Timothy Alan Friese-Greene is an English musician and producer. He worked with the band Talk Talk from 1983 to their breakup in 1991. He currently releases solo albums under the name Heligoland. He is the grandson of filmmaker Claude Friese-Greene and great-grandson of photographer and inventor William Friese-Greene. [1]
He started his career as a tape-operator at Wessex Sound Studios in London in the mid 1970s [2] before rapidly becoming an engineer, working with artists including Hawkwind and The Rumour. [3]
Friese-Greene co-produced the second release of Thomas Dolby's The Golden Age of Wireless (1982), which included the "She Blinded Me with Science" single, and Blue Zoo's debut album Two by Two (1983). He produced and played keyboards on the Praying Mantis album Time Tells No Lies (1981). He produced a number of songs for the pop act Tight Fit, the single "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in early 1982 (No. 1 for three weeks in the UK charts) and its follow-up "Fantasy Island" (No. 5), and he also produced and wrote most of the accompanying album. Later in 1982, he produced "Dragonfly", a single by the Nolans. He produced Lush's 1990 4AD Records EP Sweetness and Light .
Friese-Greene was brought into Talk Talk to assist in the remixing of It's My Life (1984). [4] As a permanent supporting musician to the band, he produced, co-wrote, and played keyboards on four of Talk Talk's albums between 1984 and 1991: It's My Life , The Colour of Spring , Spirit of Eden , and Laughing Stock . He was only an occasional player on Talk Talk's live tours and did not wish to appear in the band's promotional photo sessions or music videos.
He produced The Great War of Words (1990) by Brian Kennedy. He also produced Catherine Wheel's Ferment and Wishville , and played keyboards on various releases by the band.
As Heligoland, [5] Friese-Greene has released two EPs and two full-length albums. For Heligoland, he writes most of the music himself and plays most of the instruments.
His latest album, 10 Sketches for Piano Trio, was released under his own name.
In February 2010, he announced on his website that the recording of a new album had to be suspended due to severe tinnitus. A subsequent posting in December revealed, however, that work on another album was underway without the use of headphones.
Catherine Wheel were an English alternative rock band from Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. The band was active from 1990 to 2000, releasing five full-length albums in their career, embarking on many lengthy tours and experiencing fluctuating levels of commercial success. Their early music was associated with the shoegazing scene, but gradually evolved to a more aggressive style influenced by hard rock and metal. Initially receiving attention and success after releasing their debut album Ferment in 1992, the band achieved peak success with the release of "Crank" and their album Chrome in 1993. The band also achieved minor success with other albums, including Happy Days, which featured a popular song "Judy Staring at the Sun" as a collaboration with Tanya Donelly. Catherine Wheel also scored heavy rotation on MTV and performed there several times. Despite never having any albums or songs that achieved major success in their homeland, Catherine Wheel continue to be popular among alternative rock and shoegaze fans and critics.
Thomas Morgan Robertson, known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher.
Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis, 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 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 free improvisation, pioneering what became known as post-rock; it was critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful.
Spirit of Eden is the fourth studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in 1988 on Parlophone Records. The songs were written by singer Mark Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Greene and the album was compiled from a lengthy recording process at London's Wessex Studios between 1987 and 1988. Often working in darkness, the band recorded many hours of improvised performances that drew on elements of jazz, ambient, blues, classical music, and dub. These long-form recordings were then heavily edited and re-arranged into an album in mostly digital format.
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 was recorded at London's Wessex Sound Studios from September 1990 to April 1991 with producer Tim Friese-Greene and engineer Phill Brown.
Mark David Hollis was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-founder, lead singer and principal songwriter of the band Talk Talk. Hollis wrote or co-wrote most of Talk Talk's music—including hits like "It's My Life" and "Life's What You Make It"—and in later works developed an experimental, contemplative style.
"She Blinded Me with Science" is a song by the English musician Thomas Dolby, released in 1982. It was first released as a single in the United Kingdom in October 1982. It was subsequently included on the EP Blinded by Science and the 1983 re-release of Dolby's debut album The Golden Age of Wireless.
Ferment is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Catherine Wheel, released 17 February 1992 by Fontana Records. Produced by Tim Friese-Greene and John Lee, the album combined aspects of shoegazing, alternative rock and neo psychedelia. Ferment is the only album to contain the neo psychedelia element of the band's discography. Their next album, Chrome, produced with famed alternative rock producer Gil Norton, shifted the musical direction of the band. While Ferment was originally not all that successful in the charts, the album continues to be well received by critics and fans, even 30 years after its release.
Chrome is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Catherine Wheel, released on 20 July 1993 by Fontana Records in the United Kingdom and Mercury Records in the United States. It was produced by Gil Norton, who would later go on to produce Catherine Wheel's next album, Happy Days. The lead single, "Crank", reached No. 5 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Blinded by Science is an EP by new wave/synthpop artist Thomas Dolby, comprising extended 12-inch single versions of songs from the 1982 album The Golden Age of Wireless. It was released in 1983.
Tight Fit are an English pop group who had several hits in the early 1980s, including a UK No.1 for three weeks with their cover version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1982.
"Life's What You Make It" is a song by the English band Talk Talk. It was released as a single in 1985, the first from the band's album The Colour of Spring. The single was a hit in the UK in January 1986, peaking at No. 16, and charted in numerous other countries, often reaching the Top 20.
Altogether is a greatest hits album released by pop group, The Nolans in 1982. It featured their seven consecutive top 20 hits and followed four top 20 albums by the group.
Tight Fit is the second album by British pop group Tight Fit, released in 1982. The album features the No.1 single "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" as well as the top five hit "Fantasy Island". Tracks "Secret Heart" and "I'm Undecided" were also released as singles but achieved less success.
Ciao! Best of Lush is a compilation album by the band Lush, released in March 2001 by 4AD. The essay in the booklet was written by Dominic Wills and included quotes from members Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson. The best-of CD appeared almost five years after the band's dissolution and drummer Chris Acland's suicide; the compilation was dedicated to his memory.
Missing Pieces is a 2001 compilation album by Talk Talk. The first six tracks are the A- and B-Sides of the three CD singles released in 1991 for their final album Laughing Stock. Four of these are versions of album tracks, with the addition of the otherwise uncollected B-Sides "Stump" and "5:09". The final track, "Piano", was recorded pseudonymously by Mark Hollis for the 1998 album "AV 1" by Allinson / Brown, which was produced by former Talk Talk producer Phill Brown. According to Hollis, it was designed to cycle indefinitely for a Dave Allinson/Phill Brown art exhibition and is presented twice in a row on the CD. Missing Pieces was released in 2001 to a generally mixed to positive reception.
"Europa and the Pirate Twins" is a song by English artist Thomas Dolby, from his 1982 album The Golden Age of Wireless. Written by Dolby, who produced it alongside Tim Friese-Greene, the song was released as a single on 24 August 1981.
Sweetness and Light is the second extended play by the English alternative rock band Lush. It was released on 15 October 1990 on 4AD. Featuring a less abrasive sound than the band's earlier releases, the title track was also released as Lush's first single and included the B-side "Breeze".
"Give It Up" is a song by English band Talk Talk, released by Parlophone in 1986 as the third single from their third studio album The Colour of Spring. The song was written by Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, and produced by Friese-Greene. "Give It Up" peaked at number 59 in the UK Singles Chart.
"I Don't Believe in You" is a song by English band Talk Talk, released by Parlophone in 1986 as the fourth and final single from their third studio album The Colour of Spring. The song was written by Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, and produced by Friese-Greene. "I Don't Believe in You" peaked at number 96 in the UK Singles Chart.