David Byrne

David Byrne is well known as the musician who co-founded the group Talking Heads (1976–88) in New York. On record and in concert, the band was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike; more importantly, however, they have proven to be extremely influential. Talking Heads took popular music in new directions, both in terms of sound and lyrics, and also introduced an innovative visual approach to the genre. In 2002 Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2003, Talking Heads released a lovely boxed set which includes a DVD of all the band's videos. In 2005 a Brick was released with the complete studio catalog on dualdisc with previously unreleased audio and video material.

During his time with the group, Byrne was involved with several other projects:

• The Catherine Wheel, an evening-length ballet score for choreographer Twyla Tharp
• Music videos, director
• My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a collaborative record with Brian Eno incorporating "found" voices such as radio preachers, talk show guests and Arabic singers (re-release with additional tracks in March 2006)
• the Knee Plays, a brass band-and-spoken word score for a theater piece, the Knee Plays, directed by Robert Wilson. A re-mastered CD with bonus tracks (with bonus DVD) was released in 2007.
• Stop Making Sense (1984), directed by Jonathan Demme, winner of Golden Globes, best documentary
• True Stories, 1986 feature film directed by Byrne
• The Last Emperor, 1987, DB collaborates on score for Bertolucci film, wins Oscar.
• Luaka Bop, Byrne's record label, was founded in 1988
• The Forest, 1989, an orchestral score with mostly wordless vocals for theater piece dir by Robert Wilson
• Ilé Aiyé: The House of Life, 1989, a documentary on African religion in Brazil

More records and projects followed:

• Rei Momo, collaboration with 15 of the best Latin musicians in New York
• Uh-Oh, 1992, funk and Latin grooves were combined together
• Between The Teeth, a concert film of that tour
• David Byrne, 1994, a stripped-down record
• Feelings, 1997, collaboration with other bands and artists
• The Visible Man, 1998, a record of re-mixed versions of songs from Feelings
• Sessions at West 54th Street, 1999, a weekly one-hour music show which Byrne hosted
• In Spite Of Wishing And Wanting, 1999 a collaboration with the Belgian Dance Company Ultima Vez
• Look Into The Eyeball, 2001. Subsequently Byrne toured with a six-piece string section.
• Lazy, 2002 David's collaboration with the DJ group X Press 2 was released in the UK. The song went to number 2 on the UK charts within its first week of release & number 1 on the US dance charts, along with topping the charts in Syria and Turkey.
• Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Music from the Film Young Adam, 2002, a score for the David MacKenzie film for which David gathered together a comprehensive group of musicians from Scottish bands: Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, and Appendix Out, among others. David also worked with director Stephen Frears composing the song "Glass Concrete and Stone" for his film Dirty Pretty Things.
• Grown Backwards, 2004 album release and tour
• Here Lies Love, a project about Imelda Marcos with musical contributions from Fatboy Slim
• Big Love: Hymnal — music scored for the 2nd season of the HBO series "Big Love", with other recent compositions — 2008 CD release
• Everything That Happens Will Happen Today — 2008 collaborative album with Brian Eno