Talk Talk - Such A Shame

Talk Talk was an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World".

Talk Talk began as a quartet consisting of Mark Hollis (vocals), Simon Brenner (keyboards), Lee Harris (drums) and Paul Webb (bass guitar). They were generally associated with the New Romantic movement; more specifically, in their early years, they were often compared with Duran Duran, as both bands not only featured a double-barrelled name and a Roxy Music-inspired musical direction, but also shared the same record label (EMI) and producer (Colin Thurston).

Talk Talk achieved considerable international success in 1984/85 (particularly in continental Europe) with the album It's My Life, which Allmusic reviewed as a "cohesive album" which showed improved songwriting. The accompanying single "Such a Shame" (a song inspired by the book The Dice Man) became a Top 5 hit in Austria,Germany, Italy and Switzerland during this period. The title track of the album was also a top 10 hit in Italy, and made the U.S., Canadian, French, German, New Zealand and Netherlands Top 40.

In their later years the band's commercial appeal receded, and their critical reputation increased as they moved from synthpop to a more experimental form. Their last two albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, were highly acclaimed and remain influential to experimental alternative rock genres.

After Laughing Stock, Talk Talk disbanded in 1992. Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris, and the two went on to form the band .O.rang, while Tim Friese-Greene started recording under the name Heligoland. In 1998, Mark Hollis released his self-titled solo début Mark Hollis, which was very much in keeping with the minimalist post-rock sound of Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock. Hollis retired from the music industry shortly afterwards.

Webb also collaborated under the name of Rustin Man with Portishead lead singer Beth Gibbons and released Out of Season in 2002, while Lee Harris featured on the Bark Psychosis 2004 album, ///Codename: Dustsucker.

"Such a Shame" is a song written by Mark Hollis for the band's second album It's My Life (1984).
It was released as the album's second single and became a big hit in continental Europe in 1984 and 1985, reaching the Top 10 in numerous countries, and becoming a number one in certain territories (their second number one single after the remixed version of their song "Talk Talk" which topped the South African charts in 1983); but strangely this single was largely ignored in the UK. In the U.S., the song entered the Billboard Hot 100, and was a Top 20 hit in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play.

"Such a shame" was inspired by Luke Rhinehart’s The Dice Man, one of composer Mark Hollis' favourite books. When asked what drove him to respond to Rhinehart’s book, Hollis replied, "A good book, not a lifestyle I'd recommend."

" The above text is a mashup from Wikipedia."