Talk Talk -- "Talk Talk"

(Debuted October 16, 1982, Peaked #75, 7 Weeks on the Chart)

When they appeared in 1982, Talk Talk may have seemed to be trying to clone Duran Duran's sound. From those New Wave beginnings, they actually transcended the trappings of that sound and stretched out their influences even as their later recordings may not have been as successful.

While "Talk Talk" may have seemed like a band raising its own billboard, the song name actually predates it. Like many New Wave groups, Talk Talk's roots began in the punk-era days in England. Mark Hollis was part of a group called The Reaction around 1977, and one of the songs they did in their set was "Talk Talk." Hollis's brother was a disk jockey in London and got the band an audition for Island Records, but the band split after one single. By 1981, Hollis had formed Talk Talk and resurrected the song for the band's debut LP.

Though the song really didn't do much on the charts in its day (#75), it stands as a decent example of New Wave music circa 1982, just as the New Romantic era was beginning to take root.