Talking Heads first took shape when Chris Frantz and David Byrne met as students at the Rhode Island School of Design. Before the band officially emerged, they played together in a college group called The Artistics, laying the groundwork for what would follow.

In the spring of 1974, the pair gathered with bandmates in Frantz’s Benefit Street apartment to record a simple demo cassette. Those early recordings already hinted at something special, featuring embryonic versions of songs that would soon become Talking Heads staples, including Warning Sign and Psycho Killer.