WOMAD

David Byrne

From United States

Condensing the story of one of the most prolific creative talents to come out of America in the last half century down to 250 words is surely a mug’s game, but let’s just try and lay down a few basic principles. First, David Byrne is a man who leads and never follows. From the first few notes of The Talking Heads debut 7” ‘Love Goes to Building on Fire’, to the ground-breaking collaboration with Eno on the ‘My Life in a Bush of Ghosts’ LP via the ‘most-original-of-all-time’ concert film ‘Stop Making Sense’ to the acres of enticing releases on his very own Luaka Bop label, one word keeps invading the brain; ‘Original’. Secondly, David Byrne is a creative workaholic. His output is simply staggering. Quite apart from all the Talking Heads singles, albums and videos, there’s a prolific solo catalogue to deal with, including such classics as the Latino flavoured ‘Rei Momo’; there are the film and ballet soundtracks, including ‘The Last Emperor’ with Ryuichi Sakamoto; there are the books, the photos, the art installations, the production credits, guest-musician credits and acting credits. Thirdly, unlike some of his New York avant-garde hipster peer group, Byrne has never been in love with obscurity for its own sake. Most of his tunes are both uncompromisingly original and highly marketable at the same time, a feat that only few songwriters or musicians manage more than once in a lifetime. The fact that a remix of his song ‘Lazy’ took the dance floors of the world by storm back in 2002 is proof enough of Byrne’s common touch. Fourth and finally, it ain’t over yet. Byrne’s latest CD ‘Grown Backwards’ is one of his best ever, brimful of hummable tunes and unpredictable enthusiasms. Oh yes, and I forgot to say that David Byrne was born in Dumbarton, Scotland, fifty two years ago, which may explain why he sometimes performs wearing a kilt!