One of the most critically acclaimed groups of the past two decades, Talking Heads pursued an idiosyncratic path of (often) uncompromising brilliance. After graduating from the 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 Weymouth, 22 November 1950, Coronado, California, USA; bass) relocated to New York. In 1975, they lived and rehearsed in Manhattan and named themselves Talking Heads. After appearing at the club CBGBs, they were approached by Seymour Stein of Sire Records, who would eventually sign the group. Early in 1976, the line-up was expanded to include pianist Jerry Harrison (b. Jeremiah Harrison, 21 February 1949, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA), a former member of Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers. The group's art school background, witty invention and musical unorthodoxy was evident on their intriguingly titled debut, Love Goes To Building On Fire. After touring extensively, they 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 group 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 was a minor hit. Eno's services were retained for the more opaque FEAR OF MUSIC, which included the popular Life During Wartime. Byrne next collaborated with Eno on MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS, before the group reunited for REMAIN IN LIGHT. The latter boasted the superb Once In A Lifetime, complete with 'found voices' and African polyrhythms. An edited version of the song provided one of the best hit singles of 1981. During the early '80s, the group's extra-curricular activites increased and while Byrne explored ballet on THE CATHERINE WHEEL, Franz and Weymouth found success with their spin-off project, Tom Tom Club. The live double THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS TALKING HEADS served as a stop-gap until SPEAKING IN TONGUES appeared in the summer of 1983. As ambitious as ever, the album spawned the group's UK Top 10 single, Burning Down The House. While touring with additional guitarist Alex Weir (formerly of the Brothers Four), the group were captured on film in Stop Making Sense, the soundtrack of which sold well. The excellent LITTLE CREATURES, a more accessible offering than their more experimental work, featured three strong singles in the title track, And She Was and Road To Nowhere. The latter brought the group their biggest chart hit and was accompanied by an imaginative and highly entertaining video. In 1986, Byrne moved more forcibly into movies with True Stories, for which Talking Heads provided the soundtrack; it was two more years before the group reconvened for NAKED. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the work included musical contributions from Level 42 producer Wally Badarou and guitarists Yves N'Djock and Johnny Marr (from the Smiths). Since then Talking Heads have branched out into various offshoot ventures; there was an official announcement of their break-up at the end of 1991. The single- and double-album retrospectives released in October 1992 provided 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.