Tallis were formed in the Summer of 2008 when Carole’s partner Derek suggested she and Rob should get together and sing a few songs at Rob’s music club Meet in the Hedge. Their first live performance came in July 2008 when, on that same night they met Sarah. Realizing that they could turn the duo into a performing group they asked Sarah to join them that very night.

So the group was formed and the search began for a name. There were a few ideas, but all liked Sarah’s suggestion of ‘Talisman.’ Unfortunately, the name was taken by a few other groups and it was felt that they could not build a following when there were other groups of the same name. Carole then had the idea of dropping the ‘man’ and adding an 'l' and so Tallis was born.

The first gig was played at ‘The Gamekeeper’ New Buckingham in November 2008, a quiet affair, but the audience liked what they heard, and more bookings were taken. Other gigs soon followed in various pubs and towards the end of the year it was decided to recruit a Bass player. Luckily at one of the gigs was Gary (locally known for playing lead guitar and singing with Norfolk’s ‘Loudest’ band ‘Rocket Box’) who surprised everyone by asking if he could audition for the band.

The four piece line up was born and January 2009 saw their debut at The Windmill, in Wymondham. This line-up continued until June 2009 when Sarah decided to leave due to work commitments. It was at this point that Dorothea was invited to join the band on violin/woodwind and vocals. The current line-up made their debut in East Dereham in September 2009 and ended the year headlining a Christmas gig at The Queens Head in Wymondham.