David Byrne

David Byrne
Byrne in 2018
Born (1952-05-14) May 14, 1952
Dumbarton, Scotland
Citizenship
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Ireland
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • record producer
  • music theorist
  • visual artist
  • actor
  • writer
  • filmmaker
Years active1971–present
Spouses
(m. 1987; div. 2004)
(m. 2025)
Children1
Musical career
OriginArbutus, Maryland, U.S.
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Works
Labels
Formerly ofTalking Heads
Websitedavidbyrne.com
Signature

David Byrne (/bɜːrn/; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the rock band Talking Heads.

Byrne was born in Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, and moved to the U.S. with his family as a child. He co-founded Talking Heads in 1975 in New York City. After releasing eight studio albums, including seven certified gold or platinum, Talking Heads disbanded in 1991.

Byrne has released solo recordings and worked with media including film, photography, opera, fiction, and non-fiction. He has collaborated with a variety of artists including Brian Eno, Fatboy Slim, X-Press 2, Ryuichi Sakamoto of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), and St. Vincent. Byrne has received an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, a Special Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, and was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Talking Heads.