On this day 22 Nov 1950, Tina Weymouth, bass guitarist with both Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club was born.
One of the founding members of the iconic Talking Heads band, Tina’s bass guitar featured prominently in their music and with husband Chris Frantz became one of rock’s most inventive and inspiring rhythm sections.
In 2002, Weymouth was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.
Weymouth and Frantz formed the Tom Tom Club in 1980, which kept them busy during a fairly long hiatus in Talking Heads activity. When it became obvious that Talking Heads frontman David Byrne had no interest in another Talking Heads album, Weymouth, Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited without him for a single album called No Talking, Just Head under the name "The Heads" in 1996, featuring a rotating cast of vocalists.
The Tom Tom Club came to Cardiff for the opening night of their 30th anniversary UK tour, July 2013.
Chris Frantz, in an interview with Media Wales journalist David Owens said of their visit, “We’ve actually never played in Wales, with Talking Heads or Tom Tom Club, so we’re very much looking forward to seeing your castles and your beautiful scenery!”
Review
It was an opportunity missed for thousands of South Wales music fans but a wonderful night for those clued-in individuals who made the first night, and the only visit to Wales by Tom Tom Club such a memorable evening.
The Tom Tom Club are most notable for containing the rhythm section of one of rock’s most innovative and iconic bands, Talking Heads, and the band have managed to score some notable hits despite living very much in the shadow of the monster band they helped create.
Husband and wife team, drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth, no doubt frustrated at the Talking Heads’ lack of activity, created some of pop’s most infectious and catchy tunes incorporating not only punk, funk and disco but hip-hop as well, breaking ground and proving a big influence to many other bands that followed in their slipstream.
Celebrating their 30th anniversary as a band, there was certainly a summer party atmosphere with some good-natured banter amongst the band and fans not put off by the lack of numbers and who were voracious in their support to what proved an uplifting, bouncy and infectious set.
It was hardly surprising that their big hits like Genius Of Love and Wordy Rappinghood received the biggest response of the night with the latter featuring a scratching/percussive face-off between DJ Kid Ginseng and keyboard percussionist Bruce Martin.
But for me, the highlight of the night was a magnificent Man With The Four-Way Hips with Weymouth and singing partner Victoria Clamp’s wonderful quirky vocals, including some of Weymouth’s signature thudding bass and crisp, snappy drumming from Franz.
Ending on a tremendous high, the crowd were treated to two former Talking Heads’ gems, a cover of Al Green’s Take Me To The River and their former band’s most covered anthem, Psycho Killer, that featured some machine-gun riffs from guitarist Pablo Martin. Just the perfect ending to a perfect summer’s day.
Tony Woolway
Anyone wishing to read about the life and times of Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club should search out Frantz’s excellent Remain In Love.
