The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth | 9 May 2026 | ★★★★★
By Bryan Stanislas | Music Scene Magazine
While in Bristol recently, I got chatting to a pleasant chap who asked what I was doing on my upcoming weekend off. I mentioned that I was heading out to watch a band and then review them for Music Scene Magazine. At that point he became quite animated and started telling me about a band called Speaking in Tongues — a tribute to Talking Heads — whom he had seen only the week before.
His enthusiasm immediately piqued my interest.
He explained that the band played all over the country and simply couldn’t praise them enough. After our conversation ended and I walked back towards my car, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to dig a little deeper into this group paying tribute to David Byrne and Talking Heads.
A quick search led me to the band’s website, where I discovered that their very next show was due to take place at The Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth. I promptly bought a ticket and contacted the band, introducing myself and explaining what Music Scene Magazine is all about and that we’d love to come along and review the show.
After a friendly flurry of emails, everything was arranged and MSM headed to Portsmouth for this Speaking In Tongues live review at the iconic Wedgewood Rooms, where the acclaimed Talking Heads tribute band recreated the energy, atmosphere and art-rock brilliance of a late-1970s New York performance.
I arrived just as the band had finished setting up their equipment and were about to begin soundcheck. It gave me the perfect opportunity to spend some time chatting with a few of the band members and record a relaxed Q&A interview, which will be published separately soon.
As each member individually checked their levels, I managed to capture some wonderfully candid and relaxed images. Then the full band came on and played through a few numbers during soundcheck — and I was unexpectedly treated to something quite special.
To hear them RAW in an empty venue — no crowd, no smoke, no atmosphere lighting — was something else entirely.
The sound engineer, Steven, worked carefully through the mixes while each monitor was balanced with the right blend of guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, drums and percussion. Alongside him was lighting engineer Paul, a man with 43 years of lighting experience behind him, quietly crafting the visual atmosphere the audience would later enjoy. Venue owner Geoff moved around the room making sure everything was exactly as it should be.
For a brief moment I closed my eyes and simply listened.
The band were incredibly tight.
Every musician was locked into their own rhythm, yet completely connected as a collective unit. It was immediately obvious that this was a seriously well-rehearsed outfit and a proper musical delight to witness up close.
Then vocalist Jack Challoner began to sing.
I found myself smiling almost instantly.
It was exactly what I had hoped for.
What struck me most was that he wasn’t trying to imitate David Byrne in some exaggerated or theatrical way — he simply naturally carried many of the same vocal qualities. The phrasing, tone and even the breathing patterns were uncannily familiar while still feeling authentic rather than forced.
At that point I already knew this was shaping up to be a very special evening.
The show itself would consist of two 45-minute sets beginning at 8:30pm and I was very much looking forward to getting to grips with the Speaking In Tongues live review.
As the venue slowly filled, there was already a quiet anticipation building around the room. You could immediately tell this was not simply a casual “tribute night” crowd. There were genuine Talking Heads fans here — people discussing albums, favourite songs and previous tours while waiting for the lights to drop. Some had arrived wearing Talking Heads shirts and dressed in that unmistakable art-rock style associated with the band.
Then the lights dropped and the band walked out.
No overblown introduction. No unnecessary theatrics. Just musicians confidently taking their places before immediately locking into the opening grooves.
Straight away it became obvious that this band understood something many tribute acts miss entirely — the music of Talking Heads was never purely about replication. It was about rhythm, tension, movement and atmosphere.
The groove sat deep immediately.
The rhythm section of Jason Newman on drums, Sol Ahmed on bass and Myke Vince on percussion provided an incredibly tight foundation throughout the evening. Jon Friesner’s guitar work sounded fantastic, particularly those muted rhythmic chord patterns that are such a huge part of the Talking Heads sound, while Jonny Velon added those unmistakable keyboard textures and horn-style synth leads with pitch control effects used beautifully throughout the set.
The percussion layers were sublime.
The guitar and keyboard grooves combined with the solid shimmy-shimmy pulse of the drums created something hypnotic at times, especially during tracks like Houses in Motion.
And the bass…
The bass groove was so solid throughout the evening that at times it almost felt like my own heartbeat wanted to lock into time with it.
The backing vocals from Jodi Ahmed also deserve huge praise. Her vocal range and harmonies sat perfectly alongside Jack’s lead vocals, adding depth and emotion without ever overpowering the original feel of the songs.
As the night progressed, I found myself repeatedly smiling.
Not politely. Not out of nostalgia. Genuinely smiling.
The truth is, my expectations had not merely been met — they had been completely surpassed.
By some distance.
Speaking in Tongues absolutely nails it.
What makes the band work so well is that they understand the soul of Talking Heads rather than simply the appearance of the band. This is not karaoke musicianship dressed up with oversized suits and quirky dance moves. This is a group of genuinely talented musicians who clearly love and deeply understand the music they are performing.
Track after track landed perfectly.
And She Was, Burning Down the House, Road to Nowhere and Psycho Killer all sounded fantastic, but what surprised me most was how many of the lesser-played tracks connected just as strongly with the audience. Every time a familiar keyboard phrase or guitar line began, the crowd reacted instantly with cheers, applause and raised hands.
There were clearly true Talking Heads fans in the room.
One of the biggest surprises for me personally was realising that as the night progressed I found myself listening more and looking less.
Why?
Because Speaking in Tongues perform in a way that genuinely makes you feel like you are listening to Talking Heads right there in the room with you.
Still Waiting completely wowed the crowd, drawing huge applause and hands in the air across the venue, while Life During Wartime injected a chaotic pulse into the room that finally tipped the audience fully into party mode.
And yet throughout all of this, the band never seemed to tire.
The energy levels remained high throughout the entire performance. The movement, the dancing, the musicianship and the focus never dropped for a second.
Then came the encore.
Road to Nowhere.
And it was exactly what you would hope it would be.
Beginning with its instantly recognisable vocal opening before bursting into those iconic keyboard parts, the song exploded into life and the audience responded in kind. It became a full venue singalong in the very best possible way.
Jack absolutely nailed the vocal performance and the band were tight, energetic and completely locked in together.
After the show I spoke briefly with Geoff, the man behind The Wedgewood Rooms, who explained that he had been trying to get Speaking in Tongues to play the venue for quite some time.
Judging by the packed room and audience reaction, his persistence paid off.
Was I glad that I decided to look deeper into this band after that chance conversation in Bristol?
Absolutely.
Speaking in Tongues have a profound presence on stage with an energy that I honestly have not seen in a long time. They were constantly moving, playing, dancing and engaging the audience in a way that felt completely natural.
There was genuine showmanship throughout the evening. Each song felt like a small theatrical performance with its own beginning, middle and end.
Most importantly though, Speaking in Tongues are not trying to be Talking Heads.
They are a band made up of musicians who clearly live and love this music, and that passion came through in every single moment of this performance.
So to the gentleman I met in Bristol who excitedly told me about this incredible Talking Heads tribute band — thank you.
Without that brief conversation I would never have experienced this evening.
And to the band themselves, thank you! For allowing me to undertake the Speaking In Tongues live review.
For a couple of hours you managed to take me right back to my teenage years and reminded me exactly why I fell in love with Talking Heads all those years ago.
