The Cover Uncovered: the golf star behind Devo’s ‘Are We Not Men?’
Forget concept albums; Devo was a concept band. Formed in 1973 but finding fame within the new wave scene of the late 1970s, the Ohio group came fully formed, embracing kitsch sci-fi influence, along with endearingly deadpan humour and, above all else, incredible songwriting. The world was first exposed to Devo’s innovative stylings on the debut album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!.
As is the case with all the greatest American groups, from Sparks to The Strokes, Devo witnessed early success in the UK, with the debut peaking at number 12 in the album charts. Although the group would go on to release seven further studio records, the ethos and unique sound of Devo is best encapsulated on that debut. From the blistering brilliance of the opening track ‘Uncontrollable Urge’, the group successfully convey their entire manifesto of creating chaotic, often bizarre, electronic new wave tracks.
The heightened success of Devo’s debut in the UK may have come as a result of the legal battle over the album cover. Hardcore Devo fans (a Devo-ted fan base, if you will) will be all too aware that the UK pressing features entirely different artwork from its US counterpart. While the UK version, released by Virgin Records, depicts lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh in some kind of mad professor getup, US copies featured a brightly coloured rendition of golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez.
Reportedly, Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh were wandering through a department store when they came across a package of golf balls, which featured a headshot of Rodriguez framed by a golf ball. Upon seeing the admittedly odd artwork on the packaging, Mothersbaugh declared, “I just loved it”. It is easy to see why the group were so drawn to the advertising artwork; it aligns with the band’s kitsch style and a blending of consumerism with vibrant artwork – a common theme throughout the new wave scene.
The gold aficionados among you will have already noted the US artwork for Are We Not Men? looks nothing like that of Chi Chi Rodriguez, and that is true. Featuring a similar image of the golfer on the picture cover of their 1978 single ‘Be Stiff’ proved to be unproblematic. Still, when the group decided to use the same Chi Chi-inspired artwork for their debut, they ran into some issues. First, they did not have Rodriguez’s permission to use his likeness or the permission of the golf ball manufacturers to appropriate their artwork. On top of that, David Burnam, the vice president of business affairs at Warner Bros, was a golf fan and was reportedly worried that the band were mocking Chi Chi.
In order to skirt around these issues, Mothersbaugh approached the art department at the record label, clutching an image that had been printed in a local newspaper. The strange image was the result of an artist combining the faces of US Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford. It remains unclear why this image was ever created, let alone printed in a local newspaper, but Mark was drawn to it nonetheless. By asking the art department to recreate the composite face and adding Chi Chi Rodriguez into the mix, Devo finally had an acceptable cover for their debut.
This conflict over the cover is likely the reason why the UK was treated to a much simpler cover for the release of Are We Not Men?. The ultimate irony around the issues was that, by the time the album was released, Chi Chi had responded to the band to tell them it was okay to use his likeness, but it was far too late. Ultimately, though, the resulting artwork was the best representation of the surrealist odd-ball nature of Devo themselves, so we’ll chalk it up to a happy accident.
