In a retrospective on Devo, Mark Mothersbaugh admits to some celebrity tom-foolery:
Devo have been a hit with the cool kids since their very beginning -- the second time they played in New York the show was attended by David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Brian Eno, Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper and the whole NY art scene. Mothersbaugh was even invited out to Studio 54 on a "double date" with Andy Warhol.
"The only time in my life I smoked angel dust was by accident and it was on a double date with Andy Warhol and Michael Jackson," laughs Mothersbaugh. "We all went to Studio 54 and people were passing drugs all over the place.
"Michael Jackson had just finished doing the movie The Wiz and still looked like Michael Jackson back then -- he had an Afro and he was still black. He passed me a joint and I thought, well OK, we don’t have marijuana in Ohio so I’ll try it."
Minutes later Mothersbaugh found himself on the dancefloor as pillars of light were swirling around "like weedcutters" knocking people over and cutting them up. He turned to his date in horror, only to hear her say: "You didn’t smoke any of that angel dust did you?"
A quick glance back to the party showed that nothing was wrong. "The next thing I know she’s telling Andy she’s got to get me back to my hotel room," he adds with a sigh. "That was my first date with Andy Warhol."
In later years, Neil Young would ask the band to work with him, while Kurt Cobain said: "Of all the bands who came from the underground and actually made it in the mainstream, Devo are the most challenging and subversive of all."
