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‘As the Brits say: I’m gobsmacked. I devoured this book… one of the most potent examples of living the dream’ Debbie Harry
‘A great drummer who has written a great book’ Bill Murray
‘A revealing inside account of the highs and lows of a band who looked and sounded like nobody else’ Olivia Laing, Guardian
Forty years on from the release of their era-defining album Remain in Light, Chris Frantz’s memoir tells the story of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club.
Chris Frantz met David Byrne at the Rhode Island School of Art & Design in the early 1970s. Together – and soon with Frantz’s future wife, Tina Weymouth – they formed Talking Heads and took up residence in the grimy environs of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where their neighbours were Patti Smith, William Burroughs and a host of proto-punk artists who now have legendary status. Building an early audience and reputation with many performances at CBGB alongside the Ramones, Television and Blondie, Talking Heads found themselves feted by Warhol (who famously referred to them as ‘Talking Horses’) and Lou Reed, and signed to Sire Records. A band whose sensibility was both a part of, and apart from, punk, their early albums quickly became classics; until the Brian Eno produced masterpiece Remain in Light, saw them explode. Soon, however, relations within the band started to become strained as a band that had always operated democratically lost its team ethic. Chris and Tina started recording as Tom Tom Club in the early ’80s; in the process creating a hybrid of funk, disco, pop, electro and world music that would have a huge impact on the club scene around the world.
Warm and candid, funny and heartfelt, Remain in Love charts the rise and fall of a band – in a decade they came to define – who combined the sensibility of artists with visionary songwriting talents. It is also the story of the once-in-a-lifetime love story and creative partnership between Chris and Tina Weymouth, one of the greatest rhythm sections to electrify the pop stage.
‘A great drummer who has written a great book’ Bill Murray
‘A revealing inside account of the highs and lows of a band who looked and sounded like nobody else’ Olivia Laing, Guardian
Forty years on from the release of their era-defining album Remain in Light, Chris Frantz’s memoir tells the story of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club.
Chris Frantz met David Byrne at the Rhode Island School of Art & Design in the early 1970s. Together – and soon with Frantz’s future wife, Tina Weymouth – they formed Talking Heads and took up residence in the grimy environs of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where their neighbours were Patti Smith, William Burroughs and a host of proto-punk artists who now have legendary status. Building an early audience and reputation with many performances at CBGB alongside the Ramones, Television and Blondie, Talking Heads found themselves feted by Warhol (who famously referred to them as ‘Talking Horses’) and Lou Reed, and signed to Sire Records. A band whose sensibility was both a part of, and apart from, punk, their early albums quickly became classics; until the Brian Eno produced masterpiece Remain in Light, saw them explode. Soon, however, relations within the band started to become strained as a band that had always operated democratically lost its team ethic. Chris and Tina started recording as Tom Tom Club in the early ’80s; in the process creating a hybrid of funk, disco, pop, electro and world music that would have a huge impact on the club scene around the world.
Warm and candid, funny and heartfelt, Remain in Love charts the rise and fall of a band – in a decade they came to define – who combined the sensibility of artists with visionary songwriting talents. It is also the story of the once-in-a-lifetime love story and creative partnership between Chris and Tina Weymouth, one of the greatest rhythm sections to electrify the pop stage.
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Reviews
From the first time I saw Talking Heads live (CBGB, 1976), I've had a huge thing for Tina Weymouth. And since then I've been biding my time, waiting for the right moment to make my move. But after reading Remain in Love: Talking Heads: Tom Tom Club: Tina by Chris Frantz, it's become pretty clear to me that she's already in a relationship (see pages 1, 3-7, 9, etc.), and what's more, it looks to be serious (pages 18, 20-26, and especially 114). But you know something? That's OK. I'm happy for Tina, and for Chris, a great drummer who has written a great book, though I wish he'd done it a few years earlier
[Remain in Love] has great storytelling and amazing detail about adventures that Chris and I have shared in our parallel universes. As the Brits say: I'm gobsmacked. I devoured this book and all the memories and all the love Chris has for Tina . . . One of the most potent examples of living the dream
Crackling with verve, comedy, calamity, crisp detail, forward motion, and abiding affection, speckled with an all-star cast of punk legends and pop idols, Chris Frantz's Remain in Love is a rock music memoir like none other--a candy kiss with a kick to it. From the grime and tumult of CBGB to the Valhalla gloriosky of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Remain in Love gives the reader a magic carpet ride on the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club express. It is also a valentine to Frantz's wife, creative partner, and bass guitarist in excelsis, Tina Weymouth, before whom we all gladly curtsey
This swift-paced, well written book has the upbeat tone of dreams coming true. Frantz conveys the excitement of his adventures from boyhood to art school to international rock-stardom with honesty and enthusiasm. He didn't miss much in these cherished years. That he managed to keep his joyous spirit alive (and "remain in love") as his various bands accelerate across the globe is a testament to his intelligence and decency. I dare any drummer to write a better book!
Heads and drums and funk and roll: herewith Chris Frantz outs himself as a Writing Head and Raconteur First Class, bringing it on an engaging narrative which combines an enchanting love story with an eye-opening disquisition on the upsides and downsides of being in bands with unsual people
I commend Remain in Love to discerning rock fans everywhere
Frantz has done an effective job of rebalancing the Talking Heads story, offering an angle on the band that fans will relish
A revealing inside account of the highs and lows of a band who looked and sounded like nobody else
a memoir as sharp and sometimes caustic as the music they made
Amidst the bad blood, Frantz offers charming detail of the band's early years
A book by a man who is giving the best impression of someone having all the fun
The drummer with Talking Heads, one of rock's trailblazing bands, has written a memoir as sharp and sometimes caustic as their music. It's a love letter to both Talking Heads and his wife, the band's bassist Tina Weymouth . . . The book captures 1970s New York, with cameos from Andy Warhol, Brian Eno and James Brown, and makes being in a band sound the most exciting job ever