Devo founder and guitarist Bob Casale has died at the age of 61 of a heart attack.
Bob’s brother Gerald made the announcement via the Devo Facebook page.
Very sad news to report today.
Bob Casale of Devo. Born: July 14th, 1952 . Deceased: February 17th, 2014
As an original member of Devo, Bob Casale was there in the trenches with me from the beginning. He was my level-headed brother, a solid performer and talented audio engineer, always giving more than he got. He was excited about the possibility of Mark Mothersbaugh allowing Devo to play shows again. His sudden death from conditions that lead to heart failure came as a total shock to us all.
Gerald Casale, Devo founder.
Bob Casale was recruited into Devo by his brother Gerald who had recently formed his new band Devo with friend Bob Mothersbaugh.
Devo were together from 1972 – 1991. The band’s debut album ‘Q. Are We Not Men? A. We Are Devo’ was released in 1978. It had a minor impact in the USA, peaking at no. 78 on the Billboard chart. The third album ‘Freedom Of Choice’ in 1980 broke the band internationally off the back of the hit single ‘Whip It’. It reached no. 5 in Australia and sold over 1 million copies in the USA.
Devo – Whip It
The 4th album ‘New Traditionalists’ was also an international hit. The singles ‘Working In A Coalmine’ and ‘Beautiful World’ were both Top 40 hits in Australia.
Bob’s death comes eight months after the passing of former Devo drummer Alan Myers. Alan died of cancer on June 24, 2013.
