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One of the most critically acclaimed bands of the post-punk era, Talking Heads pursued an idiosyncratic path of (often) uncompromising brilliance up to their acrimonious break-up in 1991. The band was formed by ex-Rhode Island School of Design, students David Byrne (b. 14 May 1952, Dumbarton, Scotland; vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (b. Charlton Christopher Frantz, 8 May 1951, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, USA; drums) and Tina Weymouth (b. Martina Michele Weymouth, 22 November 1950, Coronado, California, USA; bass). In 1974, the three friends relocated to New York, living and rehearsing in Manhattan and naming themselves Talking Heads (Byrne and Frantz had originally played together as the Artistics). After making their live debut in June 1975 at the punk club CBGB's, they were approached by Seymour Stein of Sire Records, who would eventually sign them. The band's art school background, witty invention and musical unorthodoxy were evident on their intriguingly titled debut, "Love > Building On Fire", released in December 1976. The line-up was subsequently expanded to include keyboard player/guitarist Jerry Harrison (b. Jeremiah Griffin Harrison, 21 February 1949, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA), a former member of Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers.
After touring extensively, the quartet issued Talking Heads: 77, an exhilarating first album, which was widely praised for its verve and intelligence. The highlight of the set was the insistent "Psycho Killer', a tour de force in which singer Byrne displayed his deranged vocal dramatics to the full. His wide-eyed stare, jerky movements and onstage cool reminded many commentators of Anthony Perkins, star of Hitchcock's movie Psycho. For their second album, the band turned to Brian Eno as producer. More Songs About Buildings And Food was a remarkable work, its title echoing Talking Heads" anti-romantic subject matter. Byrne's eccentric vocal phrasing was brilliantly complemented by some startling rhythm work and the songs were uniformly excellent. The climactic "The Big Country" a satiric commentary on consumerist America, featured the scathing aside: "I wouldn't live there if you paid me". The album also featured one cover version, an interesting reading of Al Green's "Take Me To The River" which became a US Top 30 hit. Eno's services were retained for the more opaque Fear Of Music, which included the popular "Life During Wartime" and introduced African rhythms on the opening track "I Zimbra". Byrne next collaborated with Eno on the adventurous My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, before the band reunited for the striking Remain In Light. Recorded with additional personnel including guitarist Adrian Belew, the album explored "found voices" and African polyrhythms to great effect and boasted the superb "Once In A Lifetime". An edited version of this track provided one of the best UK hit singles of 1981.
During the early 80s, the band's extra-curricular activities increased and while Byrne explored ballet on The Catherine Wheel, Frantz and Weymouth (man and wife since the first Talking Heads album was released) enjoyed club success with their spin-off project, Tom Tom Club. The live double The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads served as a stopgap until Speaking In Tongues appeared in the summer of 1983. As ambitious as ever, the album spawned the band's first US Top 10 single "Burning Down The House". While touring with additional guitarist Alex Weir (formerly of the Brothers Four), the band were captured on film by director Jonathan Demme. The edited results were released as Stop Making Sense, a groundbreaking concert movie which also spawned a bestselling soundtrack. The excellent Little Creatures, a more accessible offering than their earlier experimental work, featured two strong singles in "And She Was" and "Road To Nowhere". The latter brought the band their biggest UK chart hit (number 6) and was accompanied by an imaginative and highly entertaining video.
In 1986, Byrne moved more forcibly into movies with his directorial debut, the offbeat comedy True Stories. The album of the same name featured the band performing version of songs originally sung by the actors. It was two more years before the band reconvened for Naked. Recorded in Paris and produced by Steve Lillywhite, the work included musical contributions from keyboard player Wally Badarou and guitarists Yves N'Djock and Johnny Marr. Since then, the four members have branched out into various offshoot ventures. The single and double-album retrospectives released in autumn 1992 provide a fairly definitive assessment of their career, including some interesting rarities, but without doing justice to a band rightly regarded as one of the best and most influential of their time. In 1996, Weymouth, Frantz and Harrison launched a new album as the Heads, with guest vocalists taking the place of Byrne. In 1999, an expanded version of Stop Making Sense was released to promote the theatrical release of a remastered edition of the original movie. The original Talking Heads buried the hatchet for long enough to perform at their inauguration into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2002.
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