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David Byrne

Kirsty Young interviews David Byrne, musician, writer and former front man with Talking Heads.

David Byrne was a founding member of the band Talking Heads. Born in Dumbarton, Scotland, he emigrated first to Canada and then to the USA before the age of ten.

He started playing in bands at school and, when art school didn't work out for him, he founded Talking Heads with a couple of friends. They played their first gig, opening for the Ramones, at the legendary New York club CBGB's, in June 1975. Eight studio albums later, cracks were beginning to show in the relations between band members, and by 1991 Talking Heads had officially split up.

Since then, he has enjoyed a solo career, and also made films, published photographic books, composed scores for musicals, created art installations and written books. He has received an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, as well as a Golden Globe and a Grammy, for his soundtrack to the 1987 film The Last Emperor.

He and his fellow Talking Heads members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. He lives in New York and has a daughter in her late twenties from his 17 year marriage to Adelle Lutz.

Presenter: Kirsty Young
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

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35 minutes

Last on

Fri 23 Mar 2018 09:00
BBC Radio 4

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Clips

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Music Played

  • Halsey

    Bad At Love

    • Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.
    • Astralwerks.
    • 11.

  • Jean Redpath

    The Rowan Tree

    • Will Ye No Come Back Again? The Songs of Lady Nairne.
    • Greentrax Recordings.
    • 8.

  • Woody Guthrie

    Do-Re-Mi

    • The Very Best of Woody Guthrie.
    • Music Club.
    • 5.

  • The Byrds

    Mr Tambourine Man

    • Mr Tamborine Man.
    • Sony.
    • 1.

  • The Stooges

    I Wanna Be Your Dog

    • THE STOOGES.
    • ELEKTRA.
    • 2.

  • Funkadelic

    One Nation Under A Groove

    • One Nation Under A Groove.
    • Charly Groove.
    • 1.

  • Tom Zé

    Toc

    • THE BEST OF TOM ZE.
    • LUAKA BOP.
    • 3.

  • CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE

    • The Joubert Singers

      Stand On The Word (Larry Levan Mix)

      • Stand on the Word.
      • Next Music.
      • 1.

  • BOOK CHOICE

    The River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks

  • LUXURY ITEM

    Set of Vietnamese cookery books

Credits

Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest David Byrne
Producer Cathy Drysdale

Broadcasts

  • Sun 18 Mar 2018 11:15
    BBC Radio 4
  • Fri 23 Mar 2018 09:00
    BBC Radio 4

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