Happy Birthday David Byrne: 3 Talking Heads ‘Remain In Light Tour’ Concerts From 1980

Today marks the 68th birthday of artist David Byrne. Artist is just one of many descriptions that can be used to describe the work of Byrne along with poet, writer, musician, photography and cyclist. Yet he is perhaps best known for his stint as frontman of Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame act Talking Heads between 1975 and 1991.

Talking Heads were at the peak of their powers as a masterful live act in 1980. Byrne & Co. had just released the landmark Remain In Light LP and supported the album with a world tour. The music on Remain In Light was a bit more complex than previous Talking Heads material, so the core band was augmented by stunt guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, bassist Busta Jones, percussionist Steve Scales and vocalist Dollette McDonald for the tour. All these years later we’re left with three professionally-shot concerts from the run to give us the best look at one of rock’s greatest tours.

November 4, 1980 @ Capitol Theatre – Passaic, New Jersey

• 0:00:00 – Psycho Killer
• 0:05:45 – Warning Sign
• 0:11:34 – Stay Hungry
• 0:15:25 – Cities
• 0:20:10 – I Zimbra
• 0:24:41 – Drugs
• 0:29:23 – Once In A Lifetime
• 0:35:11 – Animals
• 0:39:28 – Houses In Motion
• 0:45:56 – Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
• 0:53:05 – Crosseyed And Painless
• 0:59:30 – Life During Wartime
• 1:04:56 – Take Me To The River
• 1:11:02 – The Great Curve

December 17, 1980 @ Palazzo Dello Sport – Rome, Italy

• 1. Psycho Killer 00:30
• 2. Stay Hungry 5:28
• 3. Cities 9:33
• 4. I Zimbra 15:46
• 5. Drugs 19:53
• 6. Take Me To The River 24:26
• 7. Crosseyed & Painless 30:16
• 8. Life During Wartime 36:56
• 9. Houses In Motion 42:03
• 10. Born Under Punches 48:51
• 11. The Great Curve 56:56

December 20, 1980 @ Wetfallenhalle – Dortmund, Germany

• Psycho Killer 0:16
• Cities 5:46
• I Zimbra 11:50
• Once In A Lifetime 16:17
• Animals 22:22
• Crosseyed & Painless 26:53
• Life During Wartime 34:35
• The Great Curve 41:14

[Originally Published: May 14, 2017]