Behind the Songs: President Gas

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

Richard Butler (on Forever Now): "The lyrics tend to be a bit more cohesive and less wildly surrealistic and the last album [Talk Talk Talk] was basically songs about love whereas this one isn't, this one's about... personal freedom?

"I mean, 'Love My Way' is a song about sexual freedom and a political song like 'President Gas'... I suppose if you're hitting out and saying 'Don't believe in anything', then you're hitting out for personal freedom." (Melody Maker 1982)

Richard Butler: "We've got this song called 'President Gas,' an anti-political song, and that would seem to fit in [certain backdrops for the Forever Now tour]." (Record Mirror 1982)

Richard Butler (on if the use of the cello on Forever Now was inspired by the psychedelic period of The Beatles): "It was a definite influence, though I don't think we used it like The Beatles, except for 'Sleep Comes Down' which is a lot like the end of 'A Day In The Life.' But that was just a lick that seemed perfect for the song, so I thought, 'Why not?' We ripped off Stravinsky's 'Rites Of Spring' for 'President Gas' as well." (Creem 1983)

Richard Butler (on being asked if "President Gas" and "Forever Now" 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)

Richard Butler: "I think it's nice to take an audience through a kind of variety of feelings, you know? Like, you might sing 'Love My Way' which is the kind of tender song, and you might sing 'President Gas' which is a really angry one. And you want the audience to feel like – say, in 'Sister Europe' you want them to feel that kind of sad, sort of melancholy, and then in 'India' you want them to feel angry, you know? It's like you want them to... you want to take them through a whole spectrum of feelings." (La Edad de Oro (Spanish TV) 1984)

Richard Butler: "When we wrote 'President Gas' it was in an election year in England. And I think it's pretty fitting that it should open an album [All Of This And Nothing] in an election year in America." (Interchords 1988)

Richard Butler: "It's one of my favorite songs. Although The Furs aren't considered to be a political band, this is a very political statement. It's a sneer at politicians and the way they get around people and inspired by going to America. We arrived at the time of the first Reagan election campaign.

"I took ages laboring over the words. All those puns, which now seem a bit trying. The punning gives you a bit of a distance. I love the cello in the middle break. That was an inspired idea.

"We did it live on The Whistle Test which I think was the first time we'd been on TV. I was too drunk to be scared or bothered about it at the time. I've seen it since and all I can remember is coolly walking up to the mike stand, and the mike dropping down as soon as I touched it. Not the most promising start." (Melody Maker 1988)

Richard Butler: "I think it's a good song to start with [on All Of This And Nothing] especially in America, it's like an election year. When we actually wrote this song it was an election year." (MTV Europe 1988)

Richard Butler: "I think it's probably my favorite of the songs we did with Todd Rundgren, who did that Forever Now album." (MTV Europe 1988)

Tim Butler (on being asked what his favorite PFurs song is): "Personally, mine is 'President Gas' because of the lyrics and the structure. And the use of the strings, you know, the cello." (Modern Rock Live 1992)

John Ashton: "We had been working on this for quite some time. It was written when Dog [Roger Morris] and Duncan [Kilburn] were still in the band. We were playing it on a disastrous European tour. Dog and Duncan were none too happy at this time and were unceremoniously kicked out when we returned. Something we will always regret. Lack of judgement, I guess. Anyway, we had all been working too hard for too long at this point.

"Recording this song, however, was a breeze! We couldn't figure out which vocal track sounded the best out of the five that had been recorded to tape so we used 'em all!

"Gary Windo played sax. Ann Sheldon played cello. Flo and Eddie sang backups. Incidentally, Richard, Tim and myself had been out the night before (on the town, as it were). I woke up the next day without the faintest idea how I got home. Apparently I tried to drive us all back. Luckily Gary had been observing from a safe distance and intervened. A severe snow storm had taken effect that night (three feet +) Had he not, I'm sure we'd all have been history. A severe lecture from Todd followed!

"Ann was killed in an automobile accident almost two years later. Gary died from an asthma attack on July 25th, 1992. I miss you guys." (Should God Forget liner notes, 1997)

Richard Butler: "[Steve Lillywhite] heard us in Berlin doing 'President Gas' [during the Talk Talk Talk tour], and he said, 'That song, I just want to produce that song,' but we'd already decided to go with Todd." (iJamming! 2001)

Richard Butler: "I had been listening to Stravinsky, 'The Rite Of Spring', and I wanted to do something that had that same sort of chugging cello, so 'President Gas' was the song we decided to put that on. And the middle break just came kind of naturally. And that pretty much sounded like that when we took it over to Todd." (iJamming! 2001)

John Ashton (on being asked about his personal favorite PFurs songs and which song he enjoys playing live): "'Dumb Waiters' for its sheer full on attack. 'All Of This And Nothing', 'India', 'Pretty In Pink', 'President Gas', 'Heaven', and 'Highwire Days', for pretty much the same reason." (Modern Guitars Magazine 2005)

John Ashton: "The amount of times that we did 'President Gas' is mind-numbing, to finally get that middle section after the solo, where it kind of breaks down, you hear the drum roll, and it goes back into the song. There were train wrecks left, right, and center on that one. Vocally, I think [Todd Rundgren] made Richard sing over and over again, to the point where I think he ended up using all five of the keeper takes on 'President Gas' as Richard's main vocal." (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 think Steve Lillywhite at the time had come along to one of our shows, and Richard, Duncan, and he were discussing 'President Gas' in its early form. We were writing that song at around that time, before we came to America. This was all still on the latter part of the Talk Talk Talk tour. I remember Duncan and Richard discussing that song and the dynamics of it, the way it should come in. That's something that you… I don't think that's something you could've come to by jamming. It was something that was thought out. And I remember that as always thinking, like, Duncan was a part of that song. At least to me. Now, he never got credited for it, obviously, because he never played on it. But I remember to this day that they were discussing it — ostensibly him, Richard, and Steve Lillywhite — and what a great idea it would be, cause nobody had ever done anything like that. That's kind of what we were always about: 'Nobody's ever done that, so why not us?.'" (Popdose 2012)

John Ashton: "The song itself I think is great. Because of the way it's put together, I don't think anything's ever been done quite like that, rhythmically. A lot of fun to play, always. The guitar solo is fun to play and to work out in the studio with Todd. That's where I learned about backwards reverb and delay. I remember Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan [Flo and Eddie] just joking the lyrics and substituting other ones for it while they were doing the backing vocals, and Todd having to stop them and tell them to stop mucking about 'cause time was of the essence." (Popdose 2012)

Tim Butler (on his three favorite songs "President Gas", "Heaven", and "Only You And I"): "They are constructed the best and all the parts of the instrumentation is perfect for those songs. They're some of the best-realized songs in our catalogue." (Songfacts 2013)

Tim Butler: "We played a show in Ireland a couple of years ago and [Joe Elliott of Def Leppard] came to see us. After the show, he told us he was a fan and that his favorite track is 'President Gas.'" (Chicago Concert Reviews 2020)

Tim Butler: "When we played Dublin a few tours ago, Joe Elliott from Def Leppard came backstage and said he's a big fan and his favorite song is 'President Gas'. I told him next time we're in Dublin, he should get up onstage and sing it with us." (NME 2020)

Richard Butler: "[Steve Lillywhite] came to a show in Germany [in 1981] and we played 'President Gas,' which we'd then only demoed, and he said, 'I've got to produce that! I love that song! I've got to do the next album as well!' But by then two members had left and we'd got cellos on the demo, and I wanted that thump-thump-thump chugging that Stravinsky had on The Rite Of Spring. Vince [Ely], our drummer, was a big Rundgren fan, and said, 'Todd would be perfect for this, with the strings and stuff.' So that was the choice." (Record Collector 2020)

Tim Butler (on the songs he likes to play live): "I have favorites for sure. I love playing 'Only You And I' off of Forever Now, which we play sometimes but I'd love to play more because it's one of my favorites off that. And 'President Gas' off that album as well." (Rock & Roll Globe 2020)

Tim Butler: "The thing is about that song… every year when these elections come around, it's always very apt lyrically. And it really doesn't matter which politician is going to be elected!

"It doesn't matter if they're Democrat or Republican, they're pretty much going to be lumped in the same basket when it comes down to it." (Rock & Roll Globe 2020)

Richard Butler: "Songs like 'President Gas' still seem to ring true a lot, so that song certainly seems more relevant. But the whole world was different back then, and I think 'President Gas' was the only time I've been that scathing in my narrative." (Spin 2020)

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)