Talking Heads Will Reunite For The First Time In 20 Years In One-Off Appearance

Talking Heads fans, rejoice: the legendary band’s original members, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison, will reunite for an all too rare one-off appearance as part of an upcoming Q&A.

Joining filmmaker Spike Lee, acting as a moderator, Talking Heads are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their iconic Stop Making Sense concert film and participating in a Q&A that will be broadcast in cinemas globally.

As Consequence Of Sound reports, the remastered 4K version of Stop Making Sense will also be sent to cinemas. At the time of writing, it’s unclear if the concert film and Q&A will make it to Australian cinemas.

The Q&A marks the first time the original four-piece have reunited in 21 years. The remastered concert screening and Spike Lee-hosted Q&A event take place at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Since the band’s breakup in 1991, the only other time the four members of the group have shared the stage was in 2002, upon their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, where they performed unforgettable versions of Psycho Killer, Burning Down The House and Life During Wartime.

In 2017, the director of the original 1984 Stop Making Sense concert, Jonathan Demme, passed away at the age of 73 due to complications from oesophageal cancer.

According to a Variety report, Talking Heads vocalist David Byrne wrote a letter in honour of the director that he posted to his website, describing him as an "open, warm, animated and energetic" person and detailing the pair's history and experiences together beginning with their collaboration on Stop Making Sense.

Of meeting Demme, Bryne wrote, “I loved his films Melvin and Howard and Citizens Band (AKA Handle With Care).

“From those movies alone, one could sense his love of ordinary people. That love surfaces and is manifest over and over throughout his career.”

He continued, “Jonathan was also a huge music fan — that’s obvious in his films too — many of which are jam-packed with songs by the often obscure artists he loved. He’d find ways to slip a reggae artist’s song or a Haitian recording into a narrative film in ways that were often joyous and unexpected.”