DEVO

DEVO the American rock group formed in Akron, Ohio in 1972. They are best known for their 1980 hit “Whip It”, which made it to #14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Their style has been variously classified as punk, art rock and post-punk, but they are most often remembered for their late 1970s and early 1980s New Wave music which, along with others (such as Gary Numan, Oingo Boingo, and The B-52’s) ushered in the synth pop sound of the 1980s.

Devo’s music and stage show mingle kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor, and mordantly satirical social commentary via sometimes-discordant pop songs that often feature unusual synthetic instrumentation and time signatures, and their work has proved hugely influential on subsequent popular music, particularly New Wave and alternative rock artists.

DEVO were also pioneers of the music video, creating many memorable clips that were popular in the early days of MTV, although their use of the video medium dates right back to their very first appearance on stage at Kent State University in 1973, which was recorded with an early b/w portable video system.