why?: I feel like I've posted this before. If not, I'm surprised because ever since this was shared with me I'd fallen in love with it. It became my favourite song by Mark Hollis because he was clearly at the start of his song writing career here. You'll almost tire of the fact that so many people will tell you 'Spirit of Eden' or the 'Colour of Spring' was a masterpiece. Funny... I absolutely love 'the Party's Over' and I I tend to toss 'Laughing Stock' on more than I do 'Spirit of Eden'. But Mark Hollis' earlier stuff shouldn't be ignored despite the fact it is not the stuff that most Talk Talk fans will tell you was the best stuff he'd ever done.

There's a freshness and spontaneity about them that gets lost in the glossy and heavily produced debut and sophomore albums that happen later. This is a large part of why I love demos (which I've noted before). I've heard a handful of demos and I really like them. There's something about hearing a band at the start of their career that's simply adorable, like looking at one's baby pictures. If you listen closely, you can hear greatness at its conception. Like birth, it can be a little messy, it most likely needs to be cleaned up, but simply miraculous in it's own right. 

The thing with unsigned bands demos are: they're new to the business; they're usually pretty young and they're putting their best stuff out as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible. It must be impressive enough to the record company so they can get that deal and potentially start their career. A lot is riding on those recordings.

There's a lovely interview excerpt (Part III) with Viviane Morrison where Mark does a little reminiscing about the first days in the studio, where he drops this comment about how time was precious in the recording studio and if you took time to stop for tea, you had just wasted ￡10. I only bring it up because that statement is just so... British and adorable. :) Thanks @Alla for finding the interview (Part I and Part II linked here for your reference). For me, this interview was great because it was simply amazing for me to hear him discussing his time in the Reaction.

Footnotes: 
*It sounds like this could haven been a demo for the Reaction, but without any supporting evidence to say for sure, I can only say for sure Mark Hollis had a hand in writing and performing it. There's no date or anything attached to the demo to verify anything else.

**Again, there's no evidence for the song title. Some people have a copy of this demo labelled "I'm Telling You" and others have it listed as "Caralyn". I almost suspect it is called the later and the first name was adapted in order to avoid confusion with "Does Caroline Know?" 

Finally, special thanks to the 'Professor', one of the more knowledgeable Talk Talk fans I know, who was kind enough to share the demo with me before I located this copy on Vimeo. He remains anonymous because while he never gave me explicit instructions not to reveal that he had shared it, I didn't think he wanted everyone to bother him to share what he had.

Stuff I'm Listening To Special Birthday Edition

photo by Mark Jordan

Artist: the Reaction

Title: I Can't Resist

Favourite Lyrics:

I can't resist
The feeling's so much stronger now
I must make sure
To do the things I want to do
Life's just too short
For answers to your problems

Why?: I'll give you one guess who's birthday it is today. This was the single from his first band released in 1978, four years before Talk Talk released their first album. I may or may not have damaged car stereo speakers whilst listening to this.  

Photo credit and further photos can be found at Friars Aylesbury website. 

Stuff I'm Listening to #67 - Three kinds of "Candy" - Talk Talk and The Reaction

For the past couple of days my vinyl sensei @Threadpennyvinyl's been posting about Talk Talk's song 'Candy'. Officially, the song hails from their debut album, 'The Party's Over'. She noted an interesting counter-factual that reminded me 'Candy' had been planned as their debut single. Perhaps things would have gone differently for the band. But without bending the laws of time and space, and lacking the time circuits and flux capacitors to properly construct a TARDIS or Delorean Time Machine, we'll never know.

Last night she subtly pointed out the differences between The Reaction's version (lyrically speaking) versus Talk Talk's release. My mind geared up and decided, I'm going to write a blog post! It's NaNoWriMo after all. And while I just don't do well with things like that, getting off my butt to write anything which I'm willing to post publicly is always a challenge, fun, and exciting. Any writing exercise I get done for myself is good exercise. 

The original intention of this post was to prattle on about the how valuable demos are for fans of any band. They're usually made as quickly as possible, as cheaply as possible (because what real struggling band do you know actually has money?) and meant to get them in the record company's door and signed. Years ago, I heard one of U2's demos where Bono must have been barely 15, a voice not quite cracked yet, on Alan Cross' Ongoing History of New Music (It's a wonderful show and I highly encourage anyone with an interest in learning about the backstories of new alternative music to have a listen). It was an eye (ear?) opening moment and a really good glimpse of what we all knew was to come for U2. Surprising for me because I had no idea Bono and the Edge had known each other for that long!

Personally, I adore demos. They're going to be the band at their very amateurish best, unrefined and full of energy. You're hearing conception in these demos. It's quite amazing, especially when you look at the scope of what the band will eventually become. The Reaction, Mark Hollis, Talk Talk. Their demos leave me speechless. To hear Mark Hollis so young and untouched by the music business is definitely a feast for the ears.

Speaking about demos being cheap, I need to relate the tale of my hometown band, the Barenaked Ladies. They made their demo for $1. We had a thing called Speaker's Corner, where, for $1, you could record a two minute video in a booth and once a week, they'd pick the highlights into a half hour show. It felt like Public Access Television deconstructed (think Wayne's World, Mike Myers being another Scarborough alumnus), but in Vine video length. Barenaked Ladies piled into this slightly larger than a phone booth thing and recorded their song 'You Can Be My Yoko Ono'. They waited until the weekend for the show to air. They recorded their piece and went off to the record company to show off their demo. The rest is clearly history.
  
As usual, I have digressed. 

So... Because of Threadpenny and a blog post by Dervswerve about the song (which I fully admit, I read last year back when Talk Talk was shiny and new for me, then decided maybe I should give this track a listen as I only had downloaded the singles from this album at that point), I had gone in to listen to the song again, all three versions that I have with an open ear.

Going chronologically backwards, let's start with the album version first. 

Quick note: All YouTube links are audio only. Please... please, let me know if the links go dead and I'll do my very best to find new ones. 

Talk Talk's official relase of the song from their debut album 'The Party's Over'

Here is producer Colin Thurston's cleaned and polished version of this song. At this point, the song had gone through two bands worth of tweaking and Colin made it as New Romantic ready as he could. A ballad worthy to sit with the other moody synth-pop staples of the time. Kudos to Simon Brenner for his synthesizer work here. You cannot beat Lee Harris and Paul Webb as a rhythm section. Instrumentally, this song is perfect. But to me, Mark always sounded a little flat, (not off key! but...) as if he's already sung this song too many times. It's a great piece, nonetheless and if you hadn't heard the other versions, you wouldn't hear the flatness I'm talking about. Almost as if the business had already started pissing him off and grinding him down a little. 

Talk Talk's demo - featured on their 'Asides and Besides' album

Now here is the demo, from Talk Talk. Fortunately they released this officially on their 'Asides and Besides' album so you need not worry about hissy bad quality tape recordings here. Slightly faster than the album version but mostly the same. Mark's not as flat here. All the emotion behind the song is much more pronounced here. But I think he's still holding back.

The Reaction's demo - unreleased

So when I started working on collecting the music I liked, it became pretty clear there was a specific style of music I gravitated towards. Anything ska, mod or punk was going to be my cup of tea. Here is the demo that Mark Hollis' first band, The Reaction, pumped out. Mark's younger here and channeling all the energy of the mod revival/punk. If you ever needed to hear this song at it's rawest, here is it. This is, vocally speaking, my favourite version.

This pack of candy comes with a 25% bonus - The Reaction's LIVE performance of Candy

 
It is with some surprise, when I started traveling through the Internets earlier today, that I should find this. I went out just to satisfy my own curiosity that there were no other versions of the song that I might have missed in order to write my directionless and rambling post today. I'm not sure how I missed this. The YouTuber posted it in May. I'll assume that I was being inundated by too much stuff all at once when he uploaded it for the world. There were a total of 6 views when I discovered it. Sad really. Seems a lot of people missed this.

I tend to steer away from discussing live versions of songs. They're all going to be different from one another and different from the demo/album/single. It also depends on how the musicians were feeling that night. Being a one time audience member, you're likely not going to notice if a performance was slightly off. But this being the only recording I've ever heard of The Reaction, well... Damn. It's pretty effing good! It's on par with the Reaction demo. Mark Hollis, as usual, is able to pull off a live performance that more often than not, overshadows the original album version (in this case, the demo). 

Oh, for good measure, here's a pic of the Reaction performing at the Aylesbury Friar for no more reason than I really like this picture. 

Photo by Mark Jordan. Found at the Aylesbury Friar's website.  From L to R (George Page (guitar), Bruce Douglas (bass), Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar), Gino Williams (drums)

Stuff I'm Listening To - A Week of Covers - Day 2 - Talk Talk Talk Talk

Artist: Talk Talk 

Original Artist: The Reaction

Favourite Lyrics: (Original)
Well yeah, I told you before when I was up, 
Society was bringing me down.
Politicians they keep talking in rhymes.
Twisting around to make me think you're straight down the line

Favourite Lyrics: (Cover)

Well, did I tell you before when I was up?
Anxiety was bringing me down
I'm tired of listening to you talking in rhymes
Twisting around to make me think you're straight down the line

Why?: If I ever needed an excuse to post things by Mark Hollis three times in one go, this is it! 

The desire to know if Talk Talk had ever done a cover song has been stuck in my head for a long while. So far as I knew, Talk Talk never recorded any cover songs.

Recently, I had queried in a few Facebook groups a fun "what if...?". What if Talk Talk had indulged themselves and done an album of covers, what do you think would be on it or what would you have liked to see them cover? It was a fun discussion that gave me few new (to me) discoveries of some great music. But alas, we will never know what songs they would have wanted to remake.

There was one hint in an interview once with Mark noting how he loved Singin' in the Rain and the Gene Kelly dancing through the streets part. But trying to envision a Talk Talk cover and accompanying video for it has stretched the very limits of my Peanut brain (this is the same brain that, fueled by spicy pizza, managed to cast Mark Hollis and Lee Harris in Bladerunner one night)... trying to imagine Mark recreating Gene Kelly’s number has been hard to do. But as usual, I digress. 

After the fantasy covers album discussion had peaked and went away, my brain decided, in a 'too much shwarma the night before' laced dream, that Talk Talk did indeed release a cover song, originally recorded and released by a different band, albeit one that had the same lead singer. I'm not sure if this qualifies officially as a cover song as Mark co-owned the rights to the song with his brother Ed, but for the purposes of my list, it is a cover. Part of this whole cover/not cover debate was brought on by John Fogerty, who used the music from Run Through The Jungle and stuck his Old Man Down The Road lyrics over it. He was sued for copyright infringement by CCR's label. This was part of my justification for this as well, though I know the situation is entirely different and the outcome not entirely in favour of my criteria... but my brain, my logic, ok?*

Naturally, the first version of the song I'd ever heard would be Talk Talk's version from their debut album. I have these vague recollections that I may have known about this song back in the day but never made the connection that this was the same band that sang It's My Life until last year. Did I like the song in the beginning? I can't remember. Given that it was most likely the Russell Mulcahy version of the video (below) that I saw first, I'm going to say no. Mulcahy's video was likely too weird for six/seven year old me and definitely spurred some strange men in white-suits nightmares for me at that age. Hmmm... Let me explain. They only seemed to play decent music videos late at night back then. I was anywhere from four to eight years old back in those days. So here I was, up late when I shouldn't be. It's dark, quiet and a bit spooky (think older, creaky house). I'm sitting there watching these music videos, as quietly as possible and sometimes on mute because I'm waiting for something familiar, a little tired and with all the wrong heightened emotions running through me. It should be easy to see why a Talk Talk video, of all things, would cause me to have a weird dream/nightmare.

I have discovered in the past year that Mark Hollis fronted another band prior to Talk Talk, a mod/punk band called The Reaction. The Reaction have released exactly three songs. The single for I Can't Resist, and it's B-side I'm A Case, and this, their contribution to a compilation record. Their track for Talk Talk Talk Talk (audio only) is below. As for which version is my favourite? I'm a little torn. Of course Talk Talk rates high, as it's that 80s synth-pop I will forever love, but then the original version by The Reaction, a much younger and angrier Mark Hollis has its charms as well. I'll say that my favourite version is largely dependent on if I'm wearing my safety pins for earrings that day or not. BONUS: Russell Mulcahy's 'I'm gonna film stuff and throw in a monkey and use the same weird shots and concepts for Bonnie Tyler later' attempt for Talk Talk is also linked below (featuring Paul Webb's most aweome gravity defying pompadour... Yeah, I'm still jealous of it). 

(Personal aside: So far as I'm concerned, what worked for Duran Duran (i.e. Colin Thurson, Russell Mulcahy), clearly did not work for Talk Talk... everybody needs to stop comparing the two. It's lazy journalism. Thanks.)


*Thanks to my cohorts, Penny, Curmudgeon and the Queen for letting me bounce this idea off them a few weeks ago.

The Gospel According to Mark Hollis

I can't resist

The feeling's so much stronger now

I must make sure

To do the things I want to do

Life's just too short

For answers to your problems
 
~ ‘I Can’t Resist’ - The Reaction

I’ve spent the last (almost) month reading these outpourings of utter grief and despair from Talk Talk fans around the world. I think reading their sadness just made mine worse. It sucks that someone who was a huge part of your life is just gone. Even if there was never any more presence in your life than perhaps songs (for those who've had the opportunity to meet him, I'll tell you I’m envious, but so happy you had that treasured moment for yourself ). He obviously filled some part of your life with something special and meaningful. I’m a newbie fan, so while I can’t claim years, the short time I’ve had this and him in my life has been wonderful. His music is great. I enjoy it immensely and haven’t really stopped listening since.

I was listening to this song on my way to work today. The opening lines kind of slapped me across the face. I’ve been in a kind of numb state for a while (long story short - something happened in December, Talk Talk's music helped me deal with some of it so my life has been interspersed with moments of grooving to Talk Talk’s earlier stuff and general malaise when I read posts from his fans lately. Mark dies and everything that got helped got tossed out the window and I was a mess. Mood swing anyone?). This past weekend was a particularly low point. I was irritable and didn’t know what to do with myself. I knew what was happening and I am not pleased with myself. I know I’m stronger than this. I’m better than this. But I’ve been letting this, for lack of a better description, mid-life crisis, get the better of me. Mark Hollis’ dying served as a catalyst for it. I think it’s fair to say these lyrics felt like it was his statement for me to move on. For everyone else still grieving, please don’t think I’m being dismissive of your feelings. I just found what I needed to move on. I hope you do soon too, which is why I wanted to share this epiphany (See what I did there? 😉) with you.

Life is too short. There may not be any answers. I’m off to do ALL the things now. After all… to pilfer some more lyrics from him… Life is what you make it.

Thanks for reading.