The Party's Over (Talk Talk album)

This article is about the album by Talk Talk. For other uses, see The Party's Over (disambiguation).

The Party's Over is the debut album by Talk Talk. It was released on 12 July 1982 and produced by Colin Thurston, who was a former engineer for David Bowie but was better known for producing Duran Duran's first two albums.

The Party's Over
Studio album by Talk Talk
Released	12 July 1982[1]
Recorded	1981–1982
Genre	Synth-pop[2] sophisti-pop[3]
Length	36:47
Label	EMI
Producer	Colin Thurston
Talk Talk chronology
The Party's Over (1982) It's My Life (1984)
Singles from The Party's Over
"Mirror Man" Released: 5 February 1982 "Talk Talk" Released: 5 April 1982 "Today" Released: 21 June 1982

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Q	[5]
Mojo (re-issue review)	[6]
Smash Hits	[7]
Uncut	[8]

Release

The Party's Over was released on 12 July 1982 by record label EMI.

In the United Kingdom, the album's single "Today" was a top-twenty hit. The remixed version of the single "Talk Talk" reached number 1 in South Africa in 1983 and number 23 in the UK. In the United States the album entered the Billboard Top 200, reaching number 132, while the single "Talk Talk" peaked at number 75.^{[citation needed]}

In New Zealand, the album was a hit, peaking at number 8 due to the success of "Today", which reached number 10 in 1983.^[9]

Critical reception

Upon its release, Smash Hits reviewer Neil Tennant wrote: "One sad mood permeates the whole LP as though they're compensating for the fact that they'd like to say something important but can't think of anything to say. Still, attractive tunes and synthesizer phrases plus sliding bass-playing prosper in the big, careful production. If only they'd cheered up, the part[y] might have been much more enjoyable."^[7]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Talk Talk"	Ed Hollis, Mark Hollis	3:23
2.	"It's So Serious"	Simon Brenner, Lee Harris, Mark Hollis, Paul Webb[note 1]	3:21
3.	"Today" (Track 5 on original US vinyl)	Simon Brenner, Lee Harris, Mark Hollis, Paul Webb[note 1]	3:30
4.	"The Party's Over"	Simon Brenner, Lee Harris, Mark Hollis, Paul Webb[note 1]	6:12

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Hate" (Track 3 on original US vinyl)	Simon Brenner, Lee Harris, Mark Hollis, Paul Webb[note 1]	3:58
6.	"Have You Heard the News?"	Mark Hollis	5:07
7.	"Mirror Man"	Mark Hollis	3:21
8.	"Another Word"	Paul Webb	3:14
9.	"Candy"	Mark Hollis	4:41
Total length:			36:47

Personnel

Talk Talk

• Mark Hollis – lead vocals and backing vocals
• Paul Webb – fretless bass and backing vocals
• Simon Brenner – synthesizers and piano
• Lee Harris – electronic drums and drum machine

Charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10]	94
UK (Official Charts Company)[11]	23
Billboard Pop Albums[12]	132

Chart (2025)	Peak position
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[13]	13

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14]	Silver	60,000^
Summaries
Worldwide	—	250,000[15]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. Per the original sleeve notes, which additionally delineate the credit for the song as "Lyrics - Hollis, Music - Brenner/Harris/Hollis/Webb". However, BMI records list all five Talk Talk songs credited to Brenner/Harris/Hollis/Webb (the four on The Party's Over plus the non-album B-side "Call in the Night Boy") as being written by Brenner and Hollis only. See BMI Work numbers 1313128, 1524648, 1155289, 530291, and 170255.