It’s not every day you encounter a pop legend.
For some it’s Once In A Lifetime, for others it’s never, but one could still be forgiven for failing to recognise the pioneering star in their midst on Monday afternoon.
With a shock of grey hair and dressed in a conservative white roll neck and burgundy vest, this 73-year old musician was worlds away from the oversized suits he become synonymous with in the 1980s.
A keen cyclist, he appeared to be on a Road To Nowhere while riding through downtown New York at a leisurely pace on a Specialized Rockhopper mountain bike.
To the casual observer he looked like a man with plenty of time on his hands, and maybe he was, despite releasing his first solo album in seven years just three days earlier.
But who is the musical maestro in our midst?
It’s not every day you encounter a pop legend. For some it’s Once In A Lifetime, for others it’s never, but one could still be forgiven for failing to recognise the pioneering star in their midst on Monday afternoon
That’s right – it’s Talking Heads legend David Byrne!
As lead singer and principal songwriter for the band he originally formed in 1975, Byrne is widely credited for leading and ultimately redefining an American New Wave genre that included talents such as Blondie, Devo and the B-52’s.
Comprised of Byrne, guitarist and keyboardist Jerry Harrison, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz, the prolific band released eight albums across a nine year period, starting with acclaimed debut Talking Heads: 77 in 1977.
Second album More Songs About Buildings and Food, released the following year, established them as one of the most important bands of the time and lead to even greater success throughout the next decade.
Indeed, legendary singles Burning Down The House, Road To Nowhere and Once In A Lifetime remain as fresh today as they did upon their release more than 40 years ago and are frequently listed among the best songs of the 1980s.
Final album Naked was released in 1988, but it would be another three years before the group confirmed it had disbanded.
Referencing the split, drummer Frantz later admitted he didn’t even know Byrne had left until he read it in the Los Angeles Times.
He said: ‘As far as we’re concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave. We were never too pleased about the way David handled the situation.’
As lead singer and principal songwriter with Talking Heads, David Byrne is widely credited for leading and ultimately redefining the American New Wave movement of the late 1970s (pictured in 1983)
(L-R) Talking Heads band-members Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, David Byrne and Jerry Harrison in 1977
Final album Naked was released in 1988, but it would be another three years before the group confirmed it had disbanded (Pictured: Byrne in 1987)
Fans had hopes for a reunion after the band teased a major announcement in June.
The news, however, was simply the premiere of the first music video for their iconic song, Psycho Killer, featuring Saoirse Ronan.
The group reportedly turned down a whopping $80million offered to them by Live Nation last December for a reunion tour consisting of six to eight festival and concert gigs, according to Billboard.
Aside from a brief reunion in 2023, the four band members have not performed together since 1984.
Byrne’s first new solo album in seven years, Who Is The Sky? – a collaboration with Ghost Train Orchestra – was released on September 5.
Byrne with ex-wife Adelle Lutz (left) and Stella McCartney (right) at McCartney’s New York Fashion show spring presentation in 2014
Byrne was previously married to Lutz from 1987 to 2004 (pictured together in 1997)
The former couple are parents to daughter Malu Abeni Valentine, now 35 (pictured in 1991)
In August the singer-songwriter revealed his engagement to girlfriend Mala Gaonkar, 55, more than a decade after they met on a production for The Makers series at California’s Stanford Arts Institute.
Byrne confirmed the news while promoting his new album with The Times, during which he credited her for inspiring the track Moisturizing Thing.
He said: ‘My fiancée will sometimes come at me with greasy hands, ready to smear my face. And at one point I thought, “What if I wake up and really looked younger?”
‘But there’s a message, too. About how people judge us by the way we look. You learn a lesson you didn’t expect at the start.’
Byrne’s 17-year marriage to artist, designer and actress Adelle Lutz came to an end in 2004.
The former couple are parents to daughter Malu Abeni Valentine, now 35. Their grandson was born in 2018.
Byrne recently revealed he is engaged to Mala Gaonkar, after nearly a decade of dating (pictured together at the Academy Awards in 2023)
