Song Name: Uncontrollable Urge

Artist: DEVO

Appears On: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO!, DEV-O Live (Re-release only), Now It Can Be Told, Greatest Hits, DEVO Live: The Mongoloid Years , Best Of DEVO Vol. 1, Live In Central Park, DEVO Live 1980, Hot Potatoes, Pioneers Who Got Scalped, The Essentials, Whip It And Other Hits, URGH! A Music War - The Album

Year: 1976 or 1977

Performed: 1976-present

Run Time: 3:08 (Album Version)

Writing Credits: Mark Mothersbaugh

Sung By: Mark Mothersbaugh (lead), Bob Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale (backing)

Alternate Versions: TechnoDEVO Version, Devo 2.0 Version

Demo Versions: Demo 1, Demo 2

Song Connections: None

Trivia / Info:

• The opening riff is similar to The Beatles's "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", the first track from their US debut LP, "Meet The Beatles".

• The song is reminiscent of The Beatles's "She Loves You" with the incessant "Yeah Yeah Yeah" chant.

• The odd chime during the outro on the album version comes from a German guitar amp found by Bob 1. When someone touched the end of a guitar cable plugged into the amp, it would make the sound.

• A re-recorded version for Devo 2.0 changes the lyrics from masturbation to a desire for between-meal snacks.

Onstage Behavior:

• Uncontrollable Urge, performed live, usually involves very tight choreography with band members pivoting in place, jumping on the synthesizer swoop, and moving into a formation and marching in place during the song's conclusion.

• Starting on the 1996 Lollapalooza tour, Mark would rip parts of other members yellow suits off during the song. In 2004, Jerry Casale slipped on a suit fragment, injuring his back.

Lyrics: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, y-y-y-y-y-y-y-yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, y-y-y-y-y-y-y-yeah! Got an urge, got a surge
and it's out of control.
Got an urge I wanna purge,
'cause I'm losing control.
Uncontrollable urge,
I wanna tell you all about it.
Uncontrollable urge
Makes me scream and shout it.
It's got style, it's got class
so strong I can't let it pass
I gotta tell you all about it
I gotta scream and shout it
and I say yeah (&etc.)

DEVO
Mark Mothersbaugh | Gerry Casale | Bob Mothersbaugh | Bob Casale Bob Lewis | Jim Mothersbaugh | Alan Myers | David Kendrick | Joshua Freese
Management
Warner Brothers | Enigma | Rhino
Production
Brian Eno | Ken Scott | Robert Margouleff | Roy Thomas Baker
Official Studio Albums
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO! (1978) | Duty Now For The Future (1979) | Freedom of Choice (1980) | New Traditionalists (1981) | Oh No! It's DEVO! (1982) | Shout (1984) | Total DEVO (1988) | SmoothNoodleMaps (1990) | Something for Everybody   (2010)
Other Albums
Be Stiff EP (1977) | E-Z Listening Disc (1987) | Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace (1989) | Hardcore DEVO Vol. 1 74-77 (1990) | Hardcore DEVO Vol. 2 1974-1977 (1991) | DEVO Live: The Mongoloid Years (1992) | DEV-O Live (1999) | Recombo DNA (2000) | Live In Central Park (2004) | DEVO Live: 1980 (2005)
Filmography
The Men Who Make The Music (1981) | Human Highway (1982) | We're All DEVO! (1984) | The Complete Truth About Devolution (1993) | DEVO Live (2003) | DEVO Live In The Land Of The Rising Sun (2004) | DEVO Live: 1980 (2005)
Related Articles
History | Bootlegs | Booji Boy | Devolution | Influence | The Wipeouters | Jihad Jerry & The Evildoers | Devo 2.0 | Akron, Ohio | Music Videos | Cover Versions | Outfits