My Top Nine 2021

Over on my Instagram today I made a collage of the nine most liked photos that I posted on my account and they're all pictures of The Psychedelic Furs! I had made one for last year and even though most of the photos were of The Furs, I didn't post it on here because there was one photo on the collage that wasn't related to the band.

Here is the one for 2021.

A Couple Things from the Tour

Even though the recent cancellations happened I want to say I am happy that The Psychedelic Furs were finally able to go out on the road and perform the songs from Made Of Rain to the fans who were lucky to attend. It was great seeing the touring pictures that were posted on the band's social media accounts and also seeing new concert photos from the people who went.

There are two things I want to talk about on here, and the first is a couple days ago on Instagram I asked Rich Good which song from Made Of Rain was his favorite to play during the tour, and Rich actually responded to my comment! Here's his reply:

"hmm that's a difficult question to answer... This'll Never... perhaps? Or Don't believe? NoOne...!"

And last but definitely not least here's a picture of Richard Butler and Rich Good that was taken from one of the shows and I absolutely love it! When you look at the photo you can totally tell how much fun they were having.

Their smiles. <3 Photo by Pam Baisi.

US Tour Update

The Psychedelic Furs are currently doing the US Made Of Rain tour but sadly due to unforeseen circumstances they had to postpone three shows. Last Wednesday The Furs were supposed to do a show in Pennsylvania but on the day of the concert, it got cancelled. And then the concerts in New Jersey and New York City got cancelled also (the former was supposed to happen yesterday and the latter tonight). The three concerts are now going to take place in the Spring of 2022. On Sunday the band are going to Massachusetts but I wonder if that show and the rest of the dates will still happen. I just hope that The Psychedelic Furs are okay and in good health.

11/15/2021 Update: Today The Psychedelic Furs announced that the remaining dates of the US tour have been cancelled and postponed til next Spring, because a member of their crew was tested positive for you-know-what. I hope that person gets better and I hope the band are still doing fine.

Top 10 PFurs Music Videos

As some of you may remember, back in April of 2020 I made a list of my ten favorite Psychedelic Furs music videos and today I made the decision to redo my list. But surprisingly, my list is very much the same as the first, although a new change had been added. Before, I had thought of making this list again but I've never gotten around to it, until now. And before I start I just want to say that these are my own personal opinions and the videos I selected are ones that stand out to me the most.

And now, let's begin. Here are my top 10 favorite music videos by The Psychedelic Furs!

10. The Ghost In You - Director: Tim Pope https://youtube.com/watch?v=T87u5yuUVi8

During the verses Richard Butler sings into one of those types of mirrors that appear in dressing rooms, and when the choruses come on Richard, John Ashton and Tim Butler perform while all of these colored glass bubbles move around them. I love Richard's dancing in "The Ghost In You", it's really great. Surprisingly the "Ghost In You" video wasn't included at all in the All Of This And Nothing video compilation on VHS. You'd think it would be on there and I wonder why it got left out.

9. Until She Comes https://youtube.com/watch?v=dNEDY9I_wOk

The shots of Richard Butler standing on the giant clock are my favorite moments in the video for "Until She Comes". It also shows the band members in a blue room with circles of flashing lights peering through and things like an hourglass, a starfish, etc.

8. All That Money Wants - Director: Walter Pitt https://youtube.com/watch?v=Gti22zo6sm0

"All That Money Wants" marked the return of original drummer Vince Ely, who had left The Furs six years earlier after when Forever Now came out. The video shows Vince, John Ashton and Tim Butler walking around while Richard Butler sings to the camera. My favorite part: Richard's little smile at the end of the video. <3

7. Angels Don't Cry - Director: Tim Pope https://youtube.com/watch?v=XU65Y4gTUYo

What I like about this one is that it was all filmed in one take. Richard, Tim, and John perform on a set that has a bunch of light bulbs and later when the instrumental part starts playing Richard walks away and enters into a different set. As he goes in you see Mars Williams doing the magical saxophone solo and the rest of the band members join Richard.

6. Run And Run - Director: Bill Davis https://youtube.com/watch?v=AJ0eob8S-FQ

The video for "Run And Run" was filmed in New York City while The Psychedelic Furs were in America during the Forever Now tour. It shows the band members signing autographs for fans at a record store, sightseeing, hanging around, and having fun. During that time the "Sleep Comes Down" video was also made, as "Run And Run" featured behind the scenes footage for that particular video.

5. Wrong Train - Director: Hans Neleman https://youtube.com/watch?v=w_Bu7ctVR8c

Here is something interesting. The video for "Sleep Comes Down" actually used to be on my old ranking (at number 10), but after watching the video for "Wrong Train", I like it better than "Sleep Comes Down"! And "Wrong Train" made it at number 5, and you can probably tell why it's high on my new list. The video is absolutely awesome, it's so well made and Hans did a remarkable job directing it. Richard Butler looks fantastic and the look of the video was inspired by Richard's own paintings.

4. Heaven - Director: Tim Pope https://youtube.com/watch?v=4G_CAYf-itw

The "Heaven" video is beautiful, with Richard looking angelic as he spins around while Tim and John look like they're having a blast in the rain. It is mesmerizing to watch. This is Richard Butler's favorite PFurs music video but unfortunately after the video was filmed he caught a cold from being wet for so many hours.

3. Don't Be A Girl https://youtube.com/watch?v=pzIgeOh36_I

This video is cool with all the scenes of the flowers blooming and Richard Butler spinning in the whatchamacallit. With the flowers in the video, I like to imagine that this would be the type of music video The Smiths would probably make.

2. Sister Europe - Directors: Don Letts, Mick Calvert https://youtube.com/watch?v=-R96oxrDHWs

There's something about this video that appeals to me, and even though it's simple, it is so effective. It's dark, mysterious, and the sound of the music matches the look of the video. I read that the band members were actually drunk during filming, and even on a few scenes, you can tell that Richard Butler's movements looked a little off. But still, the video for "Sister Europe" is great and I also want to say I like the very old quality on the vid.

We are now at the grand finale, and here is my number one favorite Psychedelic Furs music video of all time!

1. Love My Way - Director: Tim Pope https://youtube.com/watch?v=LGD9i718kBU

The video for "Love My Way" is just magnificent. It has beauty, elegance, and the visuals are absolutely stunning. This video was played heavily on MTV and it helped The Psychedelic Furs gain popularity in the United States. My dad remembers watching the "Love My Way" video, and he once told me that he thought it was weird but liked it at the same time. Like I said on the "Sister Europe" video it is simple but so effective, and it leaves you in awe. My favorite music videos are a tie between The Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way" and Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams", because they have their own style and I love them both for different reasons.

I think what makes The Psychedelic Furs' music videos great is the one and only Richard Butler himself, with his aura and presence, the way he dances on the videos, and his iconic voice. While watching the videos it made me think how awesome and wonderful Richard is, and there is no one like him. I am very glad I had the opportunity to see Richard Butler live in person four times with my own eyes, and those experiences were so amazing. I do hope I will see him and the rest of the band again someday.

Thank you for reading and hope you all enjoyed it!

Behind the Songs: Don't Believe

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Don't Believe".

Richard Butler: "I think we chose that song [as the first single for Made Of Rain] because it sounded like, you know, if people picture in their minds or ears what a typical Psychedelic Furs song sounds like. I think that might be kind of what it would sound like, that one." (BBC6 Music 2020)

Tim Butler: "It was a song I'd written that had a verse and a chorus. And I sent it to Richard and he said to me, 'Yeah, I like the verse part but write another chorus.' So I was [inaudible] away writing a different – not riff, but chorus, but we go to the studio and just started playing the verse riff. It came together pretty quickly. I think it's some of the last tracks we recorded as well [for Made Of Rain]." (Interview with Kyle Meredith, 2020)

Tim Butler: "I think that one is the most – the one that most harkens back to the early sort of aggression of The Furs; circa 'India,' the first album." (Interview with Kyle Meredith, 2020)

Richard Butler: "That was a song written with Tim. It was an idea that [inaudible] had, but we decided that we only really liked the first part. So really the whole band weighed in, and it became really a band composition. In that we came up with other parts for it in the studio as a band." (Out Of The Box (Q104.3) 2020)

Interviewer: "Tell me about the song 'Don't Believe,' which has a very interesting opening line: 'The money's got the medicine and you can't believe in anything.'"

Richard Butler: "Well, that's about the health care system - big pharma and all that. It's just saying that it's difficult to believe in anything." (Songfacts 2020)

Richard Butler: "I think 'President Gas' was the only time I've been that scathing in my narrative, although I think 'Don't Believe' is pretty scathing on [Made Of Rain]." (Spin 2020)

Interviewer: "'President Gas,' from 1982, has the lyric 'It's sick, the price of medicine,' and on 'Don't Believe,' on [Made Of Rain], you sing, 'Money's got the medicine.' I take it you're not a big fan of the healthcare system in America."

Richard Butler: "No, I'm not. Not at all. And sadly, the Tory government seems to be dismantling the National Health Service in England, slowly. And I thought the National Health Service was a great institution. I wouldn't mind paying extra taxes for healthcare." (Tidal 2020)

Tim Butler: "At the moment 'Don't Believe' is my favorite [on Made Of Rain] because it harkens back to the force and sound of a song like 'India', guitar-wise, vibe-wise." (Uncut 2020)

Interviewer: "I'm loving the new songs. And while there's a very different feel between 'Come All Ye Faithful', 'No-One', 'You'll Be Mine' and 'Don't Believe', the latter I have to say is classic Furs from the opening bars, even before Richard's voice comes in."

Tim Butler: "Err, yeah, I think so. Some of it's more classic, but I think the sound of the whole thing was influenced over the long hiatus we had by the music around us, so of course it's going to seep into what you write, and I think it's very current but still very much Furs."

Interviewer: "I agree, and those first four releases from [Made Of Rain] suggest that wide range. Are those tracks fairly indicative of the LP as a whole?"

Tim Butler: "Yeah, I think everyone will be very pleasantly surprised and we're very, very happy with it. It's a typical Furs album in that it goes from all-out rockers to ballads and back again. That keeps you interested. If an album's all 'balls to the wall' or all laidback, you tend to lose interest. But hopefully this will keep people interested from beginning to end." (WriteWyattUK 2020)

Interviewer: "What are your favorite songs to play on Made Of Rain?"

Rich Good: "'Don't Believe', 'No-One', 'Ash Wednesday'… 'This'll Never Be Like Love'. Again, 'all of them' would be an accurate answer." (Post-Punk.com 2022)

Photo: Reed Davis

Behind the Songs: Cigarette

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Cigarette", featured in the 2001 DVD Live From House Of Blues.

Richard Butler: "That song was about sitting at the end of somebody's bed and sort of smoking a cigarette and letting the day go through your head." (Interview with Robert Cherry, 2001)

John Ashton (on the songs by his band Satellite Paradiso): "I did write 'Angelic', 'Bad Blood', 'Situation', 'Insomnia' and 'Outlaws' and a few others at a time when I was still playing in The Furs. I modelled 'Angelic' on 'Pretty In Pink' – it has a similar chord structure and is based around the D chord progression – albeit with a few twists and turns thrown in. 'Cigarette' is basically The Furs's version of the 'Angelic' idea." (Interview with Dave Furneaux, 2014)

Interviewer: "If we go back to the year 2000, you rejoined the Psychedelic Furs in a reformed lineup. As a big fan of the band, I attended many of the subsequent tours. They recorded a new song 'Alive' for a greatest hits package and two others ['Cigarette' and 'Wrong Train'] for the companion DVD. Yet I sensed a reluctance to record new material. Was that a trigger that forced your hand to do the Satellite Paradiso record and depart from the Psychedelic Furs?"

John Ashton: "Yes Dave. That was the biggest trigger of all." (Dave's on Tour 2016)

John Ashton: "I had given Richard Butler a version of 'Angelic', and he wrote the Furs song 'Cigarette' from that." (Dave's on Tour 2016)

Interviewer: "I have to ask, was 'Cigarette' considered for [Made Of Rain]? I was watching your 2001 unplugged version recently, and love that. Seems odd to say this seeing as they came after you, but there's something of an REM quality there. It's as much Michael Stipe as it is your brother."

Tim Butler: "Yeah, that (song) was never seriously considered, never brought up. Not to say it won't – maybe down the line a bit, but we came up with so many new songs in the six or seven months leading up to when we recorded [Made Of Rain]." (WriteWyattUK 2020)

Behind the Songs: Alive (For Once In My Lifetime)

A few quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Alive (For Once In My Lifetime)".

Richard Butler: "'Alive' is a lot about looking back. Like it says in the song, when you're young you think that you're going to go on forever and you think you're indestructible and blessed. And when you get older you realize how mortal you are." (Interview with Robert Cherry, 2001)

Interviewer: "Tell me about this new song, 'Alive,' that's on Beautiful Chaos."

Richard Butler: "It's about being the age I am – 45 years old. When you're young, you think that you're going to live forever; the older you get, you start realizing your own mortality. It always seemed like you have your parents between you and death's door; when something starts to go wrong with them, you start thinking, 'Once they go, I'm next in line.' It's about celebrating the 'now,' if you like. That sounds a bit 'self-help,' doesn't it?" (Ink 19 2002)

Interviewer: "If we go back to the year 2000, you rejoined the Psychedelic Furs in a reformed lineup. As a big fan of the band, I attended many of the subsequent tours. They recorded a new song 'Alive' for a greatest hits package and two others ['Cigarette' and 'Wrong Train'] for the companion DVD. Yet I sensed a reluctance to record new material. Was that a trigger that forced your hand to do the Satellite Paradiso record and depart from the Psychedelic Furs?"

John Ashton: "Yes Dave. That was the biggest trigger of all." (Dave's on Tour 2016)

Rich Good Interview (2015)

Via @riichgood on Instagram.

While I was searching for interviews with The Psychedelic Furs to find any quotes to add to my Behind the Albums/Songs posts, I stumbled upon this interview with Rich Good. He was interviewed by Guild Guitars and it was published back in June 2015. Rich talked about the guitars he used, the concerts he went to, and also how he joined The Furs! Here is the link to the interview: https://guildguitars.com/artist-to-watch-rich-good-of-the-psychedelic-furs/

Behind the Songs: Angels Don't Cry

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Angels Don't Cry".

Richard Butler (on the video for the song): "To get the approach right we wanted to do it all in one take moving from one room to another while playing the song.

"The idea was to keep the intensity of the song, remember the words, don't fall over the wires all at the same time.

"I've just seen the rushes and it looks good. It starts in one room that is very stark and then shifts to this bright orange room as the song lifts off." (Coventry Evening Telegraph 1986)

Richard Butler: "We're still trying to decide which track [from Midnight To Midnight] will be the next single, there's one called 'Heartbreak Beat', one called 'Angels Don't Cry' and one called 'Shock' and we'll decide when they've been mixed." (Record Mirror 1986)

John Ashton (on Midnight To Midnight): "It's a pleasant surprise, a very tough sound with more of a guitar edge — I finally got my own way! The singles 'Heartbreak Beat' and 'Angels Don't Cry' are the easier side of the band, more toned down in energy. Some of the other stuff gets pretty wild, though!" (Evening Post 1987)

Richard Butler: "With [Midnight To Midnight], it was more like playing as a band, though afterwards I'd still want to change things round. I was constantly changing lyrics and melodies..it was driving Chris Kimsey mad! I'd nick a bit out of one song and stick it into another one and by the end, I had about three different ways of singing 'Angels Don't Cry' and at least two versions of 'Heartbreak Beat'. Finally Chris said 'OK, you've got to settle on just one version of each song, you're driving me crazy.'" (Rock Express 1987)

Tim Butler: "We were avoiding songs from the Midnight To Midnight album except of course the 'Heartbreak Beat' for quite some time. On this tour, we have dusted off 'Angels Don't Cry' and 'All Of The Law'. We never even played 'Angels Don't Cry' in the tour for the Midnight To Midnight album." (Equality365 2016)

Tim Butler (on being asked which song was his favorite to play during The Psychedelic Furs' 2016 Tour): "I think it is actually 'Angels Don't Cry' for the simple fact that we never played that song live even back in the eighties. The first time we have ever played it live is on this tour. It is totally fresh (Laughter)." (Equality365 2016)

Tim Butler: "We were listening to Midnight To Midnight recently and we haven't played those songs in recent years. 'All Of The Law' and 'Angels Don't Cry' have made their way back into our repertoire [for the 2016 tour]." (Orlando Weekly 2016)

Behind the Songs: Alice's House

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Alice's House".

Interviewer: "So how many songs have you got ready for the new LP [Mirror Moves]?"

Richard Butler: "Yeah, there are a couple...but whether we'll use them or not, I don't know. There's one we recorded with Todd [Rundgren] that we didn't like the drum sound on, so we might re-record that, it's called 'Alice's House.'" (ZigZag 1983)

Richard Butler: "'Alice's House' is an asylum, and it's just a song basically about madness. Where it says, 'in the softest room,' you can take that as a padded cell, and 'you sing without a key.' Well, I always associate people who are insane as singing way out of tune, plus, you're in a room without a key. 'The butler is serving tea' is just sort of a wild image, and 'wearing a shirt without any sleeves' is simply a straitjacket. It works on illusions like that." (Artist Magazine 1984)

Richard Butler: "The thing is, if you start with a basic sequence of chords that sounds good, you can do anything at all with it. You could probably take the chords from a Motorhead song and do a reggae version of it, an MOR version, a punk version, or whatever. Once we have got that, we play with it until either it ends up as a song we like or we chuck it. Only once have we done a song from scratch twice that was 'Alice's House' off Mirror Moves. We recorded it originally with Todd Rundgren to go on Forever Now but we didn't like the way he did it. And we did it again with Keith Forsey. For some reason, that song was just a [__] to get recorded, even the second time round. We nearly didn't put it on Mirror Moves either, it was such a [__] to get done." (One Two Testing 1986)

John Ashton: "We lumped ['Love My Way'] in with the demos that we were doing [for Forever Now], and none of the record companies saw it [as being a single]. They saw 'Aeroplane.' They saw a version of 'Alice's House' that we did that they liked a lot, which came later. 'Alice’s House' never made it to Forever Now." (Popdose 2012)

John Ashton (on playing the demo of the song to Andrew Eldritch of The Sisters Of Mercy): "I couldn't tell whether he was impressed or not. He's very…." [puts palm in front of his face]. (2015 interview)

Interviewer: "What are your favorite classic Psychedelic Furs songs to play?"

Rich Good: "'Soap Commercial', 'Sister Europe', 'Dumb Waiters', 'Only You And I', 'Alice's House'… Honestly, there's not really any I don't like playing." (Post-Punk.com 2022)

Behind the Songs: Here Come Cowboys

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Here Come Cowboys".

Interviewer: "Have you got any song titles yet?"

Richard Butler: "Yeah, one of them's called 'Here Come Cowboys' (laughs) which is about the macho-men you get around in an Italian neighborhood like this [in New York]." (ZigZag 1983)

Richard Butler: "When I listen to the first two albums now, they seem really full of confusion, angst, disgust & cynicism but I don't feel that way now. I think we can change things but I'm not the kind of songwriter that stands on a podium and shouts. I think you have to change things in a more gentle way for it to be effective. I think that [Mirror Moves] is a much more subtle album, as opposed to shouting. I also think 'Here Come Cowboys' is ideal for the elections coming up (laughs)."

Interviewer: "There's a line in that song that goes 'all we really need is love.' Is that your current philosophy?"

Richard Butler: "Yeah! I think a lot of the cynicism on the early albums was just me hiding my real feelings. The cynicism was largely a perception. I didn't want to put my own feelings on the line as much as other people's feelings which is easier. At the time, I wanted the songs to reflect my feelings other than performing them and with [Mirror Moves] I think I'm generating feelings more." (Aquarian Arts Weekly 1984)

Richard Butler (on being asked if the song was about Ronald Reagan): "Yeah, yeah, he's obviously the most famous one [cowboy] but it's also an attack on TV heroes." (Artist Magazine 1984)

Richard Butler: "It's subliminally political; it doesn't scream its message out. I don't like songs that do. I'm not a fan of The Alarm or The Clash." (BAM Magazine 1984)

John Ashton: "Most of the [songs on Mirror Moves] aren't love songs at all. 'Heaven' is about nuclear war, 'Here Come Cowboys' and 'Highwire Days' are political, 'Heartbeat' is about life in the city, specifically about some people we know." (The Morning Call 1984)

Interviewer: "Do you have a favorite song from Mirror Moves?"

Richard Butler: "It changes often, but right now probably 'Like A Stranger' and 'Here Come Cowboys.'" (Music Life 1984 [Japanese magazine])

Richard Butler: "The way I write, I can get away with being political. I think 'Here Come Cowboys' can have radio play and get away with being political, whereas something that openly slams politics won't get played. In a lot of ways, my method of writing is a lot more difficult—I work in a more insidious way. If someone hears our song on the radio and likes it, he or she might not realize what it's about, but they'll go out and buy it. Then, after repeated listenings, they realize the song's meaning. So, we've gotten through to somebody who doesn't think like us as a matter of course. In that way, we've been more successful as conveyors of ideas if we'd put the messages right up at the front at the beginning." (Rockbill 1984)

John Ashton (on being asked what's the point of not playing "Heartbreak Beat" live): "I'd like to do it, but it comes down to a band vote. This is a democratic band! I don't care much for 'Cowboys' but I wouldn't mind doing 'Heartbreak Beat', so there you go." (Fort Worth Star Telegram 1990)

Richard Butler: "[Columbia] had always been pretty good -- besides making a lot of mistakes in choosing singles. We bowed to their will, we thought, 'They're a record company, they probably know better than we do about it.' I thought releasing 'Cowboys' as a single was a big mistake..." (Ink 19 2002)

Richard Butler: "I recall we had a big disagreement with the American record company, because 'Heaven' was in the Top 10 in Canada and the video was everywhere, but then America decided, for some bizarre reason, to release 'Here Come Cowboys' instead. Which failed. I'll never understand their rationale behind that." (Record Collector 2020)

Behind the Songs: I Don't Want To Be Your Shadow

A quote from Richard Butler on the song "I Don't Want To Be Your Shadow".

Interviewer: "What else lyrically for you stands out on [Forever Now]?"

Richard Butler: "I always liked the mood of 'Sleep Comes Down' a lot, that was always very dreamy. 'No Easy Street' I also liked a lot. And there was a track that never made it onto the album, called 'I Don't Want To Be Your Shadow,' which I always loved the feeling of as well. In those days it was always, if you've got ten songs you don't need any more." (iJamming! 2001)

Behind the Songs: Blacks/Radio

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Blacks/Radio".

Richard Butler: "That actually comes from a quote by Andy Warhol. Somebody said, 'What do you think of the black people?' and he replied, 'Oh, I love them, if it wasn't for the blacks in the South, my father's refrigerator factory would close down.' The song's built around the quote." (ZigZag 1979)

Duncan Kilburn (on the "Chaos" and "Radio" segments of the song): "That's two songs that we've been doing for some time, linked together." (ZigZag 1979)

Tim Butler: "On the first 'Chaos', me and the drummer keep up a beat and everybody else does the chaos. On the last one, everything just goes wild." (ZigZag 1979)

Roger Morris: "I think what we're trying to do is play some bits more straightforward to make the chaos stand out even more." (ZigZag 1979)

Interviewer: "Some of your songs could be deemed controversial, don't you think, cos of the titles?"

Richard Butler: "Yeah, well we've had all that. We played at Portsmouth Polytechnic – they think they're clever students down there and they're all into this leftist scene. Anyway, they thought: 'Well, this song is called "Blacks"', and immediately they started throwing bottles and glasses cos they thought it was racist." (Slash 1980)

Tim Butler (on the night of the Portsmouth Polytechnic concert): "One of the guys who was throwing glasses actually walked up to the social secretary of the college and said: 'Those guys – I just heard them saying in the song that black people have got smaller brains than white people'. He swore he heard it, which is rubbish, cos it's about a quote that Andy Warhol made about white people getting rich off the fruits of black people's labor." (Slash 1980)

Richard Butler: "On the first album all the lyrics were written around the fact that I didn't think that you could be a good writer and sing from a personal point of view. There was a song called 'Girl's Song' that was eventually dropped which was sung from a girl's point of view, there's a song like 'Blacks' which is sung from a middle class prat's point of view, now I want to write from a narrative point of view." (Sounds 1980)

John Ashton: "'Blacks' and 'Radio' I don't think came out that well on vinyl because they're a feeling more than anything else. Maybe they should have been put out as live things." (ZigZag 1980)

Richard Butler: "It's funny 'cause the song 'Blacks' was - a lot of people have thought it's racist before. It's in fact very tongue-in-cheek in that it comes from a comment made by Andy Warhol. Somebody said to him - 'What do you think of the Black people?', and he said 'If it wasn't for the Blacks in the south, my father's refrigerator factory would close down.' He was being very [__] taking and it's taking a [__] at racism. People don't see it, yet people are throwing things. For anybody to think we're a racist band is absolutely ridiculous 'cause we're all intelligent people here." (Overview 1981)

Interviewer: "Do you recall the first song ever written by the group?"

Richard Butler: "I think it was 'Blacks/Radio'." (Overview 1981)

John Ashton: "I've forgotten (thankfully) how many takes of this it took to get the transition to sound like 'the Furs on a good night.'" (Should God Forget liner notes, 1997)

Interviewer: "The US edition of the debut album was different."

Richard Butler: "[Columbia] thought 'Blacks/Radio' was racist, which on a superficial level you could think that it was. That was taken from an Andy Warhol quote. He was asked if he liked black people and as usual, he replied very tongue in cheek. 'If it wasn't for the blacks in the south, my father's refrigerator business would close down.' I thought, 'Wow that's a great quote' and used it and then people didn't see the irony in it."

Interviewer: "When it was pulled was that a fight?"

Richard Butler: "Not really. We loved the fact that the album was going to be released in America for one thing, and that it would give us the chance to come over and tour." (iJamming! 2001)

John Ashton: "A lot of [The Psychedelic Furs] was pre-written by virtue of the fact that the band had been around a couple of years. So there were songs there. I joined the band in '78, and 'Sister Europe' was already a song, a version of 'Imitation Of Christ' was there, 'We Love You' was already there. And there were other songs that were coming along, like 'India,' that I brought to the band. 'Fall' was another, and 'Blacks/Radio,' which was just kind of a jam." (Popdose 2012)

Interviewer: "I have to tell you, I still come over all funny whilst listening to 'Blacks/Radio.' It's one of my Psychedelic Furs faves - a mad, dance-able tune with bizarre lyrics. I've bounced around in bouts of idiot glee to that many times. Only a few years that I really paid attention to the lyrics. It seems to remain pertinent, touching on black slave labor, white privilege, the fetishization of modern commodities, the stupidity of yuppie culture, ennui..am I reading it the way you penned it?"

Richard Butler: "(Smiling) You are reading 'Blacks/Radio' the way it was written." (Whitehot Magazine 2016)

John Ashton (on hearing a demo tape of The Furs given to him right before he joined the band): "I put the tape on and I really liked it. There were early versions of 'We Love You,' 'Blacks/Chaos/Radio,' which didn't make it on the US domestic release but was on the original United Kingdom release; maybe 'Flowers,' another one. They were very much of the punk edgy sort of harder songs. Maybe 'Pulse' as well, I'm not sure." (Everyone Loves Guitar podcast, 2021)

Interviewer: "Martin Hannett also did some production work on that first album?"

Tim Butler: "Yeah, he produced 'Susan's Strange', and, what was the other one he produced? I've forgotten the other one, oh, 'Soap Commercial', which weren't on the English version of that album, because on the English version of that album we had a track called 'Blacks/Radio/Chaos', it was like a long jamming track, and CBS thought it sounded like it was racist but it wasn't. So on the US copy of that album, we put 'Susan's Strange' and 'Soap Commercial' on it." (The Collapse Board 2024)

Richard Butler with Andy Warhol. Credits to photographer.

Midnight To Midnight Ad #2

Another advert for Midnight To Midnight.

New Page

With the "Behind the Albums/Songs" posts that I published recently, I created a new page for them so that it would be easier to get to. I had worked on this project for five days and even though it became exhausting at times, it was definitely worth doing it.

Here is the link to the new page: https://ontomorrowspages.blogspot.com/p/the-furs-talk-about-their-music.html

Behind the Songs: Evergreen

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Evergreen".

Paul Garisto: "Stoked that this track is now out there. I wrote the music in my basement...grateful it didn't fade away there. I hope you enjoy it!" (Facebook 2021)

Richard Butler: "'Evergreen' is something that we did while we were putting together Made Of Rain. It's a song about memory and the passing of time." (Official press statement, 2021)

Interviewer: "'I was dirt / And I'll be dirt again.' Do I have that right?"

Tim Butler: [Laughs] "We all go back to dirt!"

Interviewer: "Is there anything that has you guys thinking about your own mortality these days?"

Tim Butler: "Well, COVID! [Laughs] That has us thinking of our mortality. It doesn't have any favorites as far as who it affects or who it kills. It's a very scary time. Richard wrote the lyrics before COVID came along. So he was probably thinking about that 'everyday' mortality. But it still all fits nicely with the mood of society at the moment." (PopMatters 2021)

Interviewer: "Jumping back to the new song 'Evergreen', is there a reason it didn't make [Made Of Rain]?"

Tim Butler: "We had other songs that we recorded the basics of. I think we recorded 14 songs, and at the end of it, you decide which 12 were going to go on the album. Not to say it's not a good song. We just preferred the 12 we picked – no real reason why it was cast off. At the time, we decided on the 12 that are on the album. We always figured we would put ['Evergreen'] out at some other time or maybe on the next album or whatever." (PopMatters 2021)

Tim Butler: "['Evergreen'] keeps the album [Made Of Rain] and band in people's minds. To bring the fact that there is a new album out there and bring it to the front again. It has been a year since it came out and in this world of social media people's attention spans are not great so it reminds everyone there is a new album out." (Spill Magazine 2021)

Photo: Matthew Reeves

Behind the Songs: Tiny Hands

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Tiny Hands".

Tim Butler: "To me, it's really psychedelic. It reminds me of [one of the Rolling Stones' albums] with the instrumentation of it, which again I think is really different for The Furs. That sort of carries on the experimental side of the band." (Forbes 2020)

Richard Butler: "On the new album [Made Of Rain], on the track 'Tiny Hands,' I've lifted the line 'from A to B and back again' from [Andy Warhol's] book [his autobiography From A To B And Back Again]." (Record Collector 2020)

Richard Butler: "'Tiny Hands' was quite an odd song, it was an odd song to write to. The idea of doing it either on a piano or a harpsichord sounded like the best way to start working on it, to build it and put it somewhere different to what it was, and then start working from there. Once we'd put the harpsichord on it, it seemed like that was the perfect way to do it, and it seemed almost as if that was enough." (Vive Le Rock! 2020)

Tim Butler: "There are psychedelic elements throughout [Made Of Rain], especially on 'Tiny Hands.' It has shades of [one of the Rolling Stones' albums]. And there's a straight keyboard. The solo in there is harpsichord. It’s about Donald Trump." (Cleveland Scene 2022)

Photo: Matthew Reeves

Behind the Songs: Hide The Medicine

A quote from Richard Butler on the song "Hide The Medicine".

Richard Butler: "'Hide The Medicine,' for instance, is about the fact that not only is there an opioid epidemic over here, but several people that I knew have had children die from heroin overdoses, just in the small-ish community that I'm in. And it really kind of takes you back." (Spin 2020)

Photo: Matthew Reeves

Behind the Songs: No-One

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "No-One".

Richard Butler: "That was a song that actually came about just before we went in to record [Made Of Rain]. We went to St. Louis twice to record and that was a song Rich Good sent me an idea for. I loved the idea and the title 'No-One' came to me pretty quickly." (Out Of The Box (Q104.3) 2020)

Interviewer: "You've talked about how when you're writing lyrics, you listen to the music and you get into a certain headspace. What was the headspace you were in when you wrote the song 'No-One'?"

Richard Butler: "That was something my girlfriend said to me. I forget what particular place it was about, but she said, 'Who wants to go there? No one.'

"It was one of those things she said, and I thought, 'Wow, I like that,' so I just started writing. It's basically a list song with 'no ones' put in there." (Songfacts 2020)

Tim Butler: "That's another one that Richard wrote with Rich, our 'new' guitarist. It went down in a couple of takes after we rehearsed it. It came on pretty strong. When the guitarist actually put a different guitar part on it, it sort of jumped up there as one of my favorite ones on [Made Of Rain]. I think it's one of the most traditionally Psychedelic Furs songs. I think it will be great when we actually do get out to perform live. I think it will be a great live song." (Tower Records 2020)

Interviewer: "I'm loving the new songs. And while there's a very different feel between 'Come All Ye Faithful', 'No-One', 'You'll Be Mine' and 'Don't Believe', the latter I have to say is classic Furs from the opening bars, even before Richard's voice comes in."

Tim Butler: "Err, yeah, I think so. Some of it's more classic, but I think the sound of the whole thing was influenced over the long hiatus we had by the music around us, so of course it's going to seep into what you write, and I think it's very current but still very much Furs."

Interviewer: "I agree, and those first four releases from [Made Of Rain] suggest that wide range. Are those tracks fairly indicative of the LP as a whole?"

Tim Butler: "Yeah, I think everyone will be very pleasantly surprised and we're very, very happy with it. It's a typical Furs album in that it goes from all-out rockers to ballads and back again. That keeps you interested. If an album's all 'balls to the wall' or all laidback, you tend to lose interest. But hopefully this will keep people interested from beginning to end." (WriteWyattUK 2020)

Interviewer: "What are your favorite songs to play on Made Of Rain?"

Rich Good: "'Don't Believe', 'No-One', 'Ash Wednesday'… 'This'll Never Be Like Love'. Again, 'all of them' would be an accurate answer." (Post-Punk.com 2022)

Behind the Songs: Come All Ye Faithful

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Come All Ye Faithful".

Interviewer: "Being Irish, I couldn't help but notice the Catholic element to certain song titles on [Made Of Rain], like 'Ash Wednesday' and 'Come All Ye Faithful'."

Richard Butler: "(Laughs) I love the title 'Ash Wednesday', and I love the pomp and circumstance of Catholicism – the rites and rituals. But I was actually drawn to the title 'Ash Wednesday' by TS Eliot. With regard to 'Come All Ye Faithful', I remember singing the hymn in school, and the idea of using it for a song title that was completely secular sounded like a good idea." (Hot Press 2020)

Tim Butler: "That one I [inaudible] for being an idea that came from Rich Good. That was one of his ideas. I think Richard, [inaudible] he liked the vibe of it. He thought the vibe of it – I don't know if you've ever heard of a David Essex song called 'Lamplight.' It had that really menacing – it's a sinister menacing sound. It got Richard into the vibe of it and which direction he was gonna go, lyrically." (Interview with Kyle Meredith, 2020)

Tim Butler: "One song, 'Come All Ye Faithful'–that chord structure, when Richard brought it in it, was reminiscent of the vibe of a song called 'Lamplight,' by David Essex from the'70s, so we sort of carried on and added to that vibe." (The Pitch 2020)

Interviewer: "'Come All Ye Faithful', with its references to holy rollers and playboys, seems like a dig at televangelists, but you recently told me it has more to do with David Essex…"

Richard Butler: "Remember that old David Essex single 'Lamplight'? The one which came after 'Rock On'? Oh, this sounds terrible, but I always loved the creepy feeling of it. I wanted this to have some of that. I mean, it wasn't led by 'the influence of a David Essex song', but once we'd got it going, I could hear that within it, and thought, Okay, let's get it nice and creepy... so we stuck a church bell in there." (Record Collector 2020)

Richard Butler: "It's a bit about looking for redemption in faith and riches, questioning if either are of any true value and whether redemption is ultimately necessary at all." (Rolling Stone 2020)

Interviewer: "'Come All Ye Faithful' clearly is not a Christmas song but you touch on some issues of faith. Could you talk about that song?"

Richard Butler: "'Come all ye faithful you holy rollers'... it's a lot about people looking down on you for a lack of faith." (Songfacts 2020)

Tim Butler: "That song was actually written by Richard and by Rich our 'new' guitarist, who's actually been with us since 2008. Richard wanted the vibe of it to be like the song by David Essex called 'Lamplight'. The vibe of it set Richard off, lyrically. It's sort of menacing and very moody. That gave us a musical direction to go. And so, it's a moody, menacing song." (Tower Records 2020)

Interviewer: "I'm loving the new songs. And while there's a very different feel between 'Come All Ye Faithful', 'No-One', 'You'll Be Mine' and 'Don't Believe', the latter I have to say is classic Furs from the opening bars, even before Richard's voice comes in."

Tim Butler: "Err, yeah, I think so. Some of it's more classic, but I think the sound of the whole thing was influenced over the long hiatus we had by the music around us, so of course it's going to seep into what you write, and I think it's very current but still very much Furs."

Interviewer: "I agree, and those first four releases from [Made Of Rain] suggest that wide range. Are those tracks fairly indicative of the LP as a whole?"

Tim Butler: "Yeah, I think everyone will be very pleasantly surprised and we're very, very happy with it. It's a typical Furs album in that it goes from all-out rockers to ballads and back again. That keeps you interested. If an album's all 'balls to the wall' or all laidback, you tend to lose interest. But hopefully this will keep people interested from beginning to end." (WriteWyattUK 2020)

Behind the Songs: Wrong Train

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Wrong Train".

Interviewer: "Is there a song you get more pleasure playing [live]?"

Richard Butler: "No, on both these tours I just loved playing all of them. And the new songs. There's a new song called 'Wrong Train' which I really like playing." (iJamming! 2001)

Richard Butler (on how his former first wife thought of the song): "She gets a kick out of it. She likes sarcasm. She likes the bit that says, "A wife that hates me, so does her boyfriend.'" (Interview with Robert Cherry, 2001)

Interviewer: "If we go back to the year 2000, you rejoined the Psychedelic Furs in a reformed lineup. As a big fan of the band, I attended many of the subsequent tours. They recorded a new song 'Alive' for a greatest hits package and two others ['Cigarette' and 'Wrong Train'] for the companion DVD. Yet I sensed a reluctance to record new material. Was that a trigger that forced your hand to do the Satellite Paradiso record and depart from the Psychedelic Furs?"

John Ashton: "Yes Dave. That was the biggest trigger of all." (Dave's on Tour 2016)

Tim Butler (on Made Of Rain's songs coming together quickly): "Except for 'Wrong Train,' all the songs on the album were written in five or six months. 'Wrong Train' was probably written roundabout 2006, and we played it in our live set." (The Aquarian 2020)

Tim Butler: "It's more of a traditional sounding rock and roll song, before we went into the studio we sort of messed it around a bit. It came out a lot heavier and more driving, and it went into a different direction. For me, that's my favorite song on [Made Of Rain]." (Forbes 2020)

Richard Butler: "We'd been writing bits and pieces over the years. 'Wrong Train', that's been around for a while." (HMV 2020)

Richard Butler: "It is a fairly sad song. It's got the line 'A wife that hates me, so does her boyfriend.' It always makes me laugh, though." (Interview with Janice Long, 2020)

Tim Butler: "One of the oldest songs on [Made Of Rain] is 'Wrong Train,' which was written in, I guess, 2004; four or five." (Interview with Kyle Meredith, 2020)

Richard Butler: "From time to time, we'd write a new song, rehearse it and play it. One of them made it onto [Made Of Rain] ('Wrong Train')." (Magnet Magazine 2020)

Tim Butler: "One song on [Made Of Rain], 'Wrong Train', is quite old, but it's been totally re-envisioned." (Music Week 2020)

Richard Butler (on Made Of Rain's songs): "They're all new songs besides one ['Wrong Train'], I think, which has been around for a little while." (Out Of The Box (Q104.3) 2020)

Richard Butler: "There's a couple of songs [on Made Of Rain], one song in particular. It's been around for a little while and that's 'Wrong Train,' which we wrote a little while ago. But it's a great song and we've never really released it before." (Out Of The Box (Q104.3) 2020)

Richard Butler: "One of my favorite lines here comes on 'Wrong Train': 'A wife that hates me... so does her boyfriend'. It makes me laugh! Sure there's a certain sorrow to it as well, but... it's dark comedy." (Record Collector 2020)

Tim Butler: "'Wrong Train' had been around for a while. Back in, I guess it was 2006, I'd actually taken that musical idea up to [John Ashton's] and we worked on it and he put in some ideas and stuff. So that was a song written by John and I that we've totally reimagined musically for [Made Of Rain]." (Rock & Roll Globe 2020)

Richard Butler: "One of the songs on [Made Of Rain], 'Wrong Train,' we've been playing live for some time." (Rock Cellar Magazine 2020)

Interviewer: "You've talked about how when you write your lyrics, very often, you are realizing some kind of truth about yourself. What's an example of a Psychedelics Furs song that gleaned some insight into one of your personal truths?"

Richard Butler: "I would say 'Wrong Train,' to a degree.

"My first and only marriage was sort of crumbling, and it made me examine in a very negative, pessimistic kind of way the whole move to the suburbs. It made me imagine somebody else's life perhaps, who had moved out and had a similar or perhaps more tragic time of it than I had." (Songfacts 2020)

Interviewer: "'Wrong Train' is my favorite song on [Made Of Rain]. The first time I heard the lyric, 'A wife that hates me / So does her boyfriend,' I laughed out loud. Were you trying to be funny or was that just the way it came out?"

Richard Butler: "When the line came to me, I realized it was funny and sort of heartbreaking at the same time. I liked that about it."

Interviewer: "Are these characters or is there biographical stuff in there as well?"

Richard Butler: "Probably a bit of both."

Interviewer: "It seems you're not too fond of the institution of marriage. There's 'Wrong Train' on the new album and songs dating back to the first album, 'Fall' and 'Wedding Song.' Is that accurate?"

Richard Butler: "Yeah, especially then."

Interviewer: "What about now?"

Richard Butler: "I'm actually engaged to be married this summer [laughs], so I've changed my mind about it a little." (Tidal 2020)

Tim Butler (on Made Of Rain): "We'd been sending demos back and forth since we'd got back together, but these are all pretty much new songs, except for 'Wrong Train', which was written in 2005." (Uncut 2020)

Richard Butler: "'Wrong Train' was a song that we wrote quite some time ago, it was never released and put on the back burner, but for the most part, the rest of [Made Of Rain] was pretty much within the last few months." (Vive Le Rock! 2020)

Richard Butler: "'Wrong Train' is literally about somebody that made the wrong choice with the wrong person and ended up in a place where he just didn't want to be. I did have that type of experience but it wasn't at the top of my mind when I wrote that song." (Vive Le Rock! 2020)

Tim Butler: "We did record 'Wrong Train' [for Made Of Rain], but a very different version to when we'd do it live. It had an overhaul." (WriteWyattUK 2020)

Interviewer: "You recently collaborated with artist and photographer Hans Neleman to create a music video for the track 'Wrong Train' off [Made Of Rain] which we are so lucky to be able to debut on our website asifmag.com. The video is a work of art and the stills that accompany it are incredible and reminiscent of your paintings. How did the collaboration come about?"

Richard Butler: "I've known Hans for a while and in fact he owns one of my paintings. He heard the new album and told me that he wanted to make a video. I told him that the next song the record company wants to put out is 'Wrong Train' which happens to be his favorite song on the record, and that's how it came about."

Interviewer: "There's such strong synergy between Hans' photo aesthetic and your paintings, and the graphic treatment by Peter Sebastian is really incredible. Tell me about the collaborative process."

Richard Butler: "Oh yeah Peter's work was perfect for it."

Interviewer: "I know Peter's work. He's also a great photographer and artist and we featured his work in a past issue. What inspired this collaboration between the three of you?"

Richard Butler: "Hans showed me some stuff Peter had done and it was in a very collagey kind of way and I really liked it. It seemed like something I hadn't seen in a video before, but I didn't want to make a video that illustrated the song, I didn't want to make a video where I was pretending to sing—we wound up compromising slightly in that I spoke the lyrics by saying the words after they were sung in the song so it didn't look lip synced. I wanted the video to match the mood of the song, not illustrate the song, and Hans did a great job of that." (AS IF Magazine 2021)

Richard Butler (on the "Wrong Train" video): "'Wrong Train' continues the black and white textured, mysterious feel of the previous videos from Made Of Rain. It was a pleasure working along with Hans Neleman on this project. The creativity Hans, Peter Sebastian and their team brought shows in every frame. Much like in paintings, imagery in this video is altered to where it is seen in an entirely different way." (Broadway World 2021)

John Ashton: "When I first got back together with [Richard and Tim Butler] Richard said, 'Do you have any ideas?' and I had us – an idea I'd been knocking around which turned into a song called 'Wrong Train,' which is now on [Made Of Rain]. So it's a 20 year old song on the new album so go figure, I don't know." (Everyone Loves Guitar podcast 2021)

Richard Butler: "['Wrong Train'] was written at the time of a break up which initially inspired it, but it took wings from there. The line, 'a wife that hates me' is kind of a joke. It made me laugh anyway. Still does!" (GoodTimes 2022)