Gerard Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh on being bombarded by hippies at Knebworth in 1978, being told off by Neil Young and their unreleased jam sessions with Bowie and Eno in Cologne
What’s the story about Johnny Rotten joining Devo? 1234Ramones
Mothersbaugh: In winter 1978, we were sleeping on couches at a friend’s house. In Bob Casale’s room the windows had blown open and in the morning he was covered in a foot of snow. [Virgin Records boss] Richard Branson called and ask if we wanted to get together in Jamaica. Bob and I went to this hotel, where there was a pile of really strong marijuana. Richard waited until we got really stoned and told us that Johnny Rotten was in the next room and he wanted him to be the singer in Devo. I couldn’t stop laughing and told him it was the most absurd suggestion I’d ever heard. Later, Richard almost killed us. He took us to eat in the mountains and afterwards drove so fast the Jeep slid off the road and got stuck on a tree. We were in the back seat, Bob had landed on top of me and, as I looked down, it was a 100ft drop. Richard started laughing like a crazy ninny.
Source: Devo: ‘Richard Branson almost killed us in the Jamaican mountains’ | Devo | The Guardian
