Who

The lead singer of Talking Heads, Byrne has been a fixture of the New York punk and indie scenes for the past 30 years.

Backstory

The Scottish-born art school dropout formed Talking Heads with Rhode Island School of Design classmates Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth in 1974. They went on to be a part of the hallowed CBGB punk scene in the late '70s, fusing a punk sensibility with pop catchiness; the group's hit songs like "Once in a Lifetime" and "Burning Down the House" are among the few beloved by college radio and frat boys alike. After the band broke up in 1991, Byrne pursued a variety of artistic endeavors, dabbling in everything from film to art to book publishing. The rest of the band didn't move on as quickly, though: His embittered former colleagues recorded a 1996 album without Byrne, calling themselves The Heads and replacing him with a cast of guest vocalists. Although there continues to be animosity between Byrne and rest of the group, Talking Heads reunited to play for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2002.

Of note

Described by the Times as "Indie Rock's Patron Saint" for his wide-ranging influence on contemporary groups like Arcade Fire and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Byrne has remained active on the music scene. He's collaborated with Twyla Tharp and Robert Wilson, started a world music label named Luaka Bop, and, more recently, curated the Perspective series at Carnegie Hall in February 2007. These days, he's at work developing a "disco opera" based on the life of Imelda Marcos called Here Lies Love with DJ Norman Cook (AKA Fatboy Slim). A regular at popular music venues around town like the Bowery Ballroom, Joe's Pub, and Webster Hall, he's also got a surprisingly detailed and honest blog (journal.davidbyrne.com), on which he gabs about his around-the-world travels and issues of the day.

The look

Barring any major developments, Byrne's legacy to fashion will likely be his fabled Big Suit from the 1984 concert movie Stop Making Sense. The suit was later parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic in the 1989 movie UHF.

Personal

Byrne has a daughter, Malu Abeni Valentine Byrne, with his ex-wife Adelle "Bonnie" Lutz. The couple divorced in 2004 after 15 years of marriage, and Byrne dated art curator Louise Neri before starting a relationship with Cindy Sherman. He lives in a loft on West 57th Street but works out of his office/studio in a former sweatshop near Chinatown, and gets around by bike.