Tom Tom Club

Aside from the obvious commercial kudos of being able to say you were a member of The Beatles, or the claims to unbridled hedonism that you could make if you’d ever been a part of The Rolling Stones, I can’t think of many bands that must have been as exciting to have been in as Talking Heads; David Byrne’s outfit remain one of the most influential in rock history, and that’s why Tom Tom Club, purely by way of association than anything else, would always be an interesting proposition in their own right; formed in 1981 by husband and wife duo Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, they’re still a going concern today, despite the fact that their new wave sound was one that had its heyday planted firmly in the eighties. They’ve put out seven full-length records over the course of a career that’s spanned more than three decades, with their latest, 2012’s Downtown Rockers, being their first in twelve years. They continue to tour extensively, too, playing hit-packed sets the world over with a full live band backing up Weymouth’s iconic vocal turns and Frantz’s irresistibly funky guitar work; they might not have the Heads’ influence, but they stand alongside that band as real originals of recent pop music.