The PSYCHEDELIC FURS
If you sit and talk to many of the alternative rock artists dominating today’s music, you’ll find that many of them pay homage to the legendary “new wave” bands that emerged in the early 1980’s. Prominent among those bands was a group called The Psychedelic Furs. Led by frontman and songwriter Richard Butler, the Furs won over fans and critics alike by combining poetic lyrics, innovative rhythms and melodies driven by an aggressive, punk desperation. Through it all, the band scored major hits with "Love My Way," "Pretty In Pink," "Heaven," "The Ghost In You," and “Heartbreak Beat” in all releasing seven studio albums on Columbia and spawning several compilations, a boxed set, and a live concert DVD.
Throughout The Furs reign, critics routinely compared the group’s enigmatic sound to an impressive slew of art-rock icons including David Bowie, The Velvet Underground and The Doors, as well as to punk progenitors, The Sex Pistols. Growing heavier and more guitar-oriented in their later releases, The Furs have since been regarded as a musical icon that bridged the gap between early punk and the alternative hard rock and grunge that would rise during the 90s. And if that weren’t enough of a musical legacy, the Furs also paved the way for a whole new generation of music artists to follow in their footsteps and in the process, assured themselves a nearly legendary status.
In their finest moments on albums including 1980’s Talk, Talk, Talk and 1984’s Mirror Moves, Butler’s husky vocals and often-brooding lyrics ingeniously meshed with the edgy musical textures provided by brother Tim on bass and John Ashton on guitar. And in addition to a strong amount of mainstream Top 40 airplay, The Furs remained an innovative and adventurous force in early alternative music and maintained its strong and steady presence on modern rock radio.
Through it all, Butler’s baritone became one of the era’s most recognizable sounds, often managing to be both introspective and aloof at the same time. It was quirky and darkly cynical faire that expressed the detachment of the times and the itchy struggle of a generation to find meaning in the turbulent headwaters of what would later become the dawn of Information Age. Gaining much of their fame as part of MTV’s first wave of video artists, the Furs will be forever identified with a time when the stale musical paradigms were forever cast aside and replaced by the new rock of an angrier and faster world.
In 1994, Butler formed a new band called Love Spit Love. The group recorded two albums and enjoyed chart success at alternative radio. Butler also kept busy with a number of soundtrack projects including recording title track for the
WB series “Charmed”
During The Furs decade-long hiatus, guitarist John Ashton was also busy, producing and performing with the likes of Marianne Faithful, Mercury Rev and Seven Color Sky, among others. Although he continues to produce projects, Ashton, says he too is excited about the present day The Psychedelic Furs. Together again, and along with keyboardist Amanda Kramer, an acclaimed UK-based musician, and Love Spit Love alumnus Frank Ferrer on drums, The Furs are aggressively and enthusiastically charging ahead. In addition to live concerts in both North America and Europe this year, The Psychedelic Furs will begin work on their first new studio album in nearly fifteen years.
With a career spanning the rise and fall of punk, MTV, glam metal, grunge and hip-hop, Butler is happy to be in a position to communicate with an audience. "As long as there are people, who enjoy music and have fun going to shows, there’ll be a place in the world for artists who try to do something interesting and different," he says. "I don’t really know if you can change the world making music, but it sure is nice to think that you can enable people to have a good time."
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