Talking Heads have shared a raw digital demo of their classic hit ‘Psycho Killer’.
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The raw 1975 cut of the 1977 hit is one of the earliest recordings by the original trio of David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth.
The demo was recorded at CBS Studios during a session that produced rough cuts of several other songs from Talking Heads’ first two albums, including ‘Don’t Worry About The Government’, ‘The Book I Read’, ‘Thank You For Sending Me An Angel’ and ‘Stay Hungry’.
This particular demo retains the song’s iconic bassline, but is missing the guitar licks that flourished throughout the track. You can listen to it below.
It is taken from the 11-track vinyl, ‘Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live‘, which was released as part of Record Store Day Black Friday 2025.
The recordings were believed to be lost until they were recently discovered in the Rhode Island School Of Design archives.
The LP “traces the band’s progression from raw punk minimalism to a more structured, angular musical approach that reflects broader shifts in post-punk aesthetics of the late 1970s”.
It will be released again on March 6 on vinyl and on a 3xCD and can be pre-ordered here.
Meanwhile, David Byrne has kicked off the European leg of his ‘Who Is The Sky?’ world tour. It is due to drop into the UK on March 2 at the Utilita Arena, Cardiff before he performs a number of shows at the Eventim Apollo in London.
Byrne is touring his solo album, also titled ‘Who Is The Sky?’, which came out last September in collaboration with the New York City ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. It’s his first studio album since 2018’s ‘American Utopia’, and features Hayley Williams, St. Vincent and The Smile’s Tom Skinner.
You can view the remaining dates of the tour here and purchase any remaining tickets here.
Byrne kicked off the tour last year by playing ‘Psycho Killer’ for the first time in 19 years, while Williams, joined him in New York City to play Paramore’s ‘Hard Times’ as well as their collaboration, ‘What Is The Reason For It?’ from his new album.
The post Listen to a raw 1975 demo of Talking Heads classic hit ‘Psycho Killer’ appeared first on NME.
