The Psychedelic Furs

All Music Guide:

The Psychedelic Furs, whose name belies their punk-influenced music, were formed in England in 1977 by brothers Richard Butler (vocals) and Tim Butler (bass), along with saxophone player Duncan Kilburn and guitarist Roger Morris. By the time they released their self-titled debut album in 1980, the group had become a sextet, adding guitarist John Ashton and drummer Vince Ely. That album, featuring Butler's hoarse voice (the tone of which suggested John Lydon without the sneer) was a bigger hit in England, where it reached the Top 20, than in the U.S.

Talk Talk Talk (1981) did better, reaching the U.S. Top 100 and producing two British singles chart entries, one of which was "Pretty in Pink," later also a hit in the U.S. when a new version was used as the title song of a film. Forever Now (1982) saw the band reduced to a quartet with the departure of Kilburn and Morris. The rest moved to the U.S., turned to producer Todd Rundgren, and scored a U.S. Top 50 hit with "Love My Way." Ely then left, and the remaining trio of the two Butlers and Ashton made Mirror Moves (1984), the biggest Psychedelic Furs hit yet.

The film Pretty in Pink helped spread their name further before the release of their next album, Midnight to Midnight (1987), which consequently got to number 12 in the U.K. and the Top 30 in the U.S. and included the Top 30 U.S. hit "Heartbreak Beat." Book of Days (1989) marked the return of Vince Ely, but was a considerable commercial disappointment. World Outside (1991) also failed to find an audience. The Psychedelic Furs then folded up shop, and Richard Butler launched a new group, Love Spit Love. The band lasted two albums -- 1994's Love Spit Love and 1997's Trysome Eatone -- and didn't enjoy the monumental success of Butler's original band. Butler kept on. He began writing songs for a supposed solo effort as the '90s came to a close. Those sessions led to new songs with brother Tim and a subsequent Furs reunion in early 2000.

With both Butlers and John Ashton living in upstate New York, the time was right. They tested the waters and their audience for a joint summer tour with the Go-Go's, and the reception was warm. A year later, the Psychedelic Furs -- now featuring Love Spit Love guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Earl Harvin -- headlined their own club gigs across North America and a classic Richard Butler was keen to be back in the right place. Beautiful Chaos, a live album capturing some of the band's greatest hits from the last tour, was issued in November 2001. Their first live album ever, Beautiful Chaos was a gift for the loyalists. It also introduced their first new song in almost ten years, a somber ballad entitled "Alive."

Wikipedia:

The Psychedelic Furs are an English post-punk/New Wave band founded in 1977. Led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. Their music went through several phases, from an initially austere art rock sound, later touching on new wave and hard rock.

They scored several hits in their early career, but were launched to international attention in 1986 when the film director John Hughes borrowed their song title "Pretty in Pink" for his movie of the same name. A newly recorded version of the song became the Psychedlic Furs' biggest hit to that time. "Heartbreak Beat", from their 1987 album Midnight to Midnight, was to be the Furs' biggest Top 40 entry in the US.

The Psychedelic Furs went on hiatus in 1991, and the Butler brothers formed a new band called Love Spit Love. The Psychedelic Furs later regrouped in 2001 and continue to perform around the world.

Career

Early days and success

The Psychedelic Furs came together in England's emerging punk scene in 1977, where they auditioned for Essex Kennedy's record label Manfactory Wave Punk. He hoped to cash in on the punk scene that was sweeping the U.K and believed that a more produced and studio sound would appeal to a larger market. 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. 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 Psychedelic Furs' debut, a self-titled album from 1980, was produced by Steve Lillywhite. The LP quickly established the band on radio in Europe and was a #18 hit in the UK Albums Chart. The album also found success in Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Australia. The US version of the album was resequenced, but failed to have a strong commercial impact.

The Furs did find success in the US with their next release, 1981's Talk Talk Talk, which saw the band making its debut on the US Billboard 200 chart. In New Zealand, the band became popular, as Talk Talk Talk reached #8 in the charts, the first in a string of Furs' albums to peak in the New Zealand Top 10.

In the UK, the album 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 - though Richard Butler remains adamant that the cinematic interpretation destroyed the original metaphor (Pretty in Pink equating to "naked")

In 1982, the band was reduced to a four-piece with the departures of Morris and Kilburn. The band recorded their next album, "Forever Now", with record producer Todd Rundgren in Woodstock, New York. This album contained "Love My Way", which became another UK chart entry, and also their first US Billboard Hot 100 charting 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. Phill Calvert played drums on their subsequent tour, but left before the recording of The Furs' 1984 release Mirror Moves. Mirror Moves was produced by Keith Forsey (who also programmed the drums), 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. Columbia Records opted for "Here Come Cowboys" for the corresponding US release but it failed to chart, but "The Ghost In You" was a hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

In Canada, "The Ghost In You" also charted and Toronto's New Wave radio station CFNY listed the parent album Mirror Moves as the #1 LP of 1984. Mirror Moves became a Top 20 album on the Canadian LP chart.

By the mid 1980s, the band had become a staple on both US college and modern rock radio stations. Simultaneously, they were experiencing consistent mainstream success, placing several singles in the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Still, according to biographer Dave Thompson, they would "have more impact on future musicians than they ever did in the marketplace".

In 1986, the band recorded a new 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 US, and their biggest 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, but an album Richard Butler later characterized as "hollow, vapid and weak". A more overtly commercial effort than the Furs had ever recorded before, the album also featured the single "Heartbreak Beat", which charted in the US Top 40. The album also featured drummer Paul Garisto and saxophonist Mars Williams, both of whom continue to tour with the band.

In the wake of Midnight To Midnight, the Furs issued "All That Money Wants", a 1988 track recorded for a best-of compilation album All of This and Nothing. 1989's Book of Days also saw a return of Ely, while 1991's World Outside was their final commercial release.

From 1988 on, The Furs' singles had steady chart success with three #1 hits on the newly established US 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 #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 and Frank Ferrer. After spending most of the decade apart, the Butlers along with Ashton re-formed The Psychedelic Furs in 2000, and released a live album Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live, which included a new studio recording, "Alive (For Once In My Lifetime)". 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 an eponymous solo album, Richard Butler. Currently, the band continues to tour around the world. The current Psychedelic Furs touring line-up is Richard Butler, Tim Butler, Rich Good, Mars Williams, Amanda Kramer and Paul Garisto.

In 2011, the band launched a spring/summer tour of the U.S., performing the album Talk Talk Talk in its entirety.