Talk Talk’s ‘Mirror Man’ Gets Digital Release To Celebrate 40 Years
To celebrate its’ 40th anniversary, Talk Talk’s first single, Mirror Man, has been remastered and is now available digitally.
It has been released along with a newly-remastered edition of its original B-side, Strike Up The Band and you can hear both tracks here.
Talk Talk were formed in 1981 by vocalist and primary writer Mark Hollis, who had previously featured with late 1970s mod revival act, The Reaction. Hailing from north London, Hollis put Talk Talk together with drummer Lee Harris, bassist Paul Webb and keyboardist, Simon Brenner and signed with EMI.
In their early days, the band were often associated with the UK’s burgeoning synth-pop and new romantic scenes, and they supported Duran Duran on tour in late 1981. Mirror Man was chosen as their debut single and released by EMI in February 1982. Though not a hit, the song helped build the band’s early reputation prior to the release of their debut album, The Party’s Over, in July of that same year.
Produced by former David Bowie and Roxy Music engineer, Colin Thurston, The Party’s Over contained two bona fide UK hits, courtesy of Today, which reached No. 14 in the UK and a remixed version of the band’s second single, Talk Talk, which peaked at No. 23. The album itself followed through on this early success, peaking at No. 21 in the UK Top 40 album chart and going silver – also significantly raising the band’s profile in the process.
The album also picked up some positive press, with Sounds’ review declaring: “The album is, as Mark Hollis insists, an album of moods. Sample the punchy, memorable pop of Talk Talk, the dark synth-balladeering of It’s So Serious and Mark Hollis’s distinctive Weller-esque vocals. He injects pathos into his delivery, and the arrangements show a lot of thought.”
Following the The Party’s Over and its immediate follow-up, It’s My Life, Talk Talk would dramatically change direction. They abandoned their synth-pop style from 1986’s The Colour Of Spring onwards and – largely at Hollis’ instigation – moved towards a more organic and experimental approach to making music which resulted in twin masterpieces, Spirit Of Eden (1988) and 1991’s Laughing Stock.