The Psychedelic Furs: 40 Years of Beautiful Chaos

40 years ago, during the post-punk era, an album was released by a band who were newcomers and there was something unusual and different about it. It captured the sound that punk was famously known for but it was unlike any other. There was also a mix of new wave, art rock, and alternative and they were accompanied by a saxophone. With all of these sounds combined, they were known as the beautiful chaos. The vocalist, the one mysteriously called Butler Rep, definitely had that punk attitude. He wanted the world to know about his experiences, his feelings, or what was happening by singing and shouting loudly. His voice would be full of anger, bitterness, frustration, and sometimes hints of humor and sarcasm. But he did have softer moments too; with less of the snarl, his voice would get calm, melodic, and passionate. The front cover of the album shows the band members trapped in a room of bright neon pink, looking around with blank stares. And then it features the name of the band, one of the most iconic and extraordinary names out there, and they are...


The Psychedelic Furs.

Sadly I wasn't around when The Psychedelic Furs' eponymous debut LP came out but I wonder what it was like hearing the album for the first time back in 1980. A time when The Furs were a new band and you knew very little about them. The Psychedelic Furs was a top 20 hit in the UK and it got some success in America. Before the album was released in the US it sold really well as an import, its songs got played on the college radio stations, and it entered at #140 on the Billboard Album Chart.

Three of the songs ("Pulse," "We Love You," and "Flowers") were produced by The Psychedelic Furs, Howard Thompson, and Ian Taylor but the rest were produced by Steve Lillywhite. The Furs were inspired by Lillywhite's production on Siouxsie & The Banshees' first album The Scream (1978) and so they wanted him to produce their forthcoming debut. The band even went to the same studio where The Scream was recorded, at RAK Studios in London, to work on The Psychedelic Furs. The album was recorded in December 1979 and was finished after a short period of time.


The first song on The Psychedelic Furs is "India," one of the greatest album openers of all time and a huge fan favorite. It eerily begins with a guitar that sounds like radio waves and the sound starts out quietly at first, but... it keeps getting louder and louder. While it's going we're introduced to the slow tension of Tim Butler's bass and the cymbals from Vince Ely's drums, and they leave you wondering what will happen next. This lasts for two minutes and then suddenly we're greeted with a slap in the face by the beautiful chaos. It is that good.

"India" was the first song to mention the name Caroline and it became the name of the main protagonist on "Pretty In Pink" in 1981. But years later the name was brought up two more times on Love Spit Love's "Sweet Thing" (1997) and Richard Butler's "California" (2006). I had talked about this on one of my old blog posts and this is my own theory, but I feel that the Caroline in "Sweet Thing" and "California" is the same Caroline from "Pretty In Pink" and "India." It may not be true but it's a really fascinating theory to think about.


After the frantic pace of "India" we are then treated to the low-key "Sister Europe." "Sister Europe" is my favorite song on The Psychedelic Furs and it is magnificent. The guitars by John Ashton and Roger Morris are breathtaking and the sound of Duncan Kilburn's saxophone is glorious. The song is even more brilliant when performed live and in my opinion, the music outshines the studio recording. Richard Butler's vocals on "Sister Europe" are absolutely wonderful, and the lyrics are one of his best. The words to the second verse have been in my head lately and it shows how talented Richard is with his songwriting.

"Lonely in a crowded room
The radio plays out of tune
So silently
The radio upon the floor
Is stupid it plays Aznavour
So out of key"


Third track is "Imitation Of Christ" and like "Sister Europe" it has the same slow tempo but a little more calmer. The music is relaxing to the ears and towards the end the guitar sounds like a harmonica. Next song is the upbeat "Fall" and whenever I would hear it I think about a special memory that's associated with the song. When I saw The Psychedelic Furs the second time back in the Summer of 2016 they performed "Fall." While Richard Butler was singing the first verse he walked over to where I was and he shook my hand. It was the first ever handshake I got from Richard and it was so awesome.


The fifth song is "Pulse" and the music sort of reminds me of Siouxsie & The Banshees' early material. It marks the end of side one while side two introduces us to "We Love You." Three months ago I dedicated a blog post to "We Love You" for its 40th anniversary and here's what I wrote about the song:

"Back when 'We Love You' was released The Psychedelic Furs wanted to be heard, and wanted people to know what they're all about. The song has a '60s rock and roll feel to it, but there was nothing psychedelic about it. However it has its own version of psychedelia: the beautiful chaos. Powerful and loud, it screams in your face, but not too rough. With the combination of John Ashton and Roger Morris' guitars, Tim Butler's bass, Vince Ely's drums, Duncan Kilburn's saxophone, and Richard Butler's (aka Butler Rep) vocals, they created a unique and brilliant piece of music. A post punk gem that shines."


Seventh track is "Wedding Song" which has a danceable beat to it and Richard Butler tries his hand at what sounds like rapping (?) on one part in the song. After "Wedding Song" comes "Blacks/Radio," which is more like two songs in one and runs over six minutes. The music on "Blacks/Radio" is very amazing, and it truly represents what the beautiful chaos is all about. However, the song was removed from the US release of The Psychedelic Furs. On the first part in "Blacks/Radio" it mentioned a tongue-in-cheek quote from Andy Warhol which was repeated twice, and the people at Columbia feared it would be too offensive. So they replaced the song with two other recordings, "Susan's Strange" and "Soap Commercial," and also rearranged the tracks and changed the artwork for the album. Eventually "Blacks/Radio" finally made its first American appearance 17 years later, on The Psychedelic Furs' two-disc compilation album Should God Forget: A Retrospective.

And finally The Psychedelic Furs closes with the last song "Flowers," and it's more simple compared to the others but the beautiful chaos still shines through. After that, the album ends and you got to experience what was going on in The Psychedelic Furs' world, through its imagination, vision, art, and music. But I'm not done with the songs just yet.

Last but certainly not least I will talk about "Susan's Strange" and "Soap Commercial" for those who grew up with the US version of The Psychedelic Furs. The two songs were recorded in May 1980 and were produced by Martin Hannett. "Susan's Strange" was the b-side to "Mr. Jones" and "Soap Commercial" appeared on the 12" single of "Pretty In Pink" a year later. I actually heard "Susan's Strange" live once when I first saw The Furs in 2015, but back then I never knew about it until I got the 2002 remaster of The Psychedelic Furs in 2016. I hope someday The Furs will perform "Susan's Strange" again because I want to hear it after I became familiar with the song. Speaking of the 2002 remaster it has the original UK track listing, those two songs, and a couple bonus tracks. A demo of "Flowers" and The Psychedelic Furs' brilliant cover of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's "Mack The Knife."


It's hard to believe that it's been this long since The Psychedelic Furs came out. But the amazing thing is after all these years the album sounds fresh and still holds up, and it doesn't even sound dated at all. The same with The Furs' other albums, they are timeless and can be enjoyed by every generation.

Photo: Tom Sheehan