During his time with the group, Byrne was involved with several other projects. He composed and created an evening-length ballet score for choreographer Twyla Tharp’s The Catherine Wheel, directed many of the first videoclips to appear on MTV, collaborated with Brian Eno on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a record incorporating "found" voices such as radio preachers, talk show guests and Arabic singers, and created a brass band-and-spoken word score for a theater piece, The Knee Plays, directed by Robert Wilson.
In 1985, Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme made his prize-winning film of the Talking Heads in concert, Stop Making Sense. In 1986, Byrne went behind the camera to co-write and direct the feature True Stories. In 1987, he won an Academy award for co-writing the score for Bertolucci’s epic, The Last Emperor.
In 1989, Byrne collaborated again with Robert Wilson on The Forest, a theater piece, composing an orchestral score with mostly wordless vocals. After releasing a soundtrack of the production, he performed it live with various orchestras. That same year, he also directed "Ile Aiye: The House of Life", a documentary on African religion in Brazil; and recorded Rei Momo, a collaboration with 15 of the best Latin musicians in New York. Byrne then toured with this group through Europe, Japan, and North and South America. This record and tour were followed by one called Uh-Oh (92), on which funk and Latin grooves were mixed together, and a film was made at the end of tour called "Between The Teeth". Two more records followed: the self-titled David Byrne (1994) and Feelings (1997); 1998 saw the release of The Visible Man, a record of re-mixed versions of songs from Feelings.
In late summer Byrne joined his touring band with the London based Balanescu string quartet for a series of live dates and an appearance on Sessions at West 54th, a weekly one hour PBS music show that Byrne began to host in the fall of 98 and spring 99, interviewing various musicians and introducing them to a new audience.
Byrne’s record label Luaka Bop, which was founded in 88, has evolved from a label specializing in "world music" compilations to one with emerging acts such as Cornershop, Geggy Tah, Susana Baca, Zap Mama and a host of Alternalatino bands such as Bloque, Los Amigos Invisibles and King Chango.
David Byrne has been involved with photography and design since his college days, but has only recently begun to exhibit and publish his work. Like his film and musical projects, his photography is often described as elevating the mundane or the banal to the level of art. In some ways, he creates icons out of everyday materials and finds the sacred in the profane. Some of the photos might be considered "documentary," though they are not really about a specific place or time. Rather, they are about the choice of the things, or lack of things, that is photographed. In particular, the lack of people stands out in his work. On this aspect of photography the writer/critic Wright Morris describes the sensation this condition creates: "Only in their absence will the observer intuit, in full measure, their presence in the object." In a sense, Byrne’s photographs are about interiors, both physical and emotional, as much as exteriors. As a body of work, his photography deals with what lies behind the eyes as much as what is in front of them.
Byrne shoots about half of the work on his travels in various parts of the world such as Mexico, Morocco, and Texas. The other half were composed in his studio, using a variety of photographic mediums, including polaroids, cibachromes, cibatransparancies, and digital processes. Recent museum shows in Germany, Italy, and Japan have mixed these pieces with audio elements, acoustiguides, and sculptural elements.
Three books have been published containing this work. The first, Strange Ritual (Chronicle Press, 1995) mixed text and image in a notebook-type format. The second, Your Action World (Edimar, Italy, 1998 and Chronicle, 1999), was modeled after corporate reports and inspirational and motivational literature. The third book is a religious text called The New Sins, created for the Valenicia Bienal. Books were placed anonymously in hotel drawers during the Biennial. McSweeneys is publishing this book in the USA and Faber in UK.
Born 1952, Dumbarton, Scotland. Currently lives in New York.
Attended Rhode Island School of Design and Maryland Institute College of Art.
Stop Making Sense: Special New Edition (1999)
Popular Favorites: Sand In The Vaseline (1992)
Naked (1988)
True Stories (1986)
Little Creatures (1985)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Speaking in Tongues (1983)
The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (1982)
Remain in Light (1980)
Fear of Music (1979)
More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)
Talking Heads '77 (1977)
Look Into The Eyeball (2001)
The Visible Man (1997)
Feelings (1997)
David Byrne (1994)
Uh-Oh (1992)
Rei Momo (1989)
The Forest (1988)
Lazy; lyrics & vocal by David Byrne, music by X Press 2 (2002)
Forestry; with Jack Dangers and Rudy Tambala (1992)
Liquid Days and Open the Kingdom ; lyrics by David Byrne, music by Phillip Glass (1986)
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts; with Brian Eno (1981)
Tributo A Peret, "Si Fulano;" duet with Peret & Carol C (2000)
Mantra Mix, "Aint Got Far To Go" (2000)
Red Hot & Lisbon, "Dreamworld: Marco de Canavezes;" duet with Caetano Veloso (1998)
Red Hot & Rio, "Waters Of March;" duet with Marissa Monte (1996)
Blue In The Face, "God’s Child;" duet with Selena (1995)
Caged/Uncaged: A Rock/Experimental Homage to John Cage, "Cage and The Long Island Expressway" and "Enlightened Whistler" (1993)
Until The End Of The World, soundtrack to Wim Wenders film, "Sax and Violins" (1992)
Red Hot & Blue, "Don't Fence Me In" (1990)
Like a Girl I Want You to Keep Coming, "Song For The Trees (or) "I Know Sometimes The World Is Wrong" (1989)
The 20th Anniversary Album, "America Is Waiting" (1989)
Music and Rhythm, "His Wife Refused" (1982)
"Glass, Concrete & Stone", track for end credits of Stephen Frears film Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
"Let The Mystery Be," "Dallas," and "Jolene" duet with Natalie Merchant on Few and Far Between, 10,000 Maniacs (1993)
Score Young Adam, directed by David MacKenzie (2003)
In Spite Of Wishing And Wanting, score for theater piece by Wim Vandekeybus of Ultima Vez Dance Company (1999)
A Young Man's Dream and a Woman's Secret, film by Philip Haas (1990)
The Giant Woman and The Lightening Man, film by Philip Haas (1990)
Something Wild, directed by Jonathan Demme: "Loco de Amor" song co-written with Johnny Pacheco; sung with Celia Cruz backed by Ray Barretto's band (1986)
Married to the Mob, directed by Jonathan Demme (1988)
The Forest, orchestral score for theater piece by Robert Wilson (1986)
The Last Emperor, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci (1988)
Sounds From True Stories, directed by David Byrne (1986)
Main title theme for "Alive From Off Center," Season 1 (1984)
The Catherine Wheel, choreographed by Twyla Tharp with Brian Eno and John Chernoff (1988)
Music for The Knee Plays, stage collaboration with Robert Wilson and Suzushi Hanayagi (1984)
Dead End Kids: A Story of Nuclear Power, film by Joanne Akalaitis
Between The Teeth, live concert film from Uh-Oh Tour 1992-3, directed by Byrne and David Wild (1993)
Girls, She's Mad directed by Byrne (1992)
Umbabarauma, animated film-video for Beleza Tropical, directed by Susan Young, produced by Byrne (1989)
Ilé Aiyé, directed by Byrne, film about Candomblé Religion in Brazil (1988)
Talking Heads vs. Television, collaboration for BBC channel 4 (1984)
April 16, 1989, a two and one-half minute film created with David Wild (1988)
Storytelling Giant, compilation of all Talking Heads' videos to date; seven directed by Byrne (1988)
True Stories, co-written with Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Beth Henley and actor-director Stephen Tobolowsky (1986)
Stop Making Sense, concert film conceived from a stage show by Byrne and directed by Jonathan Demme (1984)
America is Waiting, film by Bruce Conner, produced by Byrne (1981)
Music Producer Mesopotamia, B-52's Waiting, Fun Boy 3 Elegibo, Margareth Menezes, tracks "Canto pra Subir", "Abra a Boca", Penguin Books, 1986
Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Hollywood Foreign Press Association Award (1987) for Best Original Score, The Last Emperor (with co-composers Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su)
Film Critics Award (1985), for Best Documentary, Stop Making Sense
MTV's Video Vanguard Award (1985)
Best Special Effects for She's Mad, Music Video Producers Association (1992)
American Video Award nomination (1983) for Best Group Performance, "Burning Down the House" with Talking Heads
Texas Accordion Association, Charter Membership (1987), "dedicated to the promotion of the accordion"
Ivor Novello Award (2002) presented by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters in association with the Performing Right Society for the Ivors Dance Award (with co writers, Ashley Beedle, Darren House and Darren Rock).
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