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“I could die now and I’d go to heaven”: When a stolen Beatles song saw Devo cross paths with John Lennon
The article recounts Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh’s unexpected encounter with John Lennon after a 1978 show at Max’s Kansas City in New York. Lennon recognised the Beatles-inspired opening of Devo’s ‘Uncontrollable Urge’ and enthusiastically shouted its “yeah, yeah, yeah” refrain, turning what Mothersbaugh described as a deliberate musical theft into a striking endorsement from one of his heroes.
Mothersbaugh had modelled the song’s introduction on ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, songs that had influenced him since seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show aged 12. Lennon, who was with Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter and reportedly drunk, leaned into Devo’s van to sing the refrain; Mothersbaugh later said the encounter felt so extraordinary that he “could die now” and go to heaven.
In short
- Lennon warmly recognised Devo’s Beatles-inspired ‘Uncontrollable Urge’.
- The encounter took place after a 1978 New York show.
- Mothersbaugh saw it as validation from a childhood hero.
Explained simply
Mark Mothersbaugh, frontman of American rock band Devo, had an unexpected encounter with John Lennon at a New York music venue in 1978. After Devo's show at Max's Kansas City, Lennon recognised that the opening of Devo's song "Uncontrollable Urge" was deliberately inspired by famous Beatles songs and enthusiastically sang along to the track.
Mothersbaugh had intentionally modelled the song's opening on Beatles classics like "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand", songs that had captivated him as a young boy. This kind of musical reference was his way of paying homage to the band that had shaped his artistic vision.
For Mothersbaugh, the moment was extraordinary because the Beatles represented his musical heroes, and having Lennon himself recognise and celebrate what was, in effect, a tribute to his own band meant everything. The experience moved him so deeply that he later reflected he could "die now" and go to heaven, having received such an unexpected endorsement from one of his greatest idols.