Byrne: End of Talking Heads ‘was kind of ugly’

David Byrne wishes he had not burned down the house when he called it quits with Talking Heads.

The “Psycho Killer” singer recently opened up about the regret he feels about how he maneuvered the ‘80s new wave band’s split.

“As a younger person, I was not as pleasant to be around. When I was working on some Talking Heads shows, I was more of a little tyrant,” Byrne said in a story People published Thursday. “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.”

He added, “I think [the end] wasn’t handled well. It was kind of ugly.”

Byrne formed Talking Heads alongside Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth in 1975, adding Jerry Harrison in 1977 to round out the band. The “This Must Be the Place” hit-makers disbanded in 1991.

Talking Heads’ breakup was made official in December 1991 when Byrne told the L.A. Times, “You could say (we’ve) broken up, or call it whatever you like.”

In a 1992 interview with the L.A. Times, Frantz and Weymouth said they found out about the band’s split after reading Byrne’s comment.

“We were never too pleased about the way David handled the situation,” Frantz added. “Communicating with other people has never been David’s forte, at least not on a personal level.”

The group reunited briefly to accept their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Since the messy separation, Byrne has accepted blame for how it all went down. Talking Heads will reunite later this year at the Toronto International Film Festival to do a Q&A with director Spike Lee ahead of a screening of a remastered version of Jonathan Demme’s concert documentary “Stop Making Sense.”

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