Talking Heads Reveal Why “Stop Making Sense” Marked the End of Their Band

Talking Heads have spoken out about why their iconic concert film, ‘Stop Making Sense’ marked the end of their time as a band.

Recently, the band reunited for a Q&A at the Toronto International Film Festival (September 11). The event saw frontman David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth, drummer Chris Frantz, and guitarist Jerry Harrison make their first public appearance after more than two decades apart. The reunion was held in honour of the 40th anniversary of the legendary concert film.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Byrne discussed why ‘Stop Making Sense’ had to be their final tour. “It was hard to think about how we could top this. That was the looming question. We didn’t have an immediate answer. Maybe in time we might have figured out a way to not get compared to this incredible thing we did, but immediately afterwards, it was like, oh man. Couldn’t think of anything,” he said.

Harrison added: “The next album was ‘Little Creatures’, which was us going back to a small ensemble. We had a thought of doing residencies in different cities with the four of us and maybe some of the others, but ‘Stop Making Sense’ had an ongoing life of midnight shows, and the idea of competing with it was more difficult than it would have been for a film that had a run and ended.”

The Toronto International Film Festival session marked the first time the former bandmates had come together publicly since their 2002 Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.

Last month, Harrison noted that the re-release of Stop Making Sense had been something of a “healing experience” for the band. Byrne has since said he regrets how the band split, admitting that he was a “little tyrant” at the time, and describing the break-up as a “divorce”.

“We get along OK. It’s all very cordial and whatever,” he said. “It’s not like we’re all best friends. But everybody’s very happy to see this film coming back out. We’re all united in the fact that we really love what we did here. So that kind of helps us talk to one another and get along.”