Mark Hollis (4,779 views)

[Baronessa]

Mark David Hollis (4 January 1955 - 24 February 2019)
Member of: The Reaction (1977 - 1981), Talk Talk (1981 - 1991)
Vocal Range: G♯2 - B4

While the music of Talk Talk was pivotal in shaping everything from synth pop to post-rock, Mark's voice was pivotal in shaping Talk Talk and it often gets ignored as an integral part of the picture. The obvious reason for this being that throughout his career, Mark patently refused to explore the heights, or depths, of his range and settling to sound eminently comfortable wherever he sang. Despite not being a fan of showboating, you'd be surprised how thoroughly Mark owned his fourth octave belts with his adenoidal tenor-esque tone, in his most intense moments reaching a resonance on the level of a new wave-styled Michael Bolton.

Though not as prolific as his vocal doppelgänger, Mark's voice could access all its cheesy overtones and at the same time make the best out of his songwriting, ranging from his mod revival yeller and synth pop belter beginnings to discovering something fundamentally new with his supremely restrained proto-post-rock dynamics. It is perhaps because of Mark's usage of his vocal dynamics plus the formless nature of his more ambitious songwriting that, while many have followed in his footsteps, no one has quite reached the headspace of Talk Talk.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal Range Timeline}Talk Talk:
The Party's Over (1982): E♭3 - B♭4 - B4
It's My Life (1984): C3 - B4
The Colour of Spring (1986): B♭2 - A4 - B4
Spirit of Eden (1988): D3 - A4
Laughing Stock (1991): A2 - G♯4

Mark Hollis:
Mark Hollis (1998): G♯2 - G4

Significant High Notes:

B4 ("Call in the Night Boys", "Have You Heard the News?", "Life's What You Make It", "Such a Shame")
B♭4 ("Again a Game… Again", "Another Word", "Dum Dum Girl", "Hate", "The Party's Over", "Pictures of Bernadette", "Why Is It So Hard?")
A4 ("?", "Again a Game… Again", "Eden", "Give It Up", "Have You Heard the News?", "It's My Life", "It's So Serious", "Living in Another World", "Pictures of Bernadette")
G♯4 ("After the Flood", "April 5th", "Ascension Day", "Candy", "Chameleon Day", "Happiness Is Easy", "I Am a Case", "Life's What You Make It", "Living in Another World", "Mirror Man", "The Party's Over", "Talk Talk", "Wealth", "Without You")
G4 ("Another Word", "April 5th", "Call in the Night Boys", "The Colour of Spring", "Desire", "Does Caroline Know", "The Gift", "Happiness Is Easy", "Hate", "I Don't Believe in You", "Inheritance", "It's My Life", "It's You", "The Last Time", "Mirror Man", "My Foolish Friend", "Pictures of Bernadette", "Strike Up the Band", "Talk Talk", "Today", "Tomorrow Started", "Why Is It So Hard?")
F♯4 ("?", "Call in the Night Boys", "Candy", "Chameleon Day", "The Colour of Spring", "Eden", "Give It Up", "I Am a Case", "I Believe in You", "I Can't Resist", "I Don't Believe in You", "Inheritance", "The Last Time", "Life's What You Make It", "Living in Another World", "Mirror Man", "Myrrhman", "New Grass", "The Party's Over", "Renee", "Such a Shame", "Taphead", "Time It's Time", "Today", "Watershed", "Westward Bound")
F4 ("After the Flood", "Again a Game… Again", "Another Word", "April 5th", "Ascension Day", "Does Caroline Know", "Dum Dum Girl", "For What It's Worth", "The Gift", "Happiness Is Easy", "Have You Heard the News?", "It's Getting Late in the Evening", "It's So Serious", "My Foolish Friend", "A New Jerusalem", "Strike Up the Band", "Talk Talk", "Time It's Time", "Tomorrow Started", "Wealth", "Why Is It So Hard?", "Without You")

Significant Low Notes:

E♭3 ("After the Flood", "April 5th", "I Believe in You", "It's My Life", "The Party's Over", "Taphead", "Without You")
D3 ("Again a Game… Again", "The Daily Planet", "Desire", "Does Caroline Know", "The Gift", "Inheritance", "It's Getting Late in the Evening", "The Last Time", "New Grass")
C♯3 ("April 5th", "Chameleon Day", "Give It Up", "A Life (1895 - 1915)", "Myrrhman", "A New Jerusalem", "Such a Shame", "Westward Bound")
C3 ("It's Getting Late in the Evening", "Runeii", "Time It's Time", "Tomorrow Started", "Why Is It So Hard?")
B2 ("Chameleon Day", "A Life (1895 - 1915)")
B♭2 ("Time It's Time")
A2 ("Runeii")
G♯2 ("Westward Bound")

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}E♭5 ("The Party's Over"^[1a])
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1. Questionable identity.
a. Unidentified backing vocal.

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• Blue marks falsetto notes.
• Bold marks outstanding passages.
• Italics mark non-melodic notes.
• Underlines mark obscured notes.