TALKING HEADS singer David Byrne disliked his band being called "punk" during the genre's late '70s heyday - because he thought the New York art rockers had a ground-breaking sound.

The 51-year-old recalls how the PSYCHO KILLER band sounded nothing like other groups - including THE SEX PISTOLS - on the scene and he felt they lacked the aggressive nihilism that was punk's trademark.

Byrne explains, "We used to complain bitterly that we weren't punk.

"I think we fitted in because our music was stripped down and unconventional in that it didn't match any radio formats, so it was a reaction against everything that was going on around us in the commercial music world.

"And it was kind of do-it-yourself in the same way as the Ramones were.

09/04/2004 17:28