122-469: Laughing Stock is the fifth and final studio album by English band Talk Talk , released in 1991. Following their previous release Spirit of Eden (1988), bassist Paul Webb left the group, which reduced Talk Talk to the duo of singer/multi-instrumentalist Mark Hollis and drummer Lee Harris . Talk Talk then acrimoniously left EMI and signed to Polydor , who released the album on their newly revitalised jazz -based Verve Records label. Laughing Stock
244-461: A Studer A800 24-track recorder with Dolby SR noise reduction, which, to make editing simpler, was run at 30 inches per second. Harris' drums were firstly set up against the far wall of the studio's main recording room, Wessex Studio 1, and were microphoned in "the usual rock arrangement", using "about ten microphones all close to the kit – bass drum , snare , hi-hat , tom-toms , overheads , ambient etc." Following this, Brown and Hollis rented
366-420: A noise rock band, with a climactic barrage of drumming that falls on your ears like an avalanche before the audible tape-splice cuts it dead." In the song, Hollis sings about judgment day and "its inevitable coming, saying farewell to us all." “Taphead", "a masterfully subtle piece of music", begins with a simple guitar melody and Hollis' "wavering, unsure vocals," when keyboards unexpectedly fade in "and then
488-402: A water heater and kettle , as well as techniques such as " sampling , looping , off-setting, and the odd backwards F/X." Differing, distant miking techniques were employed for these instruments, with mics being placed "six feet from acoustic instruments, and about twelve feet from amplifiers." With the album now completed, they used only "an old spring echo, an EMT echo plate, and a DDL" to mix
610-574: A Paris planetarium. Hollis attended both playbacks and survived. He says the Paris one wasn't too bad because, when the lights went out, it was close to the perfect way to listen to his music – with your eyes closed, watching your own mind movies. He didn't stick around in London, though – he had no desire to see people's reactions. He says he's proud of the record and, seeing as it wasn't made for other people, their opinions don't bother him." Hollis denied that there
732-421: A Sentimental Mood " – where "it sounds like the bloke's setting his kit up" – and Bob Dylan 's New Morning as influences, "because there, if you're talking about sounds being honest, I don't think you can get much more honest than that. It just sounds like the band's in the front room with you." In a radio interview with Richard Skinner at the time of the album's release, Hollis commented that "I think silence
854-524: A best-of/ greatest hits album , and History Revisited – a collection of new remixes of old material from the band. Hollis was vocal in his opposition to both releases. Before the latter was released, Hollis sent letters requesting that the compilation be stopped, but EMI did not respond. In November 1991, Talk Talk sued EMI, delivering four writs against their former record label. The band claimed that material had been falsely attributed to them and that they were owed money from unpaid royalties. Talk Talk won
976-414: A formless wash of sound, can wring emotions out of listeners as powerfully as any conventional melody." The cover art was designed by English visual artist James Marsh , responsible for most of Talk Talk's artwork. Marsh initially painted a cover depicting a group of threatened birds forming the shape of a larger bird in flight over a desolate landscape. However, Hollis later felt the artwork should feature
1098-492: A grumpy Hollis who mocks lip-synching; after EMI protested, they re-shot the video, turning it into "a total piss-take of lip-synching", in Alan McGee 's words. The artist James Marsh designed the first cover image for It's My Life based on the band's name. He followed the theme for subsequent singles, remaining the band's artistic frontman and creating all their covers and posters throughout their career. Talk Talk abandoned
1220-427: A more organic art pop sound, where musicians improvised with their instruments for many hours, then Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Greene edited and arranged the performances to get the sound they wanted. A total of sixteen musicians appeared on the album. It became their most successful album, selling over two million copies and prompting a major world tour. Nonetheless, for their next album Spirit of Eden (1988),
1342-726: A possible penalty is a prison sentence. The Division is led by the Lady Chief Justice , currently The Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill , assisted by the Vice-President of the Criminal Division , currently Lord Justice Holroyde . Sections 54 to 59 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 and Part 52 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 came into force on 2 May 2000, and created one universal appeals system; not all of these are to
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#17328809004791464-567: A report on the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal. Bowman noted a growing workload and delays, with 14 months between setting down and disposing of a case in 70% of cases, the rest taking even longer than that – some had taken five years. He recommended extending the requirement to ask leave to appeal to almost all appeal cases; allowing certain appeals to be heard at a lower level; focusing of procedure; imposition of time limits on oral arguments; and
1586-402: A report on the accessibility of the courts to the public. Woolf identified civil litigation as being characterised by excessive cost, delay and complexity, and succeeded in replacing the diverse rules with a single set of Civil Procedure Rules . Before Woolf had even published his final report, Sir Jeffery Bowman, the recently retired senior partner of PriceWaterhouse , was commissioned to write
1708-686: A review of this. The result was published in 1869. The recommendation was that there should be a common system of appeal from all of the High Court divisions, with a limited set of appeals allowed to the House of Lords . This reform was implemented by the Judicature Acts , with the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 giving an almost limitless right of appeal to the Lords. The new legal structure provided
1830-413: A screaming trumpet note and Hollis' vocals. Another climax that lasted less than a second. The control that the ensemble shows in "Taphead" is unparalleled." When the band delivered Laughing Stock to Verve, Polydor were purported "gutted", wondering how they would be able to sell such an uncommercial record. Sutherland recalled that "the first time I heard the record was at a dinner given for retailers by
1952-424: A second, oral application. If a written application is refused, the applicant may ask for an oral hearing to discuss the refusal. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 , the appeal must have "a real prospect of success", or there must be "some other compelling reason why the appeal should be heard" for it to be accepted. Under certain, limited, circumstances, second appeals are allowed. This is when an appeal goes to
2074-519: A short statute, solved both problems neatly by abolishing the appeal of county court decisions to the High Court and instead sending them automatically to the Court of Appeal, and by establishing that appeals to the Lords could only take place with the consent of the Court of Appeal or of the Lords themselves. A second set of reforms to the appeals system followed the report of the Evershed Committee on High Court Procedure in 1953, which recognised
2196-524: A single Court of Appeal, which heard appeals from all the various divisions of the new unified High Court of Justice . It only heard civil cases: opportunities for appealing in criminal cases remained limited until the 20th century. In its early days, the Court of Appeal divided its sittings between Westminster Hall for appeals from the Common Law divisions, and Lincoln's Inn for Chancery, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty appeals, with five Lords Justices. After
2318-455: A successful tryout in the Court of Appeal. The court over which Lord Denning presided from 1962 to 1982 was under no pressure and had no inclination to modernise, with liaisons and management handled by clerks with little knowledge. This changed in 1981 with the appointment of a Registrar, John Adams, an academic and lawyer, who significantly reformed the internal workings of the Court. In July 1996, Lord Woolf published Access to Justice ,
2440-404: A term is as widely used and abused as soul – it no longer means what it should mean. Jazz has almost been bastardised to such an extent that, if you've got a saxophone on a record, it's jazz, which is a terrifying idea. It's like, where would you ever place Can ? To me Tago Mago is an extremely important album that has elements of jazz in it, but I would never call it jazz. Basically, the deal
2562-507: A tree, to create a visual connection to Spirit of Eden . The final cover featured the same birds in a spherical tree forming the shapes of the Earth's continents . Later on, the first cover was used as the artwork for Talk Talk's three-single box set After the Flood . As with previous albums, the album's liner notes feature Hollis' handwritten lyrics for each of the songs. Russel Uttley of Peacock Design
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#17328809004792684-441: Is a different beast. I am very proud of the album, it's probably one of my best projects, but I find it dark and claustrophobic." Laughing Stock was the last release in the band's career, as Talk Talk silently disbanded in 1992, as Hollis wished to focus on his family. Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris, and the two went on to form the band .O.rang , who recorded several albums in the 1990s, while Tim Friese-Greene started recording under
2806-477: Is an extremely important thing. It isn't something that should be abused. And that's my biggest worry because of the whole way that communications have developed, that there is a tendency just to allow this background noise all the time rather than thinking about what is important. The silence is above everything, and I would rather hear one note than I would two, and I would rather hear silence than I would one note," and according to Wyndham Wallace, "this helps explain
2928-707: Is considered, along with Spirit of Eden and Slint 's Spiderland , to have been the primary catalyst of the post-rock genre. AllMusic said that "the musical foundation for post-rock crystallized in 1991, with the release of two very different landmarks: Talk Talk's Laughing Stock and Slint's Spiderland ." The term "post-rock" itself was not coined until Simon Reynolds used it in his Melody Maker review of Hex (1994) by Bark Psychosis , which featured Talk Talk-inspired ambient experiments. Laughing Stock has also influenced Elbow and Bon Iver , and in 2011, Jess Harvell of Pitchfork said "many indie rock bands and experimental composers have genuflected toward it over
3050-528: Is credited with the layout design of the sleeve. Upon release, Laughing Stock received mixed reviews from music critics. Jim Irvin was effusive in Melody Maker , finding that with Laughing Stock , Talk Talk had produced "three masterpieces in a row" and become "certainly the most individual, possibly the most important group we have." Writing for Vox , Betty Page lauded it as one of 1991's "most challenging records". Select ' s Nick Griffiths called
3172-471: Is intellectualise music because that's never been what it's about for me. Nothing has changed from the ethic of the last album and I would never want that to change because I can't see any way of improving upon that process. As before, silence is the most important thing you have, one note is better than two, spirit is everything, and technique, although it has a degree of importance, is always secondary." Hollis cited Can 's Tago Mago , John Coltrane 's " In
3294-724: Is led by the Master of the Rolls , currently Sir Geoffrey Vos (who is entitled to the post-nominal MR), assisted by the Vice-President of the Civil Division , Sir Nicholas Underhill . The division hears cases from the High Court of Justice , the County Court and several tribunals. Although the Lady Chief Justice is senior to the Master of the Rolls, the Civil Division is much broader in scope than
3416-473: Is some other compelling reason for the Court of Appeal to hear it". In Tanfern Ltd v Cameron-MacDonald [2000] 1 WLR 1311 the Court commented on this limitation of second appeals, pointing out that the Lords Justices of Appeal were a valuable and scarce resource – it was necessary to impose limitations on appeals to prevent the Court and its judges becoming overburdened. There are two sorts of hearings that
3538-481: Is that I promise to give them the best album I can. I think they have options across four albums which, at the pace we work, is the next 12 years. What more can you say?" Verve Records released the album on 16 September 1991. No official singles or music videos were released to promote the album. Nonetheless, a limited edition box set entitled After the Flood / New Grass / Ascension Day was released in France , containing
3660-416: Is that judgments may occasionally be reserved, and only given later by post – there may not be an opportunity to ask for permission to appeal at the lower court. The Court of Appeal, when considering an application for appeal, may decide based on the paper documents or refer the case to an oral hearing, something often done when it is apparent that a refusal of the written case will lead the applicant to send
3782-618: Is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales , and second in the legal system of England and Wales only to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom . The Court of Appeal was created in 1875, and today comprises 39 Lord Justices of Appeal and Lady Justices of Appeal. The court has two divisions, Criminal and Civil, led by the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls respectively. Criminal appeals are heard in
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3904-490: The 2011 Norway attacks ], Laughing Stock was one of two records I wanted to listen to." Scottish singer King Creosote said "I think of the final two albums by Talk Talk as siblings very close in age. If Spirit of Eden is the older, pretty and sophisticated big sister who got all the A grades, then Laughing Stock is the wayward, grubby wee brother who got kicked out of school for skiving." Tom Fleming of Wild Beasts , whose bands have been often compared to Talk Talk, praised
4026-688: The Bark Psychosis 2004 album, ///Codename: Dustsucker . Mark Hollis died on 25 February 2019, aged 64. Talk Talk's influence upon musicians has exceeded the band's visibility among the general public. Along with the band Slint , Talk Talk are credited with inventing " post-rock " in their last two albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock . The artists who have praised the band or cited them as an influence include Pearl Jam 's Jeff Ament , Kate Bush , Tears for Fears , Matthew Good , Radiohead , Doves , Elbow , Shearwater , M83 , Bark Psychosis , The Notwist , Cedric Bixler-Zavala of
4148-535: The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), so that cases can be resolved more speedily without absorbing court time and impacting less significantly on any ongoing relationship between the litigants. Data reported in 2022 stated that the scheme had achieved a 40-50% success rate. The Court of Appeal's main judges are the Lord Justices of Appeal and Lady Justices of Appeal. The Senior Courts Act 1981 provides that
4270-622: The Crown Court which are in connection with a trial on indictment (i.e. with a jury) and where the Crown Court has sentenced a defendant committed from the Magistrates' Court. It also exercises the jurisdiction to order the issue of writs of venire de novo . The Criminal Division, while bound by the Supreme Court, is more flexible with binding itself, due to the heightened stakes in a case where
4392-528: The High Court or the County Court and a party to the case wishes to appeal it further, to the Court of Appeal. Section 55(1) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 says that, when an appeal is made to the County Court or the High Court and that court makes a decision, no further appeal is allowed to the Court of Appeal unless the Court considers that the case raises "an important point of principle or practice" or "there
4514-595: The Supreme Court . The appeal system before 1875 was chaotic. The superior courts system consisted of 12 different courts, with appeal on common law matters to the Court of Exchequer Chamber , chancery matters to the Court of Appeal in Chancery and other matters to the Privy Council . The Judicature Commission, which was founded in 1867 to investigate the formation of a "Supreme Court" (a High Court and Court of Appeal), conducted
4636-522: The Telefunken U47 , a large-diaphragm condenser valve microphone manufactured by Georg Neumann GmbH during the years 1949–1965. They chose it from an offering of several valve mics, which besides the U47 included a Neumann U48, M49 and "Tube", alongside "the old Wessex Collection" which included three AKG C12As. They carefully listened to each before settling on the U47. However, they placed it "30 feet away from
4758-549: The jazz offshoot label of Polydor Records . Hollis was pleased that they signed Talk Talk because the Mothers of Invention were once on Verve. The band set to recording their new album soon after the contract was signed. Again hiring an array of guest musicians, producer/multi-instrumentalist Tim Friese-Greene and engineer Phill Brown, work began on Laughing Stock in 1990. With Verve Records guaranteeing full funding for Laughing Stock and offering not to interfere during recording,
4880-454: The 1990s , saying it "makes its own environment and becomes more than the sum of its sounds." In a 2007 list, Stylus Magazine named it the greatest post-rock album. In 1986, Talk Talk, then a three-piece band consisting of leader and singer Mark Hollis alongside drummer Lee Harris and bassist Paul Webb , released their third album The Colour of Spring , which saw the band shift from their earlier, synthpop -oriented sound and featured
5002-566: The 1990s. The same year, Mojo placed the album on their list of the "Top 50 Eccentric Albums". In 1999, Ned Raggett included the album at number 4 in his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties". In 2014, Rockdelux ranked the album at 138 on their list of "The 300 Best Albums of 1984–2014". In 2004, the German version of Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 108 in their list of " The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ". Laughing Stock
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5124-548: The Belgian director Gwenaël Breës was screened for the first time at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival . Entitled In a Silent Way , filmed before Mark Hollis' death and without the participation of the main band members, it pays tribute to the musical journey and integrity of Talk Talk. In September 2021, the film won the prize for best music documentary awarded by the jury of
5246-414: The Court of Appeal can hold; reviews, and full rehearings. Section 52.11(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 establishes that appeals should always be reviews, unless there are individual circumstances that, "in the interest of justice", make a rehearing necessary. In its case law, the Court has emphasised that it is up to the individual panel of judges to decide whether to hold a review or rehearing, with
5368-565: The Court of Appeal comprises 39 ordinary sitting Lords and Lady Justices and the Lady Chief Justice , Master of the Rolls , President of the Queen's Bench Division , President of the Family Division , and Chancellor of the High Court . Retired Lords and Lady Justices sometimes sit in cases, as have retired Law Lords , and High Court judges are allowed to sit on occasion and there are a number of Senior Circuit Judges authorised to sit as judges of
5490-497: The Court of Appeal), which the committee had recommended, was eventually brought into force with the Administration of Justice Act 1969 . A separate Court of Criminal Appeal had been established in 1908. In 1966 this was merged with its older namesake, establishing the present-day structure of a single Court of Appeal with two Divisions: Civil and Criminal. In the early 1960s there was discussion between judges and academics in
5612-466: The Court of Appeal, with the principle used that an appeal should go to the next highest court in the hierarchy. Appeals are allowed if the decision in the court below was incorrect, or suffered from a serious procedural error or irregularity. Almost all appeals require permission, a major innovation from the previous system, where appeals were, on the request of counsel, almost all automatically put through. The application for permission should be made to
5734-470: The Criminal Division, and civil appeals in the Civil Division. The Criminal Division hears appeals from the Crown Court , while the Civil Division hears appeals from the County Court , High Court of Justice and Family Court . Permission to appeal is normally required from either the lower court or the Court of Appeal itself; and with permission, further appeal may lie to the Supreme Court. Its decisions are binding on all courts, including itself, apart from
5856-476: The Criminal Division, which is currently led by the Lady Chief Justice , The Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill . On 31 October 2013 the Court of Appeal allowed cameras in the court for a (70-second broadcast delay ) "live" broadcast feed for the first time. Cameras were banned in all courts in 1925 (although they were allowed in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from its 2009 inception). Cameras have now been allowed in some courts due to changes made by
5978-487: The Criminal Division. Lords and Lady Justices have, since 1946, been drawn exclusively from the High Court of Justice ; prior to this, Lords Justices were sometimes recruited directly from the Bar . Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss was the first woman appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1988; she was known officially as "Lord Justice" until a practice direction was issued in 1994 to refer to her informally as "Lady Justice", and
6100-461: The Criminal Division. With only three judges on the bench (rather than five or more in the Supreme Court), this allows the Master of the Rolls huge opportunity for shaping the common law and, most notably, Lord Denning made the most of this potential. The Criminal Division was established in 1966 with the merger of the Court of Criminal Appeal into the Court of Appeal. It hears all appeals from
6222-508: The House of Lords was the cause of much concern: it led to an additional set of expensive and time-consuming appeals from the Court of Appeal, which thus could not take decisions in the knowledge that they were final. The appeals from the county courts were seen similarly, involving an appeal to the High Court of Justice and the bypassing of the Court of Appeal for a second set of appeals to the Lords. The Administration of Justice (Appeals) Act 1934 ,
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#17328809004796344-545: The Mars Volta , Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree , Storm Corrosion (a joint project between Opeth 's Mikael Åkerfeldt and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson), Steve Hogarth of Marillion , Richard Barbieri of Japan and Porcupine Tree, Death Cab for Cutie , and Richard Wright of Pink Floyd . The main influence of the Held By Trees project is Talk Talk and Mark Hollis and it has come to involve many associates of
6466-634: The Musical Ecran festival in France. Hollis and Talk Talk continue to be praised as artists who did not cave in to the pressures of corporate and commercial interests. Says Alan McGee , "I find the whole story of one man against the system in a bid to maintain creative control incredibly heartening." Court of Appeal of England and Wales The Court of Appeal (formally "His Majesty's Court of Appeal in England", commonly cited as " CA ", " EWCA " or " CoA ")
6588-537: The Royal Festival Hall, London, UK. Founding band member Simon Brenner, who played keyboards on studio album, The Party's Over was amongst the long list of guest musicians who performed songs from all five Talk Talk studio albums and Mark Hollis' solo album. The evening was described as A Majestic Tribute by the London-based daily newspaper The Evening Standard. In March 2020, a documentary about Talk Talk by
6710-672: The Top 30 in Germany and the Top 75 in the Netherlands). The band sued EMI for releasing the remixed material without their permission. By 1990, the band had essentially morphed into a vehicle for the studio recordings of Hollis and long-term collaborator Friese-Greene, along with session musicians (including long-term Talk Talk drummer Harris). The group signed a two-album contract with Polydor Records and released Laughing Stock on Polydor's Verve Records imprint in 1991. Laughing Stock crystallised
6832-654: The Top 40 in the UK and France). By this time, all Talk Talk songs were being written by Hollis and Friese-Greene. The extended line-up for the 1986 tour consisted of Hollis, Webb and Harris, plus John Turnbull (guitars), Rupert Black and Ian Curnow (keyboards), Phil Reis and Leroy Williams (percussion), and Mark Feltham (harmonica). Most notable among these concerts was their appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival , 11 July 1986, released on DVD in 2008 as Live at Montreux 1986 . The success of The Colour of Spring afforded
6954-578: 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) along with 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 improvisation, pioneering what became known as post-rock ; it
7076-512: The United Kingdom and the United States comparing the processes of appeal used in each nation. Although the British judges found the emphasis on written arguments unattractive, they did like the idea of pre-reading: that the court should read the pleadings of counsel, the case being appealed and the judgment from the lower court before delivering its judgment. But the idea was quietly scrapped, despite
7198-513: The aforementioned three songs from the album, with the former edited down as an "outtake", and two unreleased B-sides ("Stump", "5:09"). In the United States, a recording of an interview with Mark Hollis entitled Mark Hollis Talks About Laughing Stock was distributed on cassette. Despite the lack of traditional promotion, the album reached number 26 on the UK Albums Chart , and stayed on the chart for two weeks. Unlike Talk Talk's other albums,
7320-407: The album "perverse genius" and "an exercise in self-indulgence and nothing more. If you refuse to enter their playground for the world-weary then that's fine by them." Ian Cranna of Q said that while "the melancholy mood, a rare thoughtfulness and the sense of sharing something deeply personal, together with the haunting, emotional quality of the understated music, put Talk Talk heavily at odds with
7442-602: The album "shows what magic can happen if bands have the talent and daring to push boundaries". " Laughing Stock seems to gain more acclaim with each passing year. That may be the result of all the bands – electroacoustic , free folk, post-rock or what have you – who are struggling to reach what Talk Talk achieved: a record that makes its own environment and becomes more than the sum of its sounds." Pitchfork discussing Laughing Stock in 2003. The album has appeared in multiple "best albums" lists. In 2003, Pitchfork listed Laughing Stock as 11th best album of
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#17328809004797564-470: The album and commented that it is a "kind of a dead end. It's like minimal techno . It's like, how much more minimal can you be?" After engineering Laughing Stock , Phill Brown said "there was divorce, breakdown. It was intense. I have never worked on more focussed sessions though. And no – I wouldn't work in the dark again. It was difficult getting back to 'normal' sessions." However, compared to prior Talk Talk albums, he goes on to note that " Laughing Stock
7686-476: The album entered the U.S., Canadian, French, German, New Zealand and Netherlands Top 40. A third single, "Dum Dum Girl", was a success in some European countries and in New Zealand; however, the album and its singles were largely ignored in the UK. Commercial success notwithstanding, the band made deliberate choices that moved them away from the mainstream. The music video for "It's My Life", for instance, featured
7808-495: The album has never been remastered for CD, but on 11 October 2011, Ba Da Bing Records released a remastered version of Laughing Stock on vinyl, marking the first time that the album has been issued on vinyl in the United States. Pitchfork commented that the remastering on this re-release sounds "amazing, as good as the album's ever sounded, in any format. Which is crucial, because on some level Talk Talk's later albums are all about sound. How startling, isolated moments of sound, or
7930-511: The album reached the UK Top 20 and was certified Silver by the BPI for sales of over 60,000 copies. The band announced they would not be attempting to recreate the album live (since, according to Hollis, "People would just want to hear the songs as they are on the album and for me that's not satisfying enough"). Without touring or music videos or singles as the band intended, there was little marketing left that
8052-469: The album to Spirit of Eden , Jess Harvell of Pitchfork says "the song structures are even stranger, built up from the tiniest musical gestures, clashing in mood from track to track, frequently more improvised-sounding than ever. The goal, assembling a coherent album from all this stuff, probably seemed quixotic to many of the contributors as it was being made." In a 1991 interview with Melody Maker , Mark Hollis said "the last thing I would ever want to do
8174-410: The album, like its predecessor, was "recorded by chance, accident, and hours of trying every possible overdub idea." The band split up following its release. The album garnered significant critical praise, often cited as a watershed entry for the budding post-rock genre at the time of its release. Pitchfork retrospectively gave the album a 10 out of 10 score and named it the eleventh best album of
8296-408: The album. "It's never a thing with any of these albums of knowing what they're going to sound like. It's more like knowing the kind of feel you want. The one kind of starting point we had this time was just this thing of everyone working in their own little time zone. Really, it's just going back to one of a couple of things – either the jazz ethic or y'know, an album like Tago Mago by Can , where
8418-587: 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 much in keeping with the minimalist post-rock sound of Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock , but he 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, Drift Code in 2019 and Clockdust in 2020. Harris also featured on
8540-465: The band a bigger budget and schedule for the recording of their next album. Over a year in the making, and featuring contributions from many outside musicians, Spirit of Eden was released in 1988, on EMI's Parlophone label. The album was assembled from many hours of improvised instrumentation that Hollis and Friese-Greene had edited and arranged using digital equipment. The result was a mix of rock, jazz, classical, and ambient music. Critically praised,
8662-464: The band chose to work towards an even more unconventional and uncommercial direction. The album was compiled from a lengthy recording process at in Studio 1 at London's Wessex Studios between 1987 and 1988 where the band worked again with Friese-Greene and engineer Phill Brown . Often working in darkness, the band recorded many hours of improvised performances which were heavily edited and re-arranged into
8784-607: The band took full advantage of the scenario "and locked themselves away for the duration of recording." As with the band's previous album, Laughing Stock was produced by Tim Friese-Greene and recorded at the North London recording studio Wessex Sound Studios with engineer Phill Brown, and around fifty guest musicians, although a total of only eighteen guest musicians feature on the final album. Working in an environment influenced by that of Traffic 's recording sessions from 1967 that Brown worked on, Hollis' vision with Laughing Stock
8906-554: The band. The bands Placebo , Weezer , the Divine Comedy and the Gathering covered their song "Life's What You Make It" and No Doubt scored a global hit with a cover of "It's My Life" in 2003 which reached number 20 on the UK charts. Lights recorded a cover of "Living in Another World" Guy Garvey of the band Elbow said: "Mark Hollis started from punk and by his own admission he had no musical ability. To go from only having
9028-400: The belief that Hollis was on a crusade to push boundaries and perfect his art on an even grander scale than Spirit of Eden . Furnished with the opportunity to fulfil his most extreme creative instincts." Often working in darkness, "there was an effort to create a vibe in the studio sympathetic with the feel of the album," as Aspden recalled, and the band removed clocks from the walls, covered up
9150-426: The business as a musician and producer. Talk Talk began as a quartet consisting of Mark Hollis , formerly from The Reaction (vocals/main songwriter), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass guitar), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). In their early years they were often compared with Duran Duran . In addition to a band name consisting of a repeated word, the two shared a Roxy Music -inspired musical direction, as well as
9272-406: The case in 1992, and EMI agreed to withdraw and destroy all remaining copies of the album. Manager Keith Aspden hoped that the case would set a precedent for future recording contracts. As the band's legal battle with EMI concerning their contract had freed them from the label, the band began searching for other record labels, and eventually, their manager Keith Aspden signed them to Verve Records ,
9394-438: The case was thrown out of court. Webb left the band in late 1988. With the band now released from EMI, the label released the retrospective compilation Natural History in 1990. It peaked at number 3 on the UK album chart and was certified Gold by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 copies. It was also an international success and eventually went on to sell more than 1 million copies worldwide. The 1984 single "It's My Life"
9516-410: The circumstances of the case playing a large part. In 2004 the Court heard 1,059 appeals, of which 295 were allowed and 413 directly dismissed. Qualifying cases seeking settlement of contract or personal injury claims up to a value of £100,000, for which permission to appeal has been sought, obtained or adjourned, may be referred to the Court of Appeal Mediation Scheme, a mediation scheme operated by
9638-428: The commercial charts ... the same qualities will ensure that even though Laughing Stock may lose Hollis some of his newly found friends, it will be valued long after such superficial quick thrills are forgotten." In NME , however, David Quantick wrote that the album "is unutterably pretentious and looks over its shoulder hoping that someone will remark on its 'moody brilliance' or some such. It's horrible." At
9760-430: The conditions surrounding the dispute: "in essence our motivation in the court case with EMI was all about money and an opportunity to secure a better deal with another record company. EMI in our view had misinterpreted the meaning of the clause which specified when they should exercise their option. They lost the case on appeal." EMI then sued the band, claiming that Spirit of Eden was not "commercially satisfactory", but
9882-438: The court since its establishment in 1875. The Civil Division is bound by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom when making decisions, and is normally bound by its own previous decisions, with four exceptions: The first three were established by the case of Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd in 1946, the fourth by R (on the application of Kadhim) v Brent London Borough Housing Benefit Review Board in 2001. The Civil Division
10004-409: The darkest, warmest trumpet sounds, one after the other, building beautiful harmony, with tension and release techniques apparent throughout the feature." Tyler Fisher, describing it for Sputnikmusic continued that "with this, Talk Talk creates a climax unlike any heard before or after. Following a more frenetic trumpet feature, light drums, bass, and piano enter, setting the slightest groove to allow for
10126-460: The drummer locked-in and off he went and people reacted at certain points along the way. It's arranged spontaneity – that's exactly what it is." Mark Hollis discussing the production. Laughing Stock consists of six tracks; Steve Sutherland said the album is "divided into six parts although it's really one long piece spanning an evolution of moods." Ian Cranna of Q said the album was "even more withdrawn and personal than before." Comparing
10248-483: The end of 1991, Laughing Stock was listed by Melody Maker as the year's 12th best album, while Oor ranked it 20th best; it also placed at number 26 on Eye Weekly ' s year-end critics' poll. Retrospectively, Laughing Stock has gone on to receive widespread acclaim. "A work of staggering complexity and immense beauty," wrote AllMusic critic Jason Ankeny, " Laughing Stock remains an under-recognized masterpiece, and its echoes can be heard throughout much of
10370-419: The experimental sound the band started with Spirit of Eden (which has been retroactively categorised as " post-rock " by some critics). Even more minimalist than its predecessor, Laughing Stock reached just No. 26 on the UK Albums Chart . After Laughing Stock , Talk Talk disbanded in 1991; Hollis said that he wished to focus on his family. Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris, and the two went on to form
10492-445: The fifteen seconds of amplifier hiss that open the record's first track, 'Myrrhman', the huge amounts of space left in final track 'Runeii', and the overall sonic concept perfected by Friese-Greene and Brown, who declares third track 'After The Flood' to be "probably the best engineering for me in the past forty years." Drums were miked far from the kit, sounds were allowed to echo through the studio space, mistakes were an integral part of
10614-405: The final album. Spirit of Eden was not a commercial success and although it would be acclaimed in later retrospective reviews, it initially polarized music critics. Their record label EMI had doubts about whether it could have been successful many months in advance. They asked Hollis to re-record a song or replace material, but he refused to do so. By the time the masters were delivered later in
10736-427: The finest experimental music issued in its wake." Reviewing the album for The Times , Victoria Segal found that in its "instrumental richness and exploratory dynamics", it "chimes unexpectedly with many recent developments in today's rock landscape", while also noting an "emotional heat" which "stops Laughing Stock from being mere academic indulgence." Jess Harvell of Pitchfork commented that "sound can become all
10858-445: The high cost to the litigants of an additional set of appeals, particularly since the loser in a civil case paid the victor's legal bills. Among the few changes that were made, the practice ceased of counsel reading out the judgment, cross-examinations, documents and evidence given in the lower court; this saved time and costs. The process of " leapfrogging " (appealing from the High Court to the House of Lords without needing to go through
10980-432: The issue. Centered around whether EMI had notified the band in time about the contract extension, because as part of the agreement, the label had to send a written notice within three months after the completion of the album, but the band said they had notified them too late, arguing that the three-month period began once recording had finished; EMI argued that the three-month period did not begin until they were satisfied with
11102-628: The kit near the control-room window," which became an issue as the physical distance triggered a delay of 26-32 milliseconds. Having by that point created backing tracks, they "made up Mitsubishi Digital masters" as they had done with Spirit of Eden , although this time they operated five analogue slave tapes, which gave them access "to over 120 tracks for recording ideas." From this point, they continued to overdub further textures and instruments, including cellos , pianos , harmoniums , guitars , double bass , violas , harmonica , percussion , Melodica , Hammond organ , Variophon , drums, and unusually,
11224-406: The last 20 years." Norwegian singer-songwriter Jenny Hval said in 2011 that Laughing Stock "is an incredibly intuitive and bare recording – some songs feel like vapour trails. To me, every sound on the album is about death, like the songs are about to die, like a band of Beckett characters. But at the same time the album is so emotional. 'After The Flood' is like crying. After 22 July [the day of
11346-466: The lower court, although this is not mandatory; it may be asked of the appellate court itself. In Re T (A Child) [2002] EWCA Civ 1736, the Civil Division strongly advised that counsel apply at the lower courts, since the judge, fully aware of the facts, will take less time to process, there is no harm if the application fails or if it is approved but counsel decides not to proceed with the case and there are no additional costs involved. The only problem here
11468-413: The month, however, the label conceded that the album had been satisfactorily completed, and chose to extend the band's recording contract. The band, however, wanted out of the contract. "I knew by that time that EMI was not the company this band should be with," manager Keith Aspden told Mojo . "I was fearful that the money wouldn't be there to record another album." EMI and Talk Talk went to court to decide
11590-426: The more powerful when surrounded by silence, great gulfs of which are all over the later Talk Talk albums, especially Laughing Stock ". Sputnikmusic's Tyler Fisher said, "The world needs to hear this album, even if you haven't liked post rock before, because I guarantee that this is not the type of music you think of when you think post rock. Unfortunately, it should be." In The Irish Times , Donal Dineen wrote that
11712-470: The music industry shortly afterwards. All tracks are written by Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene Note: Talk Talk Other musicians Technical personnel Talk Talk 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
11834-417: The music recorded never made the final album, with Brown commenting "it takes a strong discipline to erase 80% of the music you record. Few have the discipline to get rid of 'stuff'." As with previous albums, Hollis alone chose what parts of the recordings to use and in what context. Compared to Spirit of Eden , Laughing Stock was recorded with "a more conventional '80's set up." Brown and the band worked with
11956-419: The name Heligoland . Mark Hollis effectively left the music industry, but in 1998 released his unexpected self-titled solo début Mark Hollis , which was much in keeping with the post-rock sound of Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock , finding inspiration not in the popular music of the day, but rather in 20th-century classical music and jazz from the late fifties and sixties . He officially retired from
12078-574: The official title in section 3 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 was amended by the Courts Act 2003 . Dame Kathryn Thirlwall was the twelfth Lady Justice, appointed in 2017, bringing the number of active Lady Justices to 9 out of 39. The division of work in the Court of Appeal is demonstrated by the 2005 statistics, in which Lords and Lady Justices sat 66% of the time, High Court Judges 26% of the time and Circuit and Deputy High Court Judges 8 per cent of
12200-838: The opening of the Royal Courts of Justice in 1882 the Court of Appeal transferred there, where it remains. As well as the Lords Justices, the Lord Chancellor , any previous Lords Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice , the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary , the Vice-Chancellor of the Chancery Division and the Master of the Rolls could also hear cases, although in practice only the Master of the Rolls did so. The absence of limits on appeals to
12322-437: The performance, and the album's dynamics are entirely genuine, the live feel of a jazz record." "New Grass" was described as "Talk Talk as a purely placid and lovely proposition, electric organ and lilting guitar endlessly circling around Harris' heartbeat-steady drumming." "Ascension Day", in contrast, is considered the band's "most chaotic and vicious song," described by Harvell as "like a small jazz combo being elbowed aside by
12444-407: The record company at The New Serpentine Gallery . It was an embarrassingly desperate attempt over cocktails to convince store owners that they should stock a record which, the company was trying to infer, stood for quality over likely quantity of sales. Nobody knew where to look as Hollis' muted blues confessional purposely disintegrated into shivering feedback. A similar farce was, apparently, held in
12566-526: The record company could do; in the end the band grudgingly agreed to a video for the remixed version of " I Believe in You ", released as first single. Hollis, though, was unhappy with the video, as he made clear in an interview with Q Magazine : "I really feel that [the video] was a massive mistake ... I thought just by sitting there and listening and really thinking about what it was about, I could get that in my eyes. But you cannot do it. It just feels stupid. It
12688-435: The recording. Justice Andrew Morritt ruled in favour of EMI, but his decision was overturned in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales . Talk Talk were released from the contract. Nonetheless, in 1990, bassist Paul Webb left the band, officially reducing Talk Talk to the duo of Hollis and Harris. EMI also issued two compilations without the band's consent in 1990 and 1991; Natural History: The Very Best of Talk Talk –
12810-578: The same record label ( EMI ) and producer ( Colin Thurston ). The band also supported Duran Duran on tour in 1982. The band released their first single, "Mirror Man", on EMI in February 1982. The single was not a great success, but was quickly followed by their self-titled single in April 1982 (a rerecording of a track by The Reaction) which reached No. 52 in the UK. The band's first album, titled The Party's Over ,
12932-430: The subject" is an issue, permission is required to appeal, and may be granted either by the lower court or by the Court of Appeal. As a general rule, appeals are now limited to a review of the decision of the lower court, only allowing a full appeal where there was a serious procedural irregularity or the decision was wrong through "blatant error". The Civil Division deals with all non-criminal cases, and has been part of
13054-515: The synthpop style completely with their third album, 1986's The Colour of Spring . It became their biggest success in the UK, making the Top 10 (and certified Gold by the BPI for sales over 100,000 copies), in part due to the Top 20 single " Life's What You Make It ", which was also successful internationally. Another single, " Living in Another World ", charted in the Top 40 in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy (and just outside
13176-473: The time, but picked by Hollis because of his involvement with David Bowie 's Heroes . It was a moderate success in the UK reaching No. 21, and was later certified Silver by the BPI for sales of 60,000 copies by 1985. It was a Top 10 hit in New Zealand. Brenner left after the 1983 non-LP hit single "My Foolish Friend", which was produced by frequent Roxy Music collaborator Rhett Davies . At this point, Talk Talk
13298-470: The time. Lord and Lady Justices are currently paid £188,900, with the Master of the Rolls paid £205,700 and the Lady Chief Justice £230,400. The Civil Division is led by the Master of the Rolls , currently Sir Geoffrey Vos ; the Chancellor of the High Court and President of the Family Division regularly, for a period of weeks, lead the Civil Division. Several Civil Division Lords Justices are seconded to
13420-555: The touring band on live dates, and was absent from the band's publicity material. Although major success eluded them in the UK, Talk Talk achieved considerable international success in 1984/85, particularly in continental Europe, North America and New Zealand, with the album It's My Life . The accompanying single "Such a Shame" (inspired by the book The Dice Man ) became a Top 10 hit in Austria, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland during this period. The title track of
13542-568: The urge, to writing some of the most timeless, intricate and original music ever is as impressive as the moon landings for me." A tribute album and anthological book, both titled Spirit of Talk Talk , were released in 2012. The book includes all the artwork James Marsh did for the band, and hand-written lyrics (by the band). The album includes covers by various artists, proceeds going to the conservation organisation BirdLife International. On Tuesday 26 November 2019, Spirit of Talk Talk organised A Celebration of Mark Hollis and Talk Talk concert at
13664-417: The use of judicial time more towards reading and less towards sitting in court. Bowman's recommendations were mainly enacted through statutory provisions, such as Part IV of the Access to Justice Act 1999 . In Tanfern Ltd v Cameron-MacDonald [2000] 1 WLR 1311, Brooke LJ laid down the procedural methods of the Court of Appeal post-Woolf and Bowman. With a few exceptions, such as cases where "the liberty of
13786-549: The windows, "set up oil projections on the walls and ceiling, and used no other light apart from a strobe ," to create a suitable atmosphere for recording. The guest musicians were brought in "to improvise on sections without hearing the full track. With just a basic chord structure at most, they were encouraged to try out anything their hearts encouraged them to, and then, thanks to the emerging digital technology, any results felt appropriate were employed, sometimes in places for which they had never originally been envisioned." Most of
13908-424: Was a trio, as Brenner was never officially replaced. However, Tim Friese-Greene was recruited to assist with the recording of their second album, It's My Life , and he became the band's producer as well as keyboardist and Hollis' songwriting partner. Although a major contributor to the band's studio output and a de facto fourth member, Friese-Greene never officially joined the band. As such, he did not play with
14030-470: Was also re-released, and this time became the band's highest charting single in their native country, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart . A re-release of the single "Life's What You Make It" also reached the Top 30. Following up on this renewed popular interest in the band, the label then released History Revisited in 1991, a compilation of new remixes, which made the UK Top 40 (it also reached
14152-419: Was any problem with Polydor, saying "the whole structure of the deal we have with this record company is understanding how we work. I suppose because it's on Verve some people will think we've been stuck under 'Jazz' but what on earth does jazz mean? It's such a vague term, isn't it? Without any question there are certain areas of jazz that are extremely important to me. Ornette Coleman is an example. But jazz as
14274-568: 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, including .O.rang ; long-term collaborator Tim Friese-Greene continued in
14396-402: Was depressing and I wish I'd never done it." During the making of Spirit of Eden , Talk Talk manager Keith Aspden had attempted to free the band from their record contract with EMI. Relations between the band and label continued to degrade after the album's release, eventually culminating in litigation brought by Aspden which extracted the band from their EMI contract. In 2011, Aspden clarified
14518-409: Was recorded at London's Wessex Sound Studios from September 1990 to April 1991 with producer Tim Friese-Greene and engineer Phill Brown . Like Spirit of Eden the album featured improvised instrumentation from a large ensemble of musicians. The demanding sessions were marked by Hollis' perfectionist tendencies and desire to create a suitable recording atmosphere. Engineer Phill Brown stated that
14640-513: Was recorded from September 1990 to April 1991. The record was "only complete" when Hollis felt each guest musician had "expressed their character and refined their contribution to the purest, most truthful essence." Hollis' discipline during the recording is well noted; Jess Harvell of Pitchfork noted that "the recording process has long been described as one of the most arduous and prone to control freakitude ever." Wyndham Wallace of The Quietus said that "what went on in that studio strengthens
14762-479: Was released in July 1982. The band had their first UK Top 40 hits with the singles " Today " (UK No. 14) and a re-release of " Talk Talk " (UK No. 23). These singles also were hits in other countries, including Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The re-release of the "Talk Talk" single reached the U.S. Top 75. The album was produced by Colin Thurston , who was Duran Duran 's in-house EMI producer at
14884-402: Was to "collect a group of like-minded musicians together" in the studio where he could then record the "perspective of instruments in physical distance rather than off the board ," after which "each player gets to improvise around a basic theme as he or she feels it." The process continued over a long period of time, and ultimately the album took a year to record, although its liner notes state it
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