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David Byrne

Highest Rated: 100% Stop Making Sense (1984)

Lowest Rated: 8% The Bachelor (1999)

Birthday: May 14, 1952

Birthplace: Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, UK

One of the most eclectic artists to emerge from the American punk scene of the 1970s, David Byrne was the vocalist and chief songwriter for the band Talking Heads, which blended artistic, abstract sensibilities with a dizzying array of musical influences to become one of the most popular bands of the 1980s before Byrne left the group for a solo career in 1991. He captured critical and listener attention with the nervous energy and displaced emotion in songs like "Life During Wartime, "Burning Down the House," "Psycho Killer" and "Girlfriend is Better," which he underscored with his powerhouse vocals and kinetic stage presence. Talking Heads broke onto the Billboard charts with 1980's "Once in a Lifetime," which preceded a handful of Top 40 singles before the band's acrimonious split at the dawn of the new decade. In the years that followed, Byrne pursued a sonically adventurous solo career that veered from records that explored international rhythms to soundtrack work, including the Oscar-winning score for "The Last Emperor" (1987) and his own record label, Luaka Bop, which brought many Third World artists to Western audiences. Throughout it all, Byrne remained one of popular music's most independent-minded figures, parlaying his own individual fascinations into a career that drew considerable respect from both the critical and listener communities.

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Highest rated movies

100% 97% Stop Making Sense Watchlist
100% 91% Under African Skies
Watchlist
97% 85% David Byrne's American Utopia Watchlist
96% 76% John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch
Watchlist
91% 69% Something Wild
Watchlist
89% 71% The Book of Life
Watchlist
88% 49% Married to the Mob
Watchlist
86% 88% The Last Emperor
Watchlist
79% 83% True Stories
Watchlist
79% 81% Wall Street
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Twyla Moves Self - 2021
97% 85% David Byrne's American Utopia Self,
Executive Producer,
Original Music
- 2020
No Score Yet No Score Yet Everything for All Reasons Unknown (Character) - 2019
96% 76% John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch Guest - 2019
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Necromancer Young Boy (Character) - 2018
71% 73% Contemporary Color Self,
Producer
$15.3K 2016
No Score Yet No Score Yet Temporary Color Unknown (Character) - 2016
100% 91% Under African Skies Unknown (Character) - 2012
66% 58% This Must Be the Place Self,
Original Music
$142.2K 2011
78% 71% Ride, Rise, Roar Unknown (Character) - 2010
54% 44% Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Original Songs $52.5M 2010
No Score Yet No Score Yet Beyond Ipanema Unknown (Character) - 2009
No Score Yet 57% Wandering Heart Self - 2008
No Score Yet 48% Pittsburgh Original Music - 2006
No Score Yet 50% Fabricating Tom Zé Self - 2006
50% 46% Duck Original Songs - 2005
No Score Yet 83% TV Party: The Documentary Unknown (Character) - 2005
62% 49% Young Adam Original Music $767.2K 2003
67% No Score Yet Art of Amalia Introduction (English version) (Character) $6.9K 2000
8% 28% The Bachelor Original Music $21.7M 1999
89% 71% The Book of Life Original Music - 1998
No Score Yet 73% Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart Unknown (Character) - 1998
43% 76% Blue in the Face Original Music $586.3K 1995
No Score Yet No Score Yet Between the Teeth Director - 1994
54% 55% Immediate Family Original Song $5.4M 1989
No Score Yet 38% Heavy Petting Unknown (Character) - 1989
88% 49% Married to the Mob Original Music $19.7M 1988
86% 88% The Last Emperor Original Music $43.0M 1987
79% 81% Wall Street Original Music $41.3M 1987
No Score Yet No Score Yet Two Moon July Unknown (Character) - 1987
91% 69% Something Wild Original Music $6.4M 1986
79% 83% True Stories Narrator/Lip-Syncher/Talking Heads singer (Character),
Director,
Screenwriter,
Original Music
$1.6M 1986
100% 97% Stop Making Sense Self,
Original Music
$4.0M 1984
No Score Yet 75% The Blank Generation Unknown (Character) - 1976

TV

Credit
No Score Yet 55% Late Night With Seth Meyers Guest 2020 2022-2023
No Score Yet No Score Yet 60 Minutes Guest 2023
No Score Yet No Score Yet Real Time With Bill Maher Guest 2023
No Score Yet 44% The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Music Performer,
Guest
2014 2019 2022
No Score Yet 48% The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Music Performer 2018 2021
No Score Yet 18% The Late Late Show With James Corden Guest 2020
No Score Yet 57% Saturday Night Live Music Performer 1989 2020
No Score Yet 42% Jimmy Kimmel Live! Music Performer 2019
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Colbert Report Guest 2009 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Music Performer 2012
85% 76% The Simpsons Performer - 'Dream Operator' (Guest Voice) 2003 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Space Ghost: Coast to Coast Guest 1995