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‘Ramones had leather jackets when they got spat on. We didn’t!’ David Byrne on touring with Talking Heads and taking advice from Lou Reed

As his American Utopia tour film hits cinemas, the musician answers your questions about his Scottish sense of humour, working with Brian Eno and his desire to direct another film In May 1977, Talking Heads along with Ramones toured the UK starting at Eric’s Club in Liverpool . Did touring as punk exploded have an impact on you? SpiritofWacker There was something really great about that tour because other than maybe a few singles the audience had never seen us, so there was a lot of curiosity and openness to us and Ramones, as different as we were. Later on, fans kind of decided they liked this band or didn’t like this band, but everything happened very quickly. I remember we did a show at the Roundhouse [in London] where somebody in the audience was gobbing on the bands and, of course, Ramones really didn’t like this. Understandably enough, they didn’t see it as a sign of – ha! – respec

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As his American Utopia tour film hits cinemas, the musician answers your questions about his Scottish sense of humour, working with Brian Eno and his desire to direct another film In May 1977, Talking Heads along with Ramones toured the UK starting at Eric’s Club in Liverpool . Did touring as punk exploded have an impact on you? SpiritofWacker There was something really great about that tour because other than maybe a few singles the audience had never seen us, so there was a lot of curiosity and openness to us and Ramones, as different as we were. Later on, fans kind of decided they liked this band or didn’t like this band, but everything happened very quickly. I remember we did a show at the Roundhouse [in London] where somebody in the audience was gobbing on the bands and, of course, Ramones really didn’t like this. Understandably enough, they didn’t see it as a sign of – ha! – respec

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According to The Guardian’s linked source, ‘Ramones had leather jackets when they got spat on. We didn’t!’ David Byrne on touring with Talking Heads and taking advice from Lou Reed, As his American Utopia tour film hits cinemas, the musician answers your questions about his Scottish sense of humour, working with Brian Eno and his desire to direct another film In May 1977, Talking Heads along with Ramones toured the UK starting at Eric’s Club in Liverpool . Did touring as punk exploded have an impact on you? SpiritofWacker There was something really great about that tour because other than maybe a few singles the audience had never seen us, so there was a lot of curiosity and openness to us and Ramones, as different as we were. Later on, fans kind of decided they liked this band or didn’t like this band, but everything happened very quickly. I remember we did a show at the Roundhouse [in London] where somebody in the audience was gobbing on the bands and, of course, Ramones really didn’t like this. Understandably enough, they didn’t see it as a sign of – ha! – respec

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The development sits in VINI’s Culture coverage for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the publisher account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The original item is dated 2026-07-09T14:00:08+00:00.

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Primary source: ‘Ramones had leather jackets when they got spat on. We didn’t!’ David Byrne on touring with Talking Heads and taking advice from Lou Reed via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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