Hear David Byrne’s isolated vocals from Talking Heads song ‘Psycho Killer’
David Byrne met Chris Frantz at the Rhode Island School of Design in the early 1970s, and the pair seemed to share a mental image. The image wasn’t clear, but what they did know was that they didn’t want to be like anybody else. They formed the Talking Heads precursor, Artistics, in 1973 and from these humble beginnings, the creative snowball rolled, and they widened their scope.
In the mid-’70s, Frantz persuaded his girlfriend, Tina Weymouth, to learn the bass guitar, and they moved to New York City to reform Artistics as a trio. After a few months, they renamed the band Talking Heads ahead of their first gig supporting punk pioneers, Ramones.
Byrne and Frantz were deeply inspired by early funk from the likes of James Brown and George Clinton’s Funkadelic. In their early material, Talking Heads mixed a funky rhythm with their love for the waxing punk scene and waning glam rock era. The result was a strange but much-welcomed Bryan Ferry, Lou Reed and George Clinton crossbreed.
In early 1977, after releasing their debut single, the band recruited Jerry Harrison, the early guitarist and keyboardist of Jonathan Richman’s The Modern Lovers. With this fourth head, Talking Heads were a whole as Harrison’s songwriting and instrumental expertise proved immediately invaluable to the band.
While Talking Heads’ early music would define the forthcoming new-wave era, they were heavily associated with the New York punk scene thanks to their frequent touring collaborations with Ramones.
In 1977, after releasing the moderately successful singles, ‘Love → Building on Fire’ and ‘Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town’, Talking Heads dropped their debut LP, Talking Heads: 77. The album was a commercial and critical breakthrough, highlighted by its second single ‘Psycho Killer’.
‘Psycho Killer’ remains Talking Heads’ signature hit to this day, despite their three subsequent seminal releases in collaboration with Brian Eno. Right off the bat, Byrne had written the perfect lyrics for his intense, angst-ridden vocal style.
Hear David Byrne’s intense isolated vocals for ‘Psycho killer’ below.
