David Byrne
Ook bekend van Talking Heads
Popularity today
39
Belgium 39 · the Netherlands 37 · Worldwide 43 · on a scale of 100
Score back then at Rock Werchter 2026
54
Belgium 50 · Netherlands 55 · Worldwide 66 · level A
The historical score shows how big an act was at the time of that edition, on a scale of 100 against the biggest acts of all editions. The letter is the level by the festival's own scale. How the points work ›
Chances for 2027
Probability estimates remain estimates and are not an official announcement.
No rumours, no inside knowledge. Tap Why? for the reasons.
(Nearly) impossible
Why?
few indications of a booking yetno shows planned around the festivalprofile fits this festival lessnothing suggests this act is in Europe at that time
(Nearly) impossible
Why?
few indications of a booking yetno shows planned around the festivalprofile fits this festival lessnothing suggests this act is in Europe at that time
(Nearly) impossible
If this act plays this festival: 39 points (C), now 10 of 10 acts
Why?
few indications of a booking yetno shows planned around the festivalplayed here last year, and two years in a row is rarenothing suggests this act is in Europe at that time
(Nearly) impossible
Why?
few indications of a booking yetno shows planned around the festivalnothing suggests this act is in Europe at that time
Figures
Spotify listeners
878.911
Deezer 32.914 · streams per day –
Last.fm listeners
736.536
rank 2119 in Belgium · rank 2959 in the Netherlands
Instagram followers
639.769
@davidbyrneofficial · updated on 02/11/2026
Search interest
–
not measured: the name also means something else
Wikipedia, 12 months
1.507.422
EN 1.437.878 · NL 34.011 · FR 35.533
rocknew wavealternativesinger-songwriterindie
Career
- Line-ups
- Rock Werchter 2018, Rock Werchter 2026
- Active since
- 1980
- Albums
- Who Is the Sky? 2025
- American Utopia 2018
- Love This Giant 2012
- Concerts per year
- 2026 101
- 2025 55
- 2018 145
- 2017 3
Older concert dates are still being added, so this may be incomplete.
Stature
- Discogs
- 32,843 times in a collection
- 7,585 on a wishlist
- 65 uitgaven
Most collected, times in a collection- Songs From The Broadway Production Of "The Catherine Wheel" 1981 · 3.248
- My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts 1981 · 3.144
- 3 Big Songs 1981 · 1.262
- Music For The Knee Plays 1985 · 2.825
- Uh-Oh 1992 · 1.127
- Feelings 1997 · 1.041
- Look Into The Eyeball 2001 · 1.050
- Lazy 2002 · 2.069
- Love This Giant 2012 · 1.395
- David Byrne's American Utopia On Broadway (Original Cast Recording) 2019 · 3.646
All 60 releases
- Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open) 1981 · 110
- My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts 1981 · 3.144
- 3 Big Songs 1981 · 1.262
- Regiment 1981 · 66
- Songs From The Broadway Production Of "The Catherine Wheel" 1981 · 3.248
- The Complete Score From The Broadway Production Of "The Catherine Wheel" 1981 · 130
- The Jezebel Spirit 1981 · 283
- The Catherine Wheel 1982 · 9
- Music For The Knee Plays 1985 · 2.825
- Sounds From True Stories (Original Motion Picture Score) 1986 · 189
- The Last Emperor 1987 · 751
- Loco De Amor = Crazy For Love 1987 · 4
- The Last Emperor 1987 · 135
- Make Believe Mambo 1989 · 156
- Beleza Tropical (Brazil Classics 1) 1989 · 248
- Dirty Old Town 1989 · 22
- Rei Momo 1989 · 912
- Independence Day 1989 · 92
- Forestry 1991 · 216
- The Forest 1991 · 262
- Hanging Upside Down 1992 · 75
- She's Mad 1992 · 26
- Girls On My Mind 1992 · 236
- Uh-Oh 1992 · 1.127
- Between The Teeth - Live 1993 · 27
- Back In The Box 1994 · 148
- Sad Song 1994 · 5
- David Byrne 1994 · 1.002
- Angels 1994 · 97
- Dance On Vaseline 1996 · 7
- Miss America 1997 · 119
- The Visible Man 1997 · 153
- Feelings 1997 · 1.041
- Like Humans Do 2001 · 46
- U.B. Jesus 2001 · 18
- Look Into The Eyeball 2001 · 1.050
- Desconocido Soy 2001 · 21
- Lazy 2002 · 2.069
- Live At Union Chapel 2003 · 100
- Lead Us Not Into Temptation - Music From The Film Young Adam 2003 · 538
- Grown Backwards 2004 · 741
- The Heart’s A Lonely Hunter 2005 · 641
- Live From Austin TX 2007 · 309
- Big Love: Hymnal (Music Written For The HBO Series Plus Other Recent Compositions) 2008 · 243
- Everything That Happens Will Happen Today 2008 · 873
- Toe Jam 2008 · 14
- Life Is Long 2009 · 91
- Dark Was The Night (Songs From The Upcoming Red Hot Compilation) 2009 · 229
- Here Lies Love 2010 · 629
- Ride, Rise, Roar 2010 · 42
- Live At Carnegie Hall 2012 · 113
- Love This Giant 2012 · 1.395
- Who 2012 · 18
- Brass Tactics EP 2013 · 46
- Here Lies Love - Original Cast Recording 2014 · 131
- Strange Weather 2014 · 13
- American Utopia 2018 · 790
- This Is That 2018 · 2
- Everybody's Coming To My House 2018 · 1
- David Byrne's American Utopia On Broadway (Original Cast Recording) 2019 · 3.646
- Biggest own venue
- Rockhal, Esch-sur-Alzette
- ±6.500 plaatsen
- 2026 (Benelux, last three years)
Older concert dates are still being added, so this may be incomplete.
Today
- Radio
- Last 30 days
KEXP 12 2,8 per week BBC Radio 6 Music 7 1,6 per week Willy 7 1,6 per week VRT Radio 1 2 0,5 per week Studio Brussel 1 0,2 per week FIP Rock 1 0,2 per week Since we track the stationBBC Radio 6 Music 390 3,6 per week since Oct 2024 Willy 263 2,6 per week since Dec 2024 KEXP 212 1,3 per week since Nov 2023 Studio Brussel 25 0,2 per week since Nov 2023 BBC Radio 1 6 0,0 per week since Nov 2023 VRT Radio 1 3 0,3 per week since Sep 2026 NPO 3FM 2 0,0 per week since Nov 2023 FIP Rock 1 0,2 per week since Oct 2026 - Similar to
- Talking Heads, John Cale, Beck, St. Vincent, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, The Flaming Lips
Records
Studio albums, the highest position in the Belgian and Dutch album charts (Ultratop, Dutch Charts) with the number of weeks, gold and platinum (BEA, NVPI), and how many Discogs members own the record. Data provided by Discogs.
| Album | Year | Belgian album chart | Dutch album chart | Gold/platinum | Discogs collections |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who Is the Sky? | 2025 | #7 (6 wk) | #17 (1 wk) | – | – |
| American Utopia | 2018 | #19 (14 wk) | #43 (1 wk) | – | 790 |
| Love This Giant | 2012 | #51 (7 wk) | #83 (1 wk) | – | 1.395 |
| Everything That Happens Will Happen Today | 2008 | #58 (3 wk) | – | – | 873 |
| Grown Backwards | 2004 | #55 (3 wk) | – | – | 741 |
| Lead Us Not Into Temptation | 2003 | – | – | – | – |
| Look Into the Eyeball | 2001 | – | – | – | 1.050 |
| Feelings | 1997 | – | – | – | 1.041 |
| David Byrne | 1994 | – | – | – | 1.002 |
| Uh‐oh | 1992 | – | #52 (8 wk) | – | 1.127 |
| Byrne: High Life for Strings / Moran: Music From the Towers of the Moon / Lurie: Stranger Than Paradise / Torke: Chalk | 1992 | – | – | – | – |
| The Forest | 1991 | – | – | – | 262 |
| Rei Momo | 1989 | – | #88 (3 wk) | – | 912 |
| Music for The Knee Plays | 1985 | – | – | – | 2.825 |
| My Life in the Bush of Ghosts | 1981 | #62 (5 wk) | – | – | 3.144 |
Other albums in the charts or with gold or platinum (live, compilations, reissues):
| Album | Year | Belgian album chart | Dutch album chart | Gold/platinum | Discogs collections |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Here Lies Love | 2010 | #96 (1 wk) | #83 (2 wk) | – | 629 |
Discogs: 32,843 times in a collection. 7,585 times on a wishlist.
How popular is David Byrne compared with other countries?
Bigger in Denmark and Belgium than you would expect.
Denmark×2,9
Italy×2,6
Belgium×2,2
United Kingdom×2,0
Netherlands×1,8
Zweden×1,7
Spain×1,7
Poland×1,3
France×0,6
Germany×0,6
Based on search volume and listeners from the various sources. Each country compared with the worldwide figure.
Best-known songs (Deezer)
Per edition, historical
Score measured in the twelve months before each edition, place = rank in that line-up. The letter differs per festival: an A at Best Kept Secret can be a C at Rock Werchter.
| Edition | Score | Level | Rank | Exceptional | Belgium | Netherlands | World | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Werchter 2018 | 26 | C | 29 / 82 | 40 | 23 | 27 | 38 | Wikipedia, Google Trends, charts, setlist.fm, stature |
| Rock Werchter 2026 | 54 | A | 12 / 86 | 35 | 50 | 55 | 66 | Wikipedia, search volume, Google Trends, charts, setlist.fm, stature |
Reviews and reports
Reviews by Dansende Beren and Festileaks.
| Edition | Titel | Bron | Date | Soort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Werchter 2026 | David Byrne @ Rock Werchter 2026: Met de fiets naar Tremelo | Dansende Beren | 05/07/2026 | about this act |
| Rock Werchter 2026 | Rock Werchter 2026 (Festivaldag 4): Zinderend slotakkoord | Dansende Beren | 06/07/2026 | dagverslag |
| Rock Werchter 2018 | Rock Werchter 2018: Festivaldag 4 | Dansende Beren | 09/07/2018 | dagverslag |
Over the years
◆ purple = album, ▲ red = festival in Belgium, ▲ green = festival in the Netherlands, ● grey = own concert. Click the legend to switch them on or off.
Festivals and own concerts
- ▲Sunday, July 2026 · Rock Werchter
- ●18/02/2026 · Vorst Nationaal / Forest National, Vorst / Forest
- ●16/02/2026 · AFAS Live, Amsterdam
- ●15/02/2026 · AFAS Live, Amsterdam
- ●04/11/2018 · AFAS Live, Amsterdam
- ▲Sunday, July 2018 · Rock Werchter
22 earlier dates
- ●29/06/2018 · de Bijloke, Ghent
- ●02/08/2009 · Rabozaal, Amsterdam
- ●24/03/2009 · Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht
- ●10/03/2009 · Koningin Elisabethzaal, Antwerp
- ●04/05/2004 · Concertgebouw, Bruges
- ●22/06/2002 · Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
- ●19/06/2002 · De Oosterpoort, Groningen
- ●15/06/2001 · Grote Zaal, Amsterdam
- ●14/06/2001 · Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
- ●07/02/1998 · Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
- ●06/02/1998 · De Oosterpoort, Groningen
- ●05/02/1998 · Tivoli, Utrecht
- ●23/07/1997 · Grote Zaal, Amsterdam
- ●28/09/1994 · Cirque Royal / Koninklijk Circus, Brussels
- ●26/09/1994 · Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht
- ●08/06/1994 · Theaterzaal, Ghent
- ●21/05/1994 · RAI, Amsterdam
- ●04/07/1992 · Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam
- ●03/07/1992 · Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
- ●07/12/1989 · Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht
- ●06/12/1989 · Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht
- ●05/12/1989 · Koningin Elisabethzaal, Antwerp
Place among all acts on this site: 80 = viewed or searched more than 80% of the other acts that month. The thick line is the average.
Studio Brussel since August 2023, NPO 3FM and KINK since 2020, the other stations since late October 2026. "Compare countries" shows the average per station.
Songs per station, last 18 months
| Station | Country | Most played |
|---|---|---|
| Studio Brussel | Belgium | Once In A Lifetime 7 · Lazy 7 · Burning Down The House 5 · Drivers License 1 · Strange Overtones 1 |
| VRT Radio 1 | Belgium | Strange Overtones 2 · Like Humans Do 1 |
| Willy | Belgium | Everybody Laughs 145 · T-Shirt 108 · Slippery People 2 · Strange Overtones 1 · Number 8 Mix 1 |
| FIP Rock | France | It's Not Dark Up Here 1 |
| KEXP | United States | Everybody Laughs 28 · Strange Overtones 13 · The Heart’s a Lonely Hunter 13 · What Is the Reason for It? 9 · Everybody’s Coming to My House 7 |