Behind the Songs: Forever Now

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

Richard Butler: "It's much harder to write ballads, we're desperate for new ballads. Although the others in the band prefer to play up-tempo pieces, I prefer the ballads to be as empty as possible, and then they don't know what to do with their energy. We have a new ballad, 'Forever Now'. It's about the word 'forever' - always. People say so frequently, 'I'll be with you forever'. So it's a lie. That's what makes me angry when people use words like that." (Sounds 1981 [German magazine])

Richard Butler: "The song 'Forever Now' is quite political also. Talking about people in politics being backed by big money from banks. And then it goes back to two lovers." (Boston Rock 1983)

Richard Butler (on being asked if "Forever Now" and "President Gas" seem to be politically linked): "Yeah, definitely, in fact they should've been a couplet. 'President Gas' is about Ronald Reagan and 'Forever Now' is a dichotomy between the way things around you work and the way two lovers can be. They're both also about organized politics, the fact that big business is running politics and that's such a frightening thing. It looks like you're voting for a face or promises but in the end you're voting for big business." (Rip It Up 1983)

John Ashton: "I worked for ages one day on a middle section for 'Forever Now', this big, bombastic guitar thing that, thankfully, [Todd Rundgren] erased. [Laughs] Although every time I hear the record, I hear the actual solo, so it might not have been a bad thing. It seems a little empty to me just to listen to those bells in the middle. It kind of seems a bit boring when it drops down and you hear these...tubular bells, almost like Mike Oldfield. Ding, dong, ding, dong. It's almost a Christmas-y kind of thing in the middle. It's, like, what the heck's that all about? There should be a guitar solo in there. And there was. [Laughs] But that's another story..." (Popdose 2012)

John Ashton: "[Todd Rundgren] taught us a lot about tightening up our rhythm. He showed us how to push a beat and pull it back. He made us do multiple takes of songs, like 'Forever Now.'" (Popdose 2012)

John Ashton: "If memory serves me well, 'President Gas,' 'Forever Now,' and 'Only You And I' were songs that were around when [Roger Morris and Duncan Kilburn] were around. Only maybe in a very early stage, but they're outstanding songs because the orchestration is so different, the way the songs start and then the next part. The dynamics of the songs are very different than, say, 'Merry Go Round' or 'Danger' or a couple of the others." (Popdose 2012)

John Ashton: "I love that song. There's so much power to it. Y'know, the chorus isn't great, but the intro starts out with that sort of flange-y guitar, and then it's onto more power-chord-y verses... I really like the song a lot. As I said, I did work on it quite extensively in the studio, only to have the guitar solo nixed. But it doesn't really bother me." (Popdose 2012)

Duncan Kilburn (on being asked if the topic of music was included whenever the band would argue): "Not music, importantly. But there was an issue around the production of the third album (Forever Now).

"David Bowie was approached and agreed to an executive production role but could only commit to 10 days of studio time. He was doing The Elephant Man and had minimal time in his schedule. And then there was Todd Rundgren, who was keen to do the album. Vince Ely, the Furs' drummer, was a big fan. Steve Lillywhite also expressed an interest after hearing 'President Gas' and 'Forever Now', which were already in the set.

"The logic shouted at me: 'Go with Bowie at all costs. You'll never get a better chance!' But Richard, and therefore Les [Mills], went with Todd. There was no real discussion about it." (Louder Sound 2024)

Duncan Kilburn (on co-writing some of the songs on Forever Now): "John Ashton and I converted the rear lounge of our tour bus into a studio with a Sony 4-track, drum machine, keyboards, and a practice amp, and we started writing Forever Now on the road. We'd bring tracks to the front of the bus to play to Richard and the rest of the band and during soundchecks to rehearse them up. We'd done 'President Gas' and 'Forever Now' this way, and the system was working, although I never got credit for the songs already written for Forever Now." (Louder Sound 2024)