The death of Mark Hollis, lead singer of Talk Talk, has been confirmed by his former manager Keith Aspden.
The BBC quotes Aspden as saying that the news which began circuating yesterday is ‘sadly true’, and that Hollis passed away at the age of 64 ‘after a short illness from which he never recovered’.
After releasing a self-titled solo album in 1998, Hollis brought his hugely influential musical career to an end, one which had taken Talk Talk to the peak of UK synth-rock in the 1980s, though their sound became ever-more varied and is often remembered most fondly as this evolution continued on the 1986 LP The Colour Of Spring and its 1988 follow-up Spirit Of Eden.
“I can’t tell you how much Mark influenced and changed my perceptions on art and music,” Aspden added to the BBC. “I’m grateful for the time I spent with him and for the gentle beauty he shared with us.”