Yahoo News David Byrne admits he was a 'little tyrant' leading up to Talking Heads split
Don't touch him, he was a real live wire: David Byrne is looking back at Talking Heads' unceremonious split in the early 1990s, admitting that he was a "little tyrant" who could have handled the band's breakup better.
"As a younger person, I was not as pleasant to be around," Byrne says in this week's issue of PEOPLE. "When I was working on some Talking Heads shows, I was more of a little tyrant. And then I learned to relax, and I also learned that collaborating with people, both sides get more if there's a good relationship instead of me telling everybody what to do."
"It was kind of ugly," he adds of the group's dissolution. "I have regrets on how that was handled. I don't think I did it in the best way, but I think it was kind of inevitable that would happen anyway."
But now, here lies love: Byrne says he and his former bandmates — drummer Chris Frantz, keyboardist and guitarist Jerry Harrison, and bassist Tina Weymouth — have a "cordial relationship."
"We're sort of in touch, but we don't hang out together," Byrne says.
Ian Gavan/Getty Images David Byrne
The art-pop group formed in the 1970s and released eight studio albums that spawned a string of hits, including "Burning Down the House," "Psycho Killer," and "Road to Nowhere," before going their separate ways in the early '90s. "As far as we're concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave," Frantz infamously told the Los Angeles Times in 1992. "We were never too pleased about the way David handled the situation."
Since then, Talking Heads have reunited only once, performing together at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002. However, for the first time in more than 20 years, the group will be together again at the Toronto International Film Festival next month for a Q&A in celebration of the 40th anniversary re-release of their legendary concert film, Stop Making Sense. A remastered version of the Jonathan Demme documentary is set to hit theaters Sept. 29.
Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Talking Heads
Post-breakup, Byrne embarked on a solo career, releasing a number of solo and collaborative albums, including 2010's Here Lies Love with Fatboy Slim, which has been adapted into a stage musical. Byrne also previously adapted his 2018 album, American Utopia, for the stage, and earned a Special Tony Award at the 2021 ceremony.
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