David Byrne is a music icon.

With Talking Heads, or his many wild collaborations, and as an acclaimed solo artist, he's continually pushed the boundaries of sound, crafting some of the most iconic live performances of our time.

Over five decades, he's never stopped asking why. His curiosity has driven an extraordinary creative life that stretches way beyond music: on canvas, in writing, filmmaking, composing musicals. He's even designed bike racks.

From hearing Bob Dylan's mysterious words on a tiny radio and discovering James Brown's interlocking grooves, to forming Talking Heads at the Rhode Island School of Design and moving to New York's CBGB scene, Byrne has always followed his curiosity wherever it leads. He wrote his very first song, "Psycho Killer," as a test to see if he could write one at all, and it became an instant classic.

His collaborations read like a who's who of music history: Brian Eno, Arthur Russell, Parliament-Funkadelic, and even Celia Cruz. His 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense with Jonathan Demme remains one of the most celebrated live performances ever captured. And decades later, he's still rearranging his classic songs, finding new meaning in them, sometimes discovering, as with "Life During Wartime," that they feel more real and more close than ever.

This episode was filmed for Season 5 of Take 5 with Zan Rowe in a recording studio in Sydney while David Byrne was in Australia touring over the 2025/26 summer. He was jubilant, fascinating, and so generous in exploring his huge life across five songs. As a lifelong DB fan, the theme was clear: curiosity. And as David himself says, the answers don't come in the songs. They come in the live shows, in how we perform and how we are with one another.

David Byrne's song choices:

• James Brown - 'Get On the Good Foot'
• Joubert Singers - 'Stand On The Word' (Larry Levan mix)
• Celia Cruz - 'Cucala'
• James Blake - 'The Wilhelm Scream'
• Caetano Veloso - 'Tropicalia'

00:00 Introduction: A Lifetime of Asking Questions

02:01 Meet David Byrne: Icon, Collaborator, Polymath

02:33 Extended Cut. Watch on ABC iview

02:55 The Theme: Curiosity and the Songs That Spark It

03:25 A Tiny Radio, The Byrds, and the Mysterious Words of Bob Dylan

04:45 James Brown: 'Get On the Good Foot'

05:09 Interlocking Puzzles: "I Treat Every Instrument as a Percussion Instrument"

05:34 The Social Metaphor of Funk. A Penny Drop Moment Decades Later

07:12 First Time Seeing James Brown Live: The Dancing Women Who Weren't Singing

08:37 Art School and Music as a Hobby: "Don't Get Your Hopes Up"

09:23 Rhode Island School of Design: Meeting Chris Frantz

09:52 Putting a Band Together and Writing the First Songs

10:39 Why Write Songs at All? "Just to See If You Could"

11:04 Writing "Psycho Killer" as a Test. And People Liked It

11:31 "Check That Box. I Can Write a Song."

12:12 Influences: James Brown, Disco, Bowie, and the Velvet Underground

12:54 Moving to New York: CBGB, Television, and Patti Smith

13:47 MTV and "Once in a Lifetime": Going Back to Art School for Music Videos

14:26 Joubert Singers: 'Stand On The Word' (Larry Levan mix)

14:53 Gospel in a Disco Club: The Shared Transcendence of Dance and Church

16:31 Hearing Talking Heads in the Clubs: "We've Been Validated"

17:11 My Life in the Bush of Ghosts: When the DJ Picked It

18:00 Losing Yourself: The Body Perceives Music Before the Mind

19:25 Trust and Surrender on the Dance Floor

20:01 Celia Cruz: 'Cucala'

20:41 The Latin Club Down the Street from CBGB

21:06 Dance Music Played Live: Salsa, Hips, and Sensuous Rhythms

21:56 Celia Cruz's Voice: "It Cuts Through Everything"

22:36 A Pinch-Yourself Moment: Recording a Song with Celia Cruz

23:12 Different Worlds: Spangly Outfits, Huge Hairdos, and Skinny Jeans

23:50 Collaborators Expanding: Arthur Russell's Cello Arrangement of "Psycho Killer"

24:44 Adding Parliament-Funkadelic Members: The Universe Keeps Growing

25:23 James Blake: 'The Wilhelm Scream'

26:03 Minimalism: "You Don't Have to Keep Piling Everything On"

26:51 Brian Eno vs. James Blake: Learning to Strip Things Down from a Song

27:18 Seeing James Blake Live and Discovering He's "a Great Singer"

27:43 James Blake the Producer: Pulling Things Apart and Stitching Them Back Together

27:58 Stop Making Sense: Showing the Audience How the Sausage Is Made

28:20 "You're Playing to Tracks, Aren't You?" Proving It's All Live

28:45 Breaking a Song Apart Onstage: One Instrument at a Time

29:09 Wireless Instruments and Witchcraft

29:21 Caetano Veloso: 'Tropicalia'

30:27 Caetano Celebrating Everything: "We Can Say Yes to All These Things"

30:50 A Mentor Who Keeps Evolving: "I Want to Be Able to Do That"

31:59 Political Messages in Flower Language: Getting Ideas Past the Censors

32:35 Learning from Caetano and Celia Cruz: Protest Songs Don't Have to Shout

32:58 "Years Ago, I Was an Angry Man"

33:31 Rearranging the Old Songs: They're Recognisable, But the Meaning Changes

33:57 Playing "Life During Wartime" Today: "It Seems Too Real, Too Close"

34:46 Licensing News Footage: "It Takes Your Breath Away"

35:17 Songs That Evolve Personally and Globally. Communion in Concert

36:32 What an Absolute Joy: David Byrne Across Five Songs

36:56 Next Time: Jacinda Ardern

37:31 Season 5 of Take 5 with Zan Rowe. Stream on ABC iview

This episode was filmed for season 5 of Take 5 with Zan Rowe on ABC TV and ABC iview. You can stream the whole season on ABC iview now.

Watch this episode of Take 5 on ABC iview: