There’s no hiding a rock star. So when David Byrne, the former frontman of Talking Heads, walked into Il Cantinori in Greenwich Village recently, wearing a navy twill jumpsuit and a snow-white puffer coat (and having just arrived on bicycle), the only person who held a candle to his bold chic was Cyndi Lauper, the flame-haired singer who arrived in slim black leggings and top, her hands sprinkled with silver jewelry. They came to talk about their musical pasts in 1970s and ’80s New York, and their shared theatrical presents — she as the Tony-winning composer and lyricist of the Broadway hit “Kinky Boots,” and he as the Obie-winning creator of the musical spectacle “Here Lies Love,” about the former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos, which will resume its run at the Public Theater next month. Over calamari and mushroom salad (for Mr. Byrne) and pasta and arugula salad (for Ms. Lauper), they spoke with The New York Times about artistic growth, recovering from career setbacks and how music can save your life.

PG: Let’s go back to the ’80s. Did you know each other back then?

CL: When I was in [the band] Blue Angel and nothing was happening for us — we sold 12 records — I was already going to see David and the Talking Heads. You were awesome. You were our New York punk scene. You belonged to us. And you weren’t English.

DB: And whenever I heard Blue Angel, I kept saying, “What’s happening with that girl?”

PG: So, you admired each other’s work?

DB: Yes, but we didn’t exactly hang out.

CL: You can’t. You work like a dog.

DB: You can lose touch with a lot of friends, and there’s a sadness in that. But I remember a march on Washington — —