Recorded in July 2002 at the Union Chapel in London this is an infectious concert by David Byrne and his band. The eclectic set list includes an acoustic version of Byrne's recent hit Lazy as well as a handful of vintage Talking Heads tracks.
This is a full version of the concert shown on BBC Four earlier in the year.
David Byrne Profile
"I think it’s OK that I don’t understand everything that I’ve written" - David Byrne
David Byrne is primarily known as the co-founder of Talking Heads (1976-88). The band took popular music in new directions, both in terms of sound and lyrics, and also introduced an innovative visual approach to the genre.
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 videos to appear on MTV and collaborated with Brian Eno on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.
In 1985 Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme made his prize-winning Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. Byrne went behind the camera himself in 1986 to co-write and direct the feature True Stories. In 1987 he won an Academy Award for co-writing the score for Bernardo Bertolucci's epic The Last Emperor.
Byrne collaborated with avant-garde theatre director Robert Wilson on The Forest in 1989, composing an orchestral score with mostly wordless vocals. 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 was followed by one called Uh-Oh (1992), on which funk and Latin grooves were combined.
In 1998 David began hosting the PBS series Sessions at West 54th Street, a weekly one-hour music show where Byrne interviewed various musicians.
Look Into the Eyeball, David's latest album was released in 2001. He spent much of 2001 and the first half of 2002 touring America, Europe, Australia and Japan with his three-piece band and a six-piece string section from Austin, Texas. In early 2002 David's collaboration with the DJ group X Press 2 was released in the UK.
Byrne's record label Luaka Bop, which was founded in 1988, has evolved from a label specialising 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.
