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)