David Byrne explains why he finally got his US citizenship

All thanks to getting "busted" at the voting booth

David Byrne has recounted the episode which finally led to him applying for and being granted US citizenship in 2012.

The Talking Heads musician initially moved with his parents from his native Scotland to North America during his childhood, and they eventually settled in the US before Byrne turned 10.

Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning yesterday (January 5), Byrne explained that he only became a naturalised US citizen in 2012 shortly after being “busted” at the voting booth.

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“I firmly believed that green card holders could vote in elections — as long as they didn’t vote for president,” he explained. “And I did it! For many years.

“See, they were right: there’s a lot of voter fraud.”

The ‘American Utopia’ star — the stage version of which is currently running on Broadway until February — previously elaborated on the incident in an interview with Rolling Stone in November.

“One time, shortly before I got my citizenship, I went into the local elementary school where you vote and they finally must have checked against citizenship, immigration, whatever else, and they said, ‘You can’t vote!’” he recalled. “I said, ‘OK, I’ll be back.’ They were good-natured about it.”

“I applied [for citizenship] right away after that.”

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Byrne is producing an immersive new project entitled Theater of the Mind later this year.

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