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)