David Byrne was profiled on the latest episode of 60 Minutes. The interview with Anderson Cooper touched on a variety of topics, most notably the Talking Heads, their songs, breakup and more.
The 70-year-old Byrne was asked by Cooper about his “demanding” attitude toward his Talking Heads bandmates on their 1983 tour. The elaborate production that saw Byrne wearing a signature oversized suit was captured in the acclaimed concert film Stop Making Sense.
“I became, I think, kind of obsessive about getting that show up and running,” Byrne told Cooper. “I might not have been the most pleasant person to deal with at that point.”
Talking Heads followed that tour with the commercially successful 1985 album, Little Creatures. The band then contributed to the soundtrack of Byrne’s 1986 feature film, True Stories. Talking Heads’ final album was 1988’s Naked. By 1991, the band had dissolved and Byrne was focused on a wide-range of solo pursuits.
“I genuinely started having other kinds of musical interests,” Byrne added.
Cooper questioned Byrne about claims from his former Taking Heads bandmates (Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison) that they learned of the band’s demise from the media.
“I don’t know if that’s the case,” Byrne answered. “But, well, it might be. And I think it is very possible that I did not handle it as best as I could.”
In a bonus “Overtime” segment, Byrne was asked by Cooper about reuniting Talking Heads.
Cooper: Obviously, a lot of bands get back together. Is that ever anything that entered your mind?
Byrne: No. I realized after a while that I was very happy doing the kind of wide variety of things that I was doing and the different kinds of music that I was doing. And I thought, “Why should I trade in my happiness for some cash?”
Cooper: You don’t see a creative reason to do a reunion, it would just be a financial reason. And you’re not driven by that?
Byrne: Exactly, yeah.
The “Overtime” segment also featured Byrne talking about the inspirations behind two of Talking Heads’ best-known songs. Byrne detailed the genesis of “Psycho Killer,” which he said was his second attempt at songwriting and was a blend of Alice Cooper and Randy Newman.
Byrne was asked about, “Burning Down the House,” which was inspired by his experience seeing George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic in concert and developed out of studio improvisation. Byrne also discussed his infusion of Latin and other styles from around the world into his post-Talking Heads solo output.
The interview also touched on the numerous projects Byrne is currently involved with such as his hit Broadway production American Utopia, his Reasons To Be Cheerful online magazine and more. View the two 60 Minutes segments profiling David Byrne below:
