"Be Stiff" is the third single by American new wave band Devo, released in 1978 by Stiff Records. The song was taken from the sessions for Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978), produced by Brian Eno. Guitarist Bob Lewis wrote the music and came up with the title concept, while bassist and singer Gerald Casale penned the verses.
Be Stiff
Devo, often stylized as DEVO, is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales, along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", the song that gave the band mainstream popularity.
Devo performing live at the Forecastle Festival, in Louisville, Kentucky, 2010 Left to right: Gerald Casale (vocals; bass), Mark Mothersbaugh (vocals; keyboards), Bob Casale (guitar; keyboards), and Bob Mothersbaugh (guitar)
Live performance in Atlanta, Georgia, 1978: Bob Casale and Gerald Casale
Mark Mothersbaugh performing live with Devo at the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, 2007 (Gerald Casale vacuum forms thermoplastic using an Art Deco lamp as a mold, with a hat liner, to make the "energy" helmets)
Devo performing live at Festival Hall, in Melbourne, Australia, 2008: Casale and Mothersbaugh.