Blondie and Devo are set to unite for a nostalgic live tour. The two bands were both pivotal players in the New York punk and new wave scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Reuters reports that the two acts will embark on the tour in September 2012, which will be named the 'Whip It To Shreds' tour, combining the song titles of Blondie's 'Rip Her To Shreds' and Devo's classic track 'Whip It.'
Stylistically, the bands have their own niches and little in common. They will bond, however, over a nostalgia for the scene that helped to propel them both to notoriety. Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh - who formed the band, along with his brother Bob, in 1972, told Reuters "It seemed like a nice, complimentary fit because it takes us back all the way to the very beginning." Debbie Harry, lead singer with Blondie, has also commented on the touring plans, saying "I've always really loved their songs and their music and their crazy style," Harry said of her future touring partners. "Back in the day, it was very fresh and advanced. I think it's more contemporary today than it was back then."
At the age of 66, Debbie still loves touring as much as she did when the band first started out. "I love performing even more now. I've been doing it for long enough that it's completely heartwarming to walk out on stage and have people going crazy for you and wanting to hear your music, especially if you've written it yourself." Known for their unusual costumes, Mothersbaugh insists that Devo have not mellowed with age and said fans will be in for a treat, "Devo has marinated through the decades and become more scarier and intense, and if anyone wrote it off as quirky or a joke, now they can see that we were obsessed with a particular viewpoint of life on planet Earth."