David Byrne

As front man of New York new wave band Talking Heads, David Byrne became the king of oddball, art school rock in the 1980s, before turning to a solo career that has seen him dabble with brass bands, electronica and world music. His collaboration with legendary producer Brian Eno on the album 'My Life in the Bush of Ghosts' (1981) used synths, percussive sounds and helped pioneer the use of sampling, before he took on Latin, Brazilian and Cuban styles on 'Rei Momo' (1989). He won an Academy Award for his soundtrack to the film 'The Last Emperor' and started his own label Luaka Bop, releasing music from Africa, India and the Far East while continuing to experiment with all sorts of sounds on his solo albums 'Uh Oh' (1992), 'Feelings' (1997) and 'Look Into the Eyeball' (2001).

Byrne featured on British electro act X-Press 2's UK number two hit 'Lazy' in 2002 and produced a rock musical about the Philippines' first lady Imelda Marcos, working with Fatboy Slim and a host of female singers including Florence Welch, Martha Wainwright and Cyndi Lauper on the soundtrack 'Here Lies' (2010). Ever the eccentric pop scientist, Byrne writes a column for the 'New York Times' about his love of cycling, creates contemporary art and in 2008 even turned New York City ferry terminal into a huge musical instrument in a project he called 'Playing the Building'.

In 2011 Byrne was approached by Arcade Fire to provide backing vocals to their track 'Speaking in Tongues' which appeared on their album 'The Suburbs'. Byrne's concept album 'Here Lies Love', released in 2010, was first performed on stage in a full production at New York's Public Theater in 2013. Following this he organised two concerts under the blanket of 'Contemporary Colour', one in New York and one in Toronto, where ten musical acts performed alongside ten colour guard groups from marching bands.