It's My Life - 1997 Remaster

It's his life indeed. Talk Talk was fronted by Mark Hollis and signed to EMI in 1981. The label sent them on tour with another one of their acts, Duran Duran, and commissioned a slick video for their single "Talk Talk." Both bands had a new-wave synthesizer sound, but that was about all they had in common. Hollis did the required promotion but didn't enjoy it - interviews were clearly a work obligation. Musically, he was not going to be swayed by popular taste or record company pressure, and for the second Talk Talk album, which didn't appear until two years later, he included "It's My Life," a manifesto of sorts where he asserts his independence. The song is framed around a relationship (as was "Talk Talk"), but it covers a lot more ground. Hollis pushed Talk Talk in an avante-garde direction for their next three albums, and in 1986, declared he would no longer perform - a promise he kept despite lucrative offers to reunite the band after their 1992 breakup. In 1998 he surfaced with a self-titled solo album, but then vanished just as quickly.

The first Talk Talk album was produced by Colin Thurston at the label's behest - Thurston had worked with Duran Duran. The It's My Life album was produced by Tim Friese-Green, who co-wrote the title track with Mark Hollis and became a de facto bandmember throughout their run. He later recorded as Heligoland.

The video shows Mark Hollis at the London Zoo in Regent's Park, but he's not singing - his mouth is digitally obscured as he stands among the exhibits. The rest of the footage came from the BBC nature series Life on Earth. Directed by Tim Pope, it may have been the first video to feature a band's lead singer not performing. Hollis was likely making a statement about lip synching.