David Byrne has regrets about 'ugly' Talking Heads split: 'I was more of a little tyrant'

David Byrne is opening up about his rocky relationship with his ex-bandmates.

Speaking to People magazine in an interview published Thursday, the Grammy winner expressed regret for how things ended with the Talking Heads, which broke up in 1991.

"As a younger person, I was not as pleasant to be around," Byrne said. "When I was working on some Talking Heads shows, I was more of a little tyrant. And then I learned to relax, and I also learned that collaborating with people, both sides get more if there’s a good relationship instead of me telling everybody what to do.”

“I think (the end) wasn’t handled well. It was kind of ugly," Byrne continued. "I have regrets on how that was handled. I don’t think I did it in the best way, but I think it was kind of inevitable that would happen anyway. We have a cordial relationship now. We’re sort of in touch, but we don’t hang out together.”

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Talking Heads got together in 1975, releasing eight albums and scoring multiple hits including "Once in a Lifetime," "Burning Down the House" and "This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)." They briefly reassembled in 2002 for a performance during their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

The band's drummer, Chris Frantz, spoke about the split in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 1992.

"As far as we’re concerned, the band never really broke up. David just decided to leave," Frantz said at the time. "We were never too pleased about the way David handled the situation. Communicating with other people has never been David’s forte, at least not on a personal level. We’ve kept a very low profile about this whole thing. We feel like David Byrne’s a very good artist. We’re just sorry that, you know, he didn’t really understand what he had, maybe."

Byrne and Frantz will reunite – along with Talking Heads members Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison – for a Q&A with filmmaker Spike Lee at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. The fest is premiering a remastered version of the band's concert movie "Stop Making Sense," which was directed by the late Jonathan Demme. The film, which turns 40 this year, will then be released in IMAX by A24 on Sept. 22.

Byrne, 71 has been prolific in the theater world in recent years: bringing his "American Utopia" concert to Broadway in 2019, and then again in 2021. He also co-wrote the score for immersive musical "Here Lies Love," which is now playing on Broadway and tells the story of former Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos through disco music.

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