Devo
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
It’s not my intention to approach this blog with a chronological view of my musical story. But it seems as good a start as any to begin at the beginning. Or maybe the end.
Punk marked many ends. It wasn’t so hot on beginnings. But it cleared the way for a slew of music which seemed to defy categorisation. Music like this was already being made before, of course, but it was generally obscure, ghettoised in the shadows by a mixture of indifference and incomprehension by the critics, the industry and the public. After Punk, anything was possible.
To my Dad – who is quite an important figure in this story – this wasn’t entirely clear, however. Punk to him was just heavy metal played by kids. He’d already cut his hair short. He was happy with his Dylan and his Grateful Dead, the jazz his mate Steve introduced him to, enjoying the odd spliff with a round of dub reggae. Popular culture was something he generally avoided, occupied as it was with Mike Oldfield and Genesis and Yes. Then he went to see Devo.
