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;[6][4] it was critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful.
Webb departed, and the band switched to Polydor for their final studio album, 1991's Laughing Stock, but split soon afterwards.
In addition to a band name consisting of a repeated word, the two shared a Roxy Music-inspired musical direction, as well as the same record label (EMI) and producer (Colin Thurston).
[11] Brenner left after the 1983 non-LP hit single "My Foolish Friend", which was produced by frequent Roxy Music collaborator Rhett Davies.
However, Tim Friese-Greene was recruited to assist with the recording of their second album, It's My Life,[12] and he became the band's producer as well as keyboardist and Hollis' songwriting partner.
The accompanying single "Such a Shame" (inspired by the book The Dice Man) became a Top 10 hit in Austria,[14] Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland[15] during this period.
He followed the theme for subsequent singles, remaining the band's artistic frontman and creating all their covers and posters throughout their career.
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).
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.
In 2011, Aspden clarified 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.
"[22] EMI then sued the band, claiming that Spirit of Eden was not "commercially satisfactory", but the case was thrown out of court.
Laughing Stock crystallised the experimental sound the band started with Spirit of Eden (which has been retroactively categorised as "post-rock" by some critics).
[24] Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris, and the two went on to form the band .O.rang, while Tim Friese-Greene started recording under the name Heligoland.
[citation needed] 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.
[26] The artists who have praised the band or cited them as an influence include Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament,[27] Kate Bush,[28] Tears for Fears,[29] Matthew Good,[30] Radiohead,[31] Doves,[32] Elbow,[33] Shearwater,[34] M83,[35] Bark Psychosis,[36] The Notwist,[37] Cedric Bixler-Zavala of the Mars Volta,[38] Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree,[39] Storm Corrosion (a joint project between Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson),[40] Steve Hogarth of Marillion,[41] Richard Barbieri of Japan and Porcupine Tree,[42] Death Cab for Cutie,[43] and Richard Wright of Pink Floyd.
Lights recorded a cover of "Living in Another World" [46] Guy Garvey of the band Elbow said: "Mark Hollis started from punk and by his own admission he had no musical ability.
Says Alan McGee, "I find the whole story of one man against the system in a bid to maintain creative control incredibly heartening.