History
The Psychedelic Furs came together in
England's emerging
punk scene in 1977, where they were initially called "RKO," then "Radio." They then vacillated between calling themselves "The Europeans" and "The Psychedelic Furs," playing gigs under both names before permanently settling on the latter.
[1] The band initially consisted of
Richard Butler (
vocals),
Tim Butler (
bass guitar), Duncan Kilburn (
saxophone), Paul Wilson (
drums) and Roger Morris (guitars). By 1979, this line up had expanded to a sextet with Vince Ely replacing Wilson on drums and
John Ashton being added on guitar.
The Furs debut, a self-titled album from 1980 was produced by
Steve Lillywhite. The LP quickly established the band at radio and was a top 20 hit in the UK. The album also found success in Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Australia. The US version of the album was resequenced, but failed to have as strong a commercial impact.
The Furs did find success in the U.S. with their next release, 1981's
Talk Talk Talk
, which made its debut on the US album charts. In the UK, the album was a solid hit which spun off two charting singles, "Dumb Waiters" and the original version of "Pretty in Pink". The latter song served as inspiration for the 1986
John Hughes film of the same name, and was re-recorded for the platinum-selling
soundtrack.
In 1982, the band was reduced to a four-piece with the departures of Morris and Kilburn.
[2] The band's remaining members moved permanently to
New York City, and they recorded their next album,
Forever Now
, with producer
Todd Rundgren in
Woodstock,
New York. This album contained "Love My Way", another UK hit and also their first
U.S. chart single.
Ely left the band after
Forever Now
, though he would return for the 1988 single "All That Money Wants" and the 1989 album
Book of Days
.
The Furs' 1984 release
Mirror Moves
was produced by Keith Forsey, and featured the songs "
The Ghost in You" and "Heaven". Both charted in the
UK, and "Heaven" became the band's highest charting UK hit at the time, peaking at #29 - but strangely, "Heaven" was never released as a single in the U.S. Instead,
Columbia Records opted for "Here Come Cowboys", despite both international success and heavy
MTV airplay for "Heaven". "Here Come Cowboys" failed to chart, but "The Ghost In You" was a hit on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100. The band also was hugely popular in
Canada as well.
CFNY, Toronto's new wave radio station, listed
Mirror Moves
as the #1 LP of 1984.
[3]
By this time, the band had become a staple on both U.S. college and modern rock radio stations. Simultaneously, they were building mainstream success, fairly consistently placing singles in the pop charts on both sides of the Atlantic, though according to biographer Dave Thompson they would "have more impact on future musicians than they ever did in the marketplace".
[4]
In 1986, the band recorded a sax-infused version of "Pretty in Pink" for the
soundtrack of the
film of the
same name. Released as a single, it became their biggest hit to that time in the U.S., and their biggest-ever UK hit. Butler later claimed that the success of "Pretty in Pink" caused the band to be pressured into entering the
recording studio to record a follow-up release before they were ready. The result was
Midnight to Midnight
, their biggest Top 40 success to date. A more overtly commercial effort than the Furs had ever recorded before, the album also featured the single "
Heartbreak Beat", which skyrocketed up the charts to become their biggest Top 40 U.S. hit. The album also featured drummer Paul Garisto and sax player
Mars Williams, both of whom continue to tour with the band.
In the wake of "Midnight To Midnight", the Furs found themselves dissatisfied with their new commercial direction, and subsequently returned to a rawer sound with "All That Money Wants", a 1988 track especially recorded for a
best-of compilation album"All Of This And Nothing". 1989's
Book of Days
also saw a return to the earlier Furs' style and the return of Vince Ely. 1991's
World Outside
was similarly more of a "back to basics" approach.
From 1988 on, The Furs' steady chart success continued with three #1 hits on the U.S.
Modern Rock chart between 1988 and 1991. "
All That Money Wants" was a #1 hit in 1988, while "
House" topped the chart in 1990, and "Until She Comes" was their final #1 in 1991.
Break-up and reunion
The band split in the early 1990s, with the Butler brothers going on to found
Love Spit Love together with
Richard Fortus. After spending most of the decade apart, Butler and Ashton re-formed The Psychedelic Furs in 2000, and released a live album
Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live
, which also featured a new studio recording, "Alive (For Once In My Lifetime)." Fortus also plays on this recording as the second guitarist. A
DVD version of the performance included live versions of "Alive" and three other previously unreleased songs: "Anodyne (Better Days)," "Cigarette" and "Wrong Train."
Since then, lead singer Richard Butler has released a critically applauded solo album, and has hinted at a possible new Furs album in the not so distant future. Currently, the band continues to tour around the world. In June 2009, the Stuck in the '80s blog reported that the band announced dates for a fall 2009 tour of North America with
Happy Mondays.
[5] Band-endorsed website, Burned Down Days, posts 2009 US tour dates
here. [6] The current Psychedelic Furs touring lineup is Richard Butler, Tim Butler (bass),
Rich Good [7](guitar), Mars Williams (saxophone),
Amanda Kramer [8] (keyboard), and Paul Garisto (drums).
Discography
Albums
| Year
| Album
| Label
| US Chart
| UK Chart
| Certifications
|
| RIAA
| BPI
|
| 1980
| The Psychedelic Furs
| Columbia
| 140
| 18
| —
| Gold
|
| 1981
| Talk Talk Talk
| Columbia
| 89
| 30
| —
| Gold
|
| 1982
| Forever Now
| Columbia
| 44
| 20
| Gold
| Gold
|
| 1984
| Mirror Moves
| Columbia
| 43
| 15
| Gold
| Gold
|
| 1987
| Midnight to Midnight
| Columbia
| 29
| 12
| Gold
| Silver
|
| 1989
| Book of Days
| Columbia
| 138
| 74
| —
| —
|
| 1991
| World Outside
| Columbia
| 140
| 68
| —
| Silver
|
| Live Albums
|
| 1999
| Radio 1 Sessions
| Strange Fruit
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| 2001
| Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live
| Sony
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| Compilations
|
| 1988
| All of This and Nothing
| Columbia
| 102
| 67
| —
| —
|
| 1994
| Here Came The Psychedelic Furs: B Sides and Lost Grooves
| Sony
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| 1996
| In the Pink
| Sony
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| 1997
| Should God Forget: A Retrospective
| Sony
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| 2001
| The Psychedelic Furs: Greatest Hits
| Sony
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| 2003
| Superhits
| Sony
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
[9]
Singles
| Year
| Title
| Album
| Chart Positions
|
UK | Australia
| U.S. College Airplay
| U.S.
| U.S. Modern Rock
|
| 1979
| "We Love You"
| The Psychedelic Furs
| -
| -
| 63
| -
| -
|
| 1980
| "Sister Europe"
| -
| 100
| 49
| -
| -
|
| "Mr. Jones"
| Talk Talk Talk
("Mr. Jones" was later re-recorded for Talk Talk Talk
)
| -
| -
| 41
| -
| -
|
| 1981
| "Dumb Waiters"
| 59
| -
| 32
| -
| -
|
| "Pretty in Pink"
| 43
| -
| 22
| -
| -
|
| 1982
| "Love My Way"
| Forever Now
| 42
| 23
| 1
| 44
| -
|
| "Run and Run"
| -
| -
| 41
| -
| -
|
| 1984
| "Heaven"
| Mirror Moves
| 29
| -
| 4
| -
| -
|
| "The Ghost in You"
| 68
| -
| 1
| 59
| -
|
| "Here Come Cowboys"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
| 1986
| "Pretty in Pink" (re-recording)
| Pretty in Pink soundtrack
| 18
| -
| 1
| 41
| -
|
| 1987
| "Heartbreak Beat"
| Midnight to Midnight
| -
| 26
| 1
| 26
| -
|
| "Angels Don't Cry"
| -
| -
| 53
| -
| -
|
| "Shock"
| -
| -
| 2
| -
| -
|
| 1988
| "All That Money Wants"
| All of This and Nothing
| 75
| -
| 1
| -
| 1
|
| 1989
| "Should God Forget"
| Book of Days
| -
| -
| 6
| -
| 8
|
| 1990
| "House"
| -
| -
| 3
| -
| 1
|
| 1991
| "Until She Comes"
| World Outside
| -
| -
| 1
| -
| 1
|
| "Don't Be a Girl"
| -
| -
| 5
| -
| 13
|
| 2001
| "Alive (For Once in My Lifetime)"
(only released as a promotional single)
| Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live
("Alive" was a studio recorded track while the rest of the album was from a live concert)
| -
| -
| 38
| -
| -
|
- Note:
Billboard's U.S. Modern Rock chart was established in 1988.
References
- What's in a Name?: The Book of Bands
- Grande enciclopedia rock
- The CFNY Spirit Of Radio Fan Page
- Amazon.com: The Psychedelic Furs:Beautiful Chaos:Books:Dave Thompson
- http://blogs.tampabay.com/80s/2009/06/the-psychedelic-furs-happy-mondays-hit-the-road.html
- http://www.burneddowndays.com/furs/tour-dates
- http://www.psychedelicfurs.co.uk/furs/?p=216
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Kramer
- British Hit Singles & Albums