Devo announces retirement after 50 years: 'We did as well as we could'

Devo is prepared to sail into the sun after the end of their current tour.

Speaking to The Guardian, the band’s lead singer, Mark Mothersbaugh revealed the band members will be going their separate ways after being together for 50 years.

“Are you married?” he asked. “Imagine you had four wives and you worked together. It’s tricky being in a band.”

Gerald Casale, the bassist, raved about the Ohio band’s “armor,” as he went on to explain the reason behind their decision. “You want change, otherwise you’re stale, but you don’t want to be contrived.”

Meanwhile, Mothersbaugh quipped he was “looking forward to 2073,” noting “We’ll play 100th anniversary Devo shows and then maybe retire.”

Despite coming to the decision together, Casale shared he was still “in denial,” as he acknowledged: “Because I love performing and I’ll hate to see it go. It was part of Devo’s DNA. But we did as well as we could, for as long as we could.

Formed in 1973, Devo comprised of two sets of brothers, the Motherbaughs aka Mark and Bob, and the Casales aka Gerald and Bob, along with Alan Myers.

The new wave band gained popularity after hitting No. 14 on the Billboard chart in 1980 with their single, Whip It.