Mark Hollis, the lead singer of the influential 1980s-‘90s British pop band Talk Talk, died Monday. He was 64.

Hollis’ longtime manager Keith Aspden confirmed his death in a statement. “Mark has died after a short illness from which he never recovered. Deeply felt sorrow for a remarkable person who remained true to himself throughout his life. I can’t tell you how much Mark influenced and changed my perceptions on art and music. I’m grateful for the time I spent with him and for the gentle beauty he shared with us.”

Hollis founded Talk Talk with drummer Lee Harris and bassist Paul Webb in 1981, bringing in Simon Brenner on keyboards. Hollis’ older brother Ed, a manager and producer, introduced him to the music world in the mid-1970s, which led to Mark forming his first band, The Reaction.

EMI signed Talk Talk, releasing their debut album, The Party’s Over in 1982. Brenner left in 1983 and Talk Talk continued on as a trio until Tim Friese-Greene joined as producer and keyboard player.

More popular in the U.K. than the U.S., Talk Talk had five Top 40 singles and seven Top 40 albums in Blighty including the compilation Natural History: The Very Best Of, which went to #3 in 1990 plus 1982’s Today, 1986’s The Colour of Spring and 1990’s It’s My Life. They released five studio albums before breaking up in 1991.

It was their less commercial work, particularly 1988’s Spirit of Eden, that drew praise from a later generation of musicians for its employment of ambient, jazz and avant-garde textures. Hollis and Friese-Green wrote all of that material, breaking the band away from the synth-pop scene they had been associated with.

Jim James of My Morning Jacket wrote on Instagram, “R.I.P. Mark Hollis one of the all time great voices. made so much a beautiful sound—if you have not heard it, Spirit of Eden is one of the best start to finish albums of all time, perhaps indeed the greatest night driving album ever made.”

Hollis had been out of music for more than 20 years, having last released a solo album in 1998. The last piece of music he created was an instrumental score for the Starz series Boss in 2012.

No Doubt had a Top 10 hit with Hollis and Friese-Greene's "It's My Life" in 2003.

Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold wrote on Instagram:“RIP to a true legend and guiding light creatively and ontologically Mark Hollis. This man has more dignity and self-respect than anybody in the music business. He just stopped. No farewell tour, no cash grab reunion, no series of bad late career mortgage-finance albums, no real interviews, no anything. It wasn’t for him, so he just stopped, because he couldn’t be a good father and tour at the same time. Simple as that. He’s my hero and 64 is far too young.”