Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz has sparked rumours of a possible reunion of the band with a social media post reading: “We shall return”.
Frantz posted an image on his Instagram page of a black and white theatre marquee with the main banner saying “TALKING HEADS”, alongside “Dec 13, 14, 15, 16, 8pm”, and “Tix at all ticketron outlets”.
The image has a lot of historic meaning for the New York new wave legends. The Pantages Theatre is famously where the band recorded their iconic live movie and album ‘Stop Making Sense’ in December 1983. Fans are speculating that this image and message might be a sign of the band returning to the stage.
“What do you mean by this Chris…”, wrote one excited fan in the comments of the post. “Sphere….please please please,” wrote another encouraging the band to play a residency at the Las Vegas mega venue like U2. “Don’t play with me Christopher,” read another message, with many followers calling for this to be a sign of a reunion performance.
This could however, simply be referring to the fact that the band will be returning to the Los Angeles venue for a Q&A and screening of the film next month.
On June 4, A Night Of Stop Making Sense will see the band talk about the iconic film alongside a performance from Blondshell.
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All four band members – Frantz, frontman David Byrne, guitarist Jerry Harrison and bassist Tina Weymouth – made their first public appearance together in over 20 years for a Q&A and a screening of their remastered concert film Stop Making Sense at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
The four musicians have had a complicated relationship since their breakup in 1991. They reunited in 1999 to promote the 15th-anniversary reissue of the film, while in 2002, they came together to perform four songs at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony – their only live performance since 1984.
Weymouth has described Byrne as “insecure”, saying that the frontman “would often try to blame other people if things went wrong. Chris and I loved him dearly and we did our best to overlook these disastrous character flaws, but it seemed obvious that Talking Heads wasn’t going to last,” she added.
Similarly, Frantz has commented that Byrne’s “brain is wired in such a way that he doesn’t know where he ends and other people begin. He can’t imagine that anyone else would be important.”
Nevertheless, rumours of a reunion have been swirling in recent months, with a report in Billboard in January revealing that Coachella and Live Nation had failed to convince them to come back together.
Paul Tollett, president of Coachella organisers Goldenvoice, attended a 40th anniversary screening of the band’s concert film Stop Making Sense last year, and approached the band members, but “sensed there were no shows happening, so [he] didn’t make an offer”. It is not known how much the offer would have been for, but Billboard’s sources speculated it could have been $10million.
Furthermore, tour promoters Live Nation did approach the band, reportedly offering as much as $80million for six to eight festival appearances, including headlining slots, but the band rejected the offer.
Frantz directly addressed the rumours while speaking to NME last year. “I did try it a couple of times and the last time was about 20 years ago, and after that, David just said: ‘I never want you to ask me that question again. I’m not going to address that matter.’ It’s a shame and it is what it is,” he said.
Weymouth was also asked about it in an interview with Pitchfork last year. “We’re just savouring the moment. We’re so happy that it’s resulted in this wonderful thing that’s lasted 40 years. And we’re not really looking too far into the future,” Weymouth said. “We might be standing on the corner and a bus will knock us down. We’re super glad we’re alive. We’re all four here to enjoy this moment.”
Byrne himself explained last year that he regrets the way Talking Heads split up, and confessed that he was a “little tyrant” at the time. He also compared his current relationship to his Talking Heads bandmates to a divorce.
“Divorces are never easy,” he told The New York Times. “We get along OK. It’s all very cordial and whatever. It’s not like we’re all best friends. But everybody’s very happy to see this film coming back out.”
In connection with A24’s 4K remaster of Stop Making Sense, a covers compilation of the band’s songs, titled ‘Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense’, is due out on May 17. You can pre-order it here.
Contributions to the album include Girl In Red doing ‘Girlfriend Is Better’, Lorde’s take on ‘Take Me To The River’, Miley Cyrus covering ‘Psycho Killer’ and Paramore’s version of ‘Burning Down the House’.