Before Talking Heads were Talking Heads they were The Artistics. Chris Frantz and David Byrne were the only Talks Heads members from The Artistics days before Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison became the band we all know today.
The earliest Talking Heads song from back n The Artistics days was ‘Psycho Killer’ which went on to become a Talking Heads song on the debut album ‘Talking Heads ‘77’.
Here is the original version by The Artistics, to be released soon for Record Store Day:
“Psycho Killer” was written in 1974 and performed by David Byrne & Chris Frantz in their first band together, The Artistics, at Rhode Island School of Design. A year later in 1975, they formed Talking Heads with Tina Weymouth, and Psycho Killer followed them through to their debut album in 1977. The Artistics are: David Byrne – guitar, vocals Chris Frantz – drums David Anderson – bass For further details about this recording, which Chris Frantz has confirmed will appear on a compilation of demos for Record Store Day in November: bostonglobe.com/2025/02/14/metro/risd-early-demo-tape-talking-heads-psycho-killer/
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