Talking Heads reunited for the first time in more than 20 years for a Q&A at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The pioneering New Wave band's appearance at the 40th anniversary celebration of the band's 1984 concert movie, Stop Making Sense, is the first time Talking Heads' has been seen together since being inducted into the Rock ’N’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002.
Talking Heads' Frontman David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth, drummer Chris Frantz, and guitarist Jerry Harrison were joined by renowned director Spike Lee, who moderated the brief Q&A following the debut screening of A24’s 4K restoration of the film.
“It’s so good to be here with my bandmates tonight,” said Frantz.“It’s been a long time.”
Despite prior speculation, Talking Heads did not perform but stuck to answering questions about Stop Making Sense, which Lee called “the greatest concert film ever”.
After the screening, Byrne mused: “When I was watching this just now, I was thinking, This is why we come to the movie theatres. This is different than watching it on my laptop – this is really different.”
Later, Harrison spoke about “the lasting power of the film” and how the band was “having so much fun onstage” when they recorded the show. Adding, “There is love and fun, and the audience is brought right into it; every time anybody watches it, it brings back that wonderful emotion.”
At one point, Byrn explained how he came to wear his iconic oversized suit on Stop Making Sense. “The origin of that was… we were in between tours, and I was thinking, What are we gonna do next? Maybe I should rethink what we wear onstage.”
He adds: “I was having dinner in Japan after we finished the tour, and this designer there said, ‘Well, David. In the theatre, everything is bigger than real life.' He’s referring to like gestures… how you sing louder and all that, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, my suit should be bigger too.'”
Harrison then recalled that a friend of his had made the suit and that it was one of a pair that had been designed for the performance, but the other suit was made of a “sort of plastic” that “didn’t move with your body the same.” He added that Byrne's suit “reacted with you.”
Last month, Harrison said working on the re-release of Stop Making Sense was a “healing experience” for the band.
While Byrne said he regretted the way the band split and admitted that he was a “little tyrant” at times and has likened Talking Heads' break-up to a divorce.
“We get along OK. It’s all very cordial and whatever,” Byrne 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.”
Source: (Washington Post).