Life's what you make it - Talk Talk

In 1991, a remix version of 'Life's what you make it' by Talk Talk was released in Europe. The single featured an arty sleeve with a cover painting by James Marsh, as per usual. However, a year earlier the same sleeve was used for a UK re-release of the original song.

This single may have a similar sleeve, but both the A-side and B-side are different. On the A-side, there was the original version of 'Life's what you make it', and on the B-side there was a live recording of that song. The single was released to promote the album Natural history, a 'greatest hits' collection put together by EMI. They followed this up with the remix album History revisited, which is why the other single was released in 1991.

My collection: 7" single no. 7761
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 September 2025
Tracks: 'Life's what you make it' / 'Life's what you make it (live from Hammersmith Odeon)' 

Ascension day - Talk Talk

After three very successful albums with EMI Records, the band Talk Talk delivered their fourth, Spirit of Eden to baffled record company executives and enthusiastic critics. Decades later the album is appreciated as their masterpiece, but it meant the end of their recording contract with EMI.

The fifth album, Laughing Stock, was released on the Verve label and took the approach of Spirit of Eden to another level. For decades I couldn't get into that album myself, until I read Mark Hollis's biography A perfect silence last year. I played the album numerous times and finally heard the beauty of that unstructured music with those unintelligible lyrics. 

However, I never thought that there was actually a 7" single taken from that album! And in fact, there was no commercial 7" release. All that happened in 1991 was this promotional 7" single from Spain, featuring the second track from the album with a fade out ending. It is a unique release from a unique band. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7758
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 September 2025
Tracks: 'Ascension day' / 'Ascension day' 

Such a shame - Talk Talk

EMI have always been excellent at recycling their music. Countless compilation albums and re-releases of old hits is what this big record company based a lot of its success on - in the past of course, because EMI isn't that successful anymore these days.

Case in point: this re-release of Talk Talk's 'Such a shame', released in 1990, was made in Germany and was different from the UK version. That one had a live version of 'Dum dum girl' on the B-side, whereas this one simply has the studio version. Confusing matters even more, the CD-single equivalents of these single had completely different track listings, the European one winning because it had the live version of 'Tomorrow started' as well as the rare track 'Another word' on it.

My collection: 7" single no. 5412
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Such a shame' / 'Dum dum girl'

Mini LP - Talk Talk

Released exclusively in Greece in 1986, this mini LP (imaginatively titled 'Mini LP') features five 12" remixes of Talk Talk hits. From the early hit 'Talk Talk' to the two most recent singles 'Life's what you make it' and 'Living in another world', this LP represents the 'pop' era of Talk Talk just before they would become a very imaginative, postmodern pop band.

Only in 1998 a double CD set entitled 'Asides besides' would be released, collecting all these remixes and more, so at the time of finding this, I was pretty excited. Even if the quality of the vinyl wasn't all that good, it was an opportunity to buy five remixes in one go - and that wasn't bad.

My collection: LP no. 99
Found: Record fair, 1994
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Such a shame (USA 12" mix)', 'Living in another world (USA 12" mix)' / 'Life's what you make it (USA 12" mix)', 'It's my life (USA 12" mix)', 'Talk Talk (USA 12" mix)'

It's my life - Talk Talk

'It's my life' was the first collaboration between Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, members of Talk Talk. It was released as the band's first single from the album of the same name in January 1984. It reached number 46 in the UK charts, but did better in other countries: number 31 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 30 in Canada and Netherlands, number 33 in Germany, number 32 in New Zealand, number 25 in France and number 7 in Italy.

I didn't have this original single before, so it was interesting to finally buy it. This version features the album track 'Does Caroline know?' on the B-side, whereas the Brazilian single I bought in 1990 features the extended version of 'It's my life'.

My collection: 7" single no. 5073
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'It's my life' / 'Does Caroline know?'

It's my mix - Talk Talk

I don't often write about my LP's on this blog, unless it's a rare or very interesting one. And here's a good example. Talk Talk's 'It's my mix' was released in Canada and Italy only (this is the Italian pressing) and contains six extended remixes of Talk Talk tracks. It also features a giant size poster of the photograph on the sleeve.

'Why is it so hard' was originally written by Talk Talk as a song for Michael Apred's film 'First born'. The 7" version of the track was first released on EMI's compilation album 'Asides besides' in 1998. The 12" US remix is only available on this LP - and has so far not been released on cd.

My collection: LP no. 133
Found: Plaatboef, Den Haag, 1996
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Why is it so hard (12" US remix)', 'Talk Talk (12" mix)', 'My foolish friend (12" mix)' / 'It's my life (12" mix)', 'Dum dum girl (12" remix)', 'Such a shame (12" US remix)'

Talk Talk - Talk Talk

So here's another version of Talk Talk's 1982 single 'Talk Talk'. I wrote about the single once before, but that version was a re-release. This is the original version, featuring a version of the track 'Mirror man' on the B-side.

I found this single during my very first shopping spree in London, back in 1989. I'd discovered the Music & Video Exchange shops in Notting Hill Gate: at the time, there were three different addresses all stacked with 7" vinyl records. I spent hours there, finding a lot of singles I'd been searching for years. I'd love to have those times back again sometimes: these days there aren't such big record shops anymore.

My collection: 7" single no. 1006
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Talk Talk' / 'Mirror man'

Life's what you make it (remix '91) - Talk Talk

EMI Records were so happy with the success of the compilation 'Natural history', featuring all the singles by Talk Talk, that they released a remix album, 'History revisited' in 1991. It featured the hits of Talk Talk in all new remixes by various DJ's. Bad move: the band, who had just switched record companies, sued EMI for remixing their material without permission.

I've been looking for the outcome of this lawsuit on the web, but I couldn't find it. As far as I can recall, EMI were ordered to take 'Natural history' out of the shops, making it an instant collectors item. There was, however, one single drawn from the album: a remix of 'Life's what you make it' by BBG. It was not a hit, by the way.

My collection: 7" single no. 2789
Found: Record fair, November 9, 1996
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Life's what you make it (remixed by BBG)' / 'Today (remixed by Gary Miller)'

Living in another world - Talk Talk

After 'It's my life' and 'Such a shame', here's the third and - as far as I know - last of three singles taken from the compilation album 'Natural history'. As far as re-releases go, this single is probably the most interesting of the three. Not only does it feature a live recording of the track on the B-side, the A-side features a new edit of 'Living in another world'. Although I'm not a fan of edits per se, it is always interesting to hear a new version of a track.

It was an unsuccessful release: the single did not chart, and the record company EMI turned their attention towards the following step in their 'milking the Talk Talk catalogue' operation. More about that later.

My collection: 7" single no. 2725
Found: September 7, 1996
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Living in another world (edit)' / 'Living in another world (live)'

Such a shame - Talk Talk

It doesn't happen often that a record company decides to release several singles from a compilation album, especially when those singles have already been released originally a few years before. But this is what happened with 'Talk Talk' after the release of the compilation album 'Natural history'. The greedy bastards from EMI wanted to earn some extra cash with these releases.

The setup didn't work. On its original release in 1984, 'Such a shame' reached number 49 in the UK singles chart. This re-release from 1990 did not chart. Justice - although I have to admit this sleeve is very nice. And the bonus live track from Montreux 1986 is a nice teaser.

My collection: 7" single no. 2733
Found: September 9, 1996
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Such a shame' / 'Dum dum girl (live)'

Talk Talk - Talk Talk

When EMI released the compilation album 'Natural history' in 1990, the record company was also re-releasing lots of old Talk Talk singles. For some strange reason, EMI France decided to re-release the band's early single 'Talk Talk'. Not that it had been a hit in 1982, when it was originally released. And sure enough, the second time around it didn't chart either.

As a collector of Talk Talk single, I was happy to find this item. The artwork is different from the singles that were (re-)released in the UK in 1990, so it's a great find.

My collection: 7" single no. 3119
Found: Record fair, June 27, 1999
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Talk Talk' / 'Today'

It's my life - Talk Talk

During the making of 'Spirit of Eden', Talk Talk manager Keith Aspden had attempted to free the band from their recording contract with EMI. EMI, however, wished to keep the band on their roster. After many months of litigation, the band ultimately succeeded in extracting themselves from the contract. EMI then sued the band, claiming that Spirit of Eden was not "commercially satisfactory", but that case was thrown out of court.

With the band now released from EMI, the label released the retrospective compilation 'Natural history' in 1990. It went on to sell over one million copies in Britain alone and rose to number 3 in the UK album chart. The 1984 single 'It's my life' was also re-released, and this time became the band's biggest success in the UK, making number 13 in the singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2494
Found: House of Rhythm, London, October 30, 1995
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'It's my life' / 'Renée (Live from Hammersmith Odeon)'

I believe in you - Talk Talk

I wrote about 'I believe in you' before, but that was because of the promotional 7" single that I own. A few years after getting that one, I found a version of the commercially available single, featuring the B-side 'John Cope'. Since this single was made in Spain, it is a bit of a rarity as well.

The single failed to breach the charts in any country as far as I know. Tim Pope directed a music video for this track, featuring Mark Hollis sitting with his guitar, singing the lyrics. 'That was a massive mistake,' said Hollis afterwards. '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.'

My collection: 7" single no. 2613
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, February 10, 1996
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'I believe in you (edit)' / 'John Cope'

I don't believe in you - Talk Talk

For a long time, this was 'that missing Talk Talk single' for me. I knew that 'I don't believe in you' was released as the last single from their album 'The colour of spring', but I simply couldn't find a copy. For years I searched for it, only to find it at a record fair in 1992. I was quite surprised when I didn't have to pay a fortune for it.

Still, this is a pretty rare one. Most of Talk Talk's singles and B-sides have been released on cd compilations, but the B-side of this one, a live version of 'Does Caroline know?', performed live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in the Summer of 1986, remains unreleased on cd. A regrettable oversight, since it is a brilliant live track. The single, meanwhile, only managed a number 96 placing in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1600

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, March 28, 1992

Cost: 4 guilders

Tracks: 'I don't believe in you' / 'Does Caroline know? (live)'

Give it up - Talk Talk

'Give it up' was released as the third single from Talk Talk's 'Colour of spring' album. I appreciated this single a lot more than 'Life's what you make it' and 'Living in another world', because it wasn't played on radio and television on a daily basis. Which also meant that it didn't become a hit. It only charted in the UK, reaching number 59.

In fact, 'Give it up' started a trend. Talk Talk would never chart in most countries except the UK, Ireland and (once) Germany.

My collection: 7" single no. 446
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, August 9, 1986
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Give it up' / 'Pictures of Bernadette'

Living in another world - Talk Talk

'Living in another world' was released as the second single from Talk Talk's 1986 album 'The colour of spring'. The chart performance of the single was pretty much the same in every country: the extremes being number 23 in Switzerland and the Netherlands, and number 48 in the UK singles chart.

I came to a point where buying Talk Talk singles wasn't that exciting anymore. I was waiting for them to leave the chart so I could buy them on discount. I don't know why this happened, perhaps hearing the songs so much on the radio made me less eager to have them. At the same time, I knew I had to buy all those Talk Talk singles because they were so good. I'm glad I did.

My collection: 7" single no. 404

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Living in another world' / 'For what it's worth'

Life's what you make it - Talk Talk

Released as the first single from Talk Talk's third album 'The colour of spring' (1986), 'Life's what you make it' caught my attention because of the strong piano hook. At the time, it was said that the only bass sound of the track came from the piano, and I guess that's a good call.

The chart performance of this single was good, peaking at number 16 in the UK and number 13 in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 356

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Life's what you make it' / 'It's getting late in the evening'

My foolish friend - Talk Talk

Released in 1983, 'My foolish friend' was the first Talk Talk single of that year, in between singles taken from their debut album 'The party's over' (1982) and 'It's my life' (1984). 'My foolish friend' did not appear on any of their albums, but the B-side 'Call in the night boys' would appear on 'It's my life'.

The single was not very successful, stalling at number 57 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2167

Found: Record Exchange, London, September 26, 1994

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'My foolish friend' / 'Call in the night boys'

Another word - Talk Talk

The sleeve of this German-only single proclaims that the song 'Another word' was used in an episode of the German detective Derrick called 'Ende einer Sehnsucht'. The track comes from Talk Talk's debut album 'The party's over' (1982).

Whereas Talk Talk didn't have any success in Germany until then, this single went to number 25 in the chart. The worldwide hit 'It's my life' passed the country by, they would reward 'Such a shame' with Talk Talk's second singles chart placing. Sometimes those Germans have a mind of their own...

My collection: 7" single no. 2802

Found: December 29, 1996

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Another word' / 'Candy'

Today - Talk Talk

'Today' was Talk Talk's first top 20 hit in the UK and Ireland. Taken from their debut album 'The party's over', the single was written by the whole band and featured the album track 'It's so serious' on the B-side. The songs were produced by Colin Thurston (who would go on to produce hits for Duran Duran and Howard Jones).

I bought the single several years after its release, like all the singles taken from that album. At some point there seemed to be no end to those early singles. But now I'm glad that I have them all.

My collection: 7" single no. 2168

Found: Record Exchange, London, September 26, 1994

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Today' / 'It's so serious'