Laughing Stock
post-rock chillout Mellow 90s Talk Talk
Approximately 10-minute post-rock track from Talk Talk's "Laughing Stock" (1991) The track includes drumming by Lee Harris, vocals by Mark Hollis, and several other instrumentalists. One notable moment of the track is the minute-long malfunctioning Variophon squeal in the middle of the song. The tribute album by various artists, "Spirit of Talk Talk" (2012) includes a cover of the track by the band 'Halloween, Alaska' Read more on Last.fm.

Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). Initially a synth pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, The Party's Over (1982) and It's My Life (1984), reached top 40 in the UK and produced the international hit singles "Talk Talk", "Today", "It's My Life", and "Such a Shame". They achieved widespread critical success in Europe and the UK with the album The Colour of Spring (1986) and its singles "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World". 1988's Spirit of Eden moved the group towards a more experimental sound informed by jazz and free improvisation, pioneering what became known as post-rock; it was critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful. Friction with the band's label, EMI, resulted in legal action and countersuing. Webb departed, and the band switched to Polydor for their final studio album, 1991's Laughing Stock, but split soon afterwards. Singer Mark Hollis released one solo album in 1998 before retiring from the music industry; he died in 2019. The band's founding bass player and drummer, Paul Webb and Lee Harris, played in several bands together; long-term collaborator Tim Friese-Greene continued in the business as a musician and producer. Discography The Party's Over (1982) It's My Life (1984) The Colour of Spring (1986) Spirit of Eden (1988) Laughing Stock (1991) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.