David Byrne

David Byrne is a singer, songwriter and multidisciplinary artist from Dumbarton, United States, born in 1952. He is a founding member and principal songwriter of Talking Heads, the new wave band active from 1975 to 1991, and he also works under his own name as a solo artist.

Early career and Talking Heads

Byrne starts out in high school in a duo called Bizadi with Mark Kehoe, playing a mixture of popular standards and songs by artists such as Frank Sinatra. He studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Maryland Institute College of Art, then leaves and forms The Artistics with Chris Frantz. After that group ends, Byrne and Frantz move to New York with Tina Weymouth, and Weymouth learns bass so the three can form Talking Heads. Jerry Harrison joins in 1977. The band records eight studio albums, goes on hiatus in 1988, and breaks up in 1991 after a period in which Byrne wants to pursue solo work. Talking Heads briefly reunite for “Sax and Violins” in 1991 and later perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002.

Solo albums and collaborations

Byrne’s solo work includes Rei Momo, which draws heavily on Afro-Cuban, Afro-Hispanic and Brazilian styles; Uh-Oh, built around brass sections and songs such as “Girls on My Mind” and “The Cowboy Mambo (Hey Lookit Me Now)”; davidenryb, a rock-oriented record on which he plays most of the instruments; Feelings, which uses the Black Cat Orchestra; Look into the Eyeball; Grown Backwards, which uses orchestral strings, includes operatic arias and a reworked version of “Lazy”; Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, made with Brian Eno; and Love This Giant, a collaboration with St. Vincent. He also works with Fatboy Slim on Here Lies Love, described as a disco opera or song cycle about Imelda Marcos.

Film, theatre and other projects

Byrne works across film, photography, opera and non-fiction. He writes, directs and stars in True Stories, produces most of its music, and also directs the documentary Île Aiye and the concert film Between the Teeth. He handles the stage design and choreography for Stop Making Sense, and he contributes music to Twyla Tharp’s ballet The Catherine Wheel. He also creates the soundscape In Spite of Wishing and Wanting for Wim Vandekeybus’s Ultima Vez, writes the score for Robert Wilson’s The Knee Plays, and makes use of music originally written for Wilson’s theatre piece The Forest in his 1991 instrumental album of the same name. His soundtrack work includes music for The Last Emperor, which wins an Academy Award for Best Original Score, and Lead Us Not Into Temptation, drawn from his score for Young Adam. He also contributes to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Record labels, radio and installations

Byrne founds the world music label Luaka Bop in 1990, later setting up his own label Todo Mundo, which first releases Big Love: Hymnal and the soundtrack for the second series of Big Love. He also starts the internet radio station Radio David Byrne, where he posts themed playlists of music he likes. In visual art, he publishes Arboretum, a facsimile of his tree drawings, and exhibits work in galleries and museums. He creates public installations, including Playing the Building, which turns a building into a playable instrument through electronic connection to an organ.

Awards, honours and wider work

Byrne receives Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe awards and is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He contributes songs to several Red Hot Organization AIDS benefit compilations, appears with 10,000 Maniacs, works with Selena on “God’s Child (Baila Conmigo)”, co-writes and sings on X-Press 2’s “Lazy”, contributes to recordings by Thievery Corporation, N.A.S.A., Dirty Projectors and Arcade Fire, and hosts Sessions at West 54th. He also writes about cycling, uses a bike as his main transport for much of his life, does not own a car, and publishes Bicycle Diaries.