Behind the Songs: Mr. Jones

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

Duncan Kilburn: "[Talk Talk Talk] didn't come easily, but it did come naturally. The first one took two years to write. Talk Talk Talk we wrote in less than three months, with the exception of 'Mr. Jones' and 'So Run Down', both of which had been around for a while." (Hot Press 1981)

Tim Butler: "The only song we ever wrote specifically as a single. The Ian Taylor-produced version was released a few months before we recorded Talk Talk Talk. Re-recorded with Steve Lillywhite, this album version is infinitely better." (Should God Forget liner notes, 1997)

Richard Butler (on how he came up with the song title): "I'm a huge Bob Dylan fan and I'm a huge David Bowie fan, and so it was on the tip of my tongue because Bob Dylan mentions Mr. Jones in 'Ballad Of A Thin Man,' and David Bowie's name is David Jones really.

"But it came to be a peculiar thing, like an everyman, like 'Mr. Smith.' It's just one of those really common names that I took to be an everyman." (Songfacts 2020)

Richard Butler (on the meaning of the chorus): "It's basically saying that advertising and radio and pop songs sell you an idea of what love is and what it should be like, and it's largely idealized and very difficult to realize in the real world. It was a criticism of that really. Movie stars and ads define romance, don't they?" (Songfacts 2020)