Talk Talk Members Reuniting For ‘Colour’ 40th Anniversary

Forty years after The Colour of Spring marked Talk Talk’s evolution from synth-pop hitmakers into one of rock’s most adventurous bands, several surviving members and collaborators will reunite for a one-night celebration in London.

Dubbed The Spirit of Talk Talk, the Sept. 5 concert at the O2 Forum Kentish Town will feature founding keyboardist Simon Brenner alongside former touring members Phil Ramacon and Ian Curnow. They’ll be joined by Sophie Barker (Zero 7), Gale Paridjanian (Turin Brakes), Tim Eisenberg (Sweet Billy Pilgrim), Chris Hampson and Jacob Brown, with guest appearances from Ed Harcourt, Fyfe Dangerfield (Guillemots) and Ride guitarist Mark Gardener. Harcourt and Dangerfield will also perform opening sets.

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The concert coincides with a new vinyl reissue of The Colour of Spring, arriving Sept. 4. The release was overseen by Talk Talk drummer Lee Harris and Charlie Hollis, son of the band’s late frontman Mark Hollis, and was cut at half-speed by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios from the original master tapes. And although Harris is involved with the reissue, he does not appear to be participating in the concert.

When Hollis died in 2019 at age 64, SPIN reflected on his singular artistic legacy, noting how Talk Talk evolved from chart success with songs like “It’s My Life” into one of the most influential experimental bands of the late ’80s and early ’90s. The group’s final two albums — Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock — helped lay the groundwork for what would later be dubbed post-rock, inspiring generations of artists with their spacious, improvisational approach to composition.

Released in 1986, The Colour of Spring occupies the pivotal middle ground in that evolution. While it still yielded memorable singles like “Life’s What You Make It” and “Living in Another World,” the album also hinted at the organic, jazz-inflected and deeply atmospheric direction Hollis and his bandmates would pursue on their final recordings. Nearly four decades later, The Spirit of Talk Talk promises to celebrate that turning point, and Talk Talk’s enduring legacy.

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