Before last night’s episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Talking Heads hadn’t appeared on a late night TV show together in decades. They performed on The Late Show With David Letterman in 1983 and filmed their concert movie classic Stop Making Sense that same year. David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison returned to late night TV together for a chat on last night’s Colbert surrounding the recent theatrical release of the film. Watch the entire interview below.
After Colbert gushed about his love of the band, they began by talking about finding success early in their career, the era where they were driving to shows in Frantz’s parents’ station wagon, and playing to small crowds at empty shopping malls and pizza parlors. “Our opening act was a fire eater,” Byrne said of one such gig. “We also played a Beefsteak Charlie’s in Yonkers.”
They talked about Byrne and Frantz’s pre-Talking Heads cover band, which Tina Weymouth said played at a “painful” volume. Harrison talked about going from the Modern Lovers to joining the Talking Heads, and Weymouth discussed her entry into the band. Asked if they were partiers, Frantz said, simply: “That would be yes.” Byrne talked about disliking the term art rock and not feeling like they ever fit into the world of punk rock.
They went on to discuss regaining the rights to Stop Making Sense, how Harrison came about forming the live band that appears in the film, and their reactions to the film today. They also touched on their history with the building where they were speaking with Colbert, the Ed Sullivan Theater. “We recorded and mixed some of our most loved songs here,” Frantz said. They recorded vocals and overdubs for Remain in Light and Speaking in Tongues at a studio in the building.
To end the interview, Colbert asked about the possibility of a reunion, strongly encouraging them to go over and grab instruments and perform right then and there. The audience gave a wild ovation, but the band demurred. “OK, sit down,” Colbert told the crowd. “That wasn’t fair.”
Read Pitchfork’s recent interview with the band, “Talking Heads’ Original Lineup on Stop Making Sense, Their Early Days, and the Future,” and hear the podcast version (dated September 28) by subscribing to The Pitchfork Review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
