Farewell 2022

Looking back on 2022, it was a great touring year for The Psychedelic Furs. In April they finally performed at the Royal Albert Hall after two years of waiting, in May they did the Cruel World festival, and in the Fall they went to Australia for the first time since 2006. I can't wait to see what The Furs will do for their 2023 tour, and I hope I will have the chance to see them again. Last Summer they went to two towns in Oregon (Forest Grove and Jacksonville) but sadly I wasn't able to go to either of them.

While The Psychedelic Furs went to the UK and Australia I was surprised they didn't get interviewed from the press and I thought they would. My blog page The Furs Talk About Their Music is still an ongoing project and I want to find more quotes to add about the albums and songs. I was hoping there would be interviews from those countries but I guess not.

Some of you probably don't know this but last Spring I made another blog and it's about Green Day and their album American Idiot. Green Day's one of my favorite bands and feel free to check it out if there are any of you who like Green Day. On the blog I am planning on writing out two posts of my top albums and songs but I don't know when I will do them. Here's the link to the Green Day blog: https://americanidiotworld.blogspot.com/

The two things that I want to happen in 2023 is me seeing The Psychedelic Furs again (like I mentioned earlier), and if there will be any news about their next album. I'm looking forward to its arrival (whenever that will be) and I'm hoping we will hear anything about it.

In conclusion, thank you for reading, and happy new year!

My Top Nine 2022

The time has come once again when you post your nine most liked photos of the year on your Instagram. Here are mine for 2022 and like last year they're all Psychedelic Furs photos. The two pictures on the upper middle and right are of Richard Butler with David Bowie.

B-Side 1991

The Psychedelic Furs were the cover stars on the October/November 1991 issue of US magazine B-Side.

Sounds 1981

The Psychedelic Furs appeared on the cover for the December 12, 1981 issue of Sounds Magazine in Germany.

Concert Ads #35

Another advert for The Psychedelic Furs' UK gig for the World Outside tour appeared in the September 21, 1991 issue of Melody Maker. The ad mentions the World Outside album and the second single that came out at the time "Don't Be A Girl."

Via @nothingelseon on Twitter.

Concert Ads #34

On October 10, 1980 The Psychedelic Furs performed at Duffy's in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Phones were the support group.

Concert Ads #33

A selection of these UK dates for The Psychedelic Furs' World Outside tour appeared in the August 24, 1991 issue of Melody Maker. Tickets for the shows were £7.00, £7.50, and £9.00. The support act was Levitation.

Via @nothingelseon on Twitter.

Top 10 Album Covers

Back in 2019 I published a top 10 ranking of my favorite Psychedelic Furs album covers and recently I thought of redoing this list again. On the first one I did, I ranked the first seven albums, the US covers for The Psychedelic Furs and Forever Now, and the compilation All Of This And Nothing. Now that Made Of Rain is here, it will replace All Of This And Nothing but the two US album covers will still be on the updated list.

Here are my top 10 favorite covers of The Psychedelic Furs' albums!

10. USA artwork for Forever Now

I like this one with the pictures of the band members but to me it's not as memorable as the other album covers. Long story short, Columbia (The Furs' US label) used this artwork for the North American release of Forever Now because they didn't like the original. They designed it without The Psychedelic Furs' permission, and when the band first saw the finished product they hated the look of it. The cover art looks like it's trying to imitate the one for Talk Talk Talk. Fun fact: the US artwork was actually used for Forever Now's release over in Spain.

9. Book Of Days

This artwork represents the return of The Psychedelic Furs, and when I say return, I mean back to how they used to be. They went back to their original roots after Midnight To Midnight, and stopped wearing the black clothes and leather jackets. Also the music on Book Of Days is more heavier and darker than the lighthearted, synthesized pop rock of its predecessor.

8. World Outside

World Outside is the first Psychedelic Furs album that doesn't feature the band members on the cover. The artwork is surrounded by nature, and with the look of it I like to imagine that it's a hot late Summer day, with a hint of a cool breeze blowing through.

7. Made Of Rain

The cover art for Made Of Rain perfectly captures the feel of the songs from the album and to me it looks like a mix of classical and modern art. The artwork was designed by Kevin Grady, a friend of vocalist Richard Butler. According to Richard, he saw the image of that statue on Kevin's Facebook page and really liked it. Richard then contacted Kevin and asked for his permission to use that photo for Made Of Rain's album cover.

6. USA artwork for The Psychedelic Furs

Forever Now wasn't the only album that got its artwork changed. It happened with the first LP and of course, it was designed by Columbia. This cover art is less offensive than the one for Forever Now though, and it managed to keep that Psychedelic Furs feel. The black and green colors go good together with the picture of the band.

5. The Psychedelic Furs (original artwork)

The original artwork for the debut also came in orange and green colors but the "pretty in pink" one is my favorite. I love the mysterious, shadowy look of the album cover and it gives off a beautifully chaotic vibe (see what I did there?).

4. Talk Talk Talk

The album cover for Talk Talk Talk was inspired by the art of Andy Warhol and it is such a classic cover. One of the best of all time. I really like the photo of Richard Butler on it. That's a great photo of him.

3. Forever Now (original artwork)

The original cover art for Forever Now, designed by Barney Bubbles, is just fantastic and I don't understand why Columbia rejected it. I love the green and pink colors, the album and band names written in stars, and the photo that was taken by Graeme Attwood during the video shoot for "Love My Way."

2. Midnight To Midnight

I absolutely adore this album cover for Midnight To Midnight. I know Richard Butler, former guitarist John Ashton, and bassist Tim Butler didn't like wearing those type of punk rock looking outfits and having their hair all gelled up, but I think they looked really great and I have a weak spot for those type of clothes. The Midnight era is my favorite Psychedelic Furs era.

And now, here's my number one favorite album cover...

1. Mirror Moves

The Mirror Moves album cover is just iconic. The photo of Richard Butler (taken by Brian Griffin), the stars, and the purple checkered background are the reasons why this takes the number one spot. And it has that glorious '80s look of it, too. The cover art was a tribute to the work of Barney Bubbles, who unfortunately passed away in 1983.

Whenever The Psychedelic Furs release their next album, I'm looking forward to see what the album title will be and what the cover art will look like. If I have to update this list again in the future, it will be a top 11 ranking. Hope you enjoyed this post and as always, thank you for reading!

Behind the Songs: Sometimes

A couple quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Sometimes."

Tim Butler: "I think on the last two albums [Book Of Days and World Outside], the whole idea about me, Richard [Butler] and John [Ashton] being the dictators over what people were playing has changed. We sort of eased off the iron grip we had for a few years. A good example is that one of the songs on [World Outside], 'Sometimes', was pretty much written by Joe McGinty." (Austin American Statesman 1991)

Richard Butler: "We haven't finished rehearsing yet [for the 2002 tour]. So far, we've been rehearsing about twelve songs. I think we're going to be more 'moody' this time around. We're playing songs like 'Imitation Of Christ'… obviously, we've rehearsed 'The Ghost In You,' because we need to throw some old ones in there… 'Sometimes,' off of World Outside." (Ink 19 2002)

Danger Ad

Here's an advert for The Psychedelic Furs' "Danger" single. According to the ad the single version of the song is a special remix.

Pretty In Pink Lyrics

I don't know where this is from (maybe some magazine) but here's the lyrics for "Pretty In Pink." Words and music by The Psychedelic Furs.

Until She Comes Ad

An ad for The Psychedelic Furs' "Until She Comes", the first single from World Outside, appeared in the June 15, 1991 issue of Melody Maker.

Via @nothingelseon on Twitter.

Concert Ads #32

On September 1–11, 2017, The Psychedelic Furs performed in the UK during The Singles Tour. The opening act for the UK dates was the Lene Lovich Band.

40 Years of Forever Now

Sometime after when Talk Talk Talk came out The Psychedelic Furs went through an unexpected change. Suddenly tensions were rising and arguments were happening constantly between the original six members. Two of the members from that lineup, Roger Morris (guitar) and Duncan Kilburn (saxophone), left the band, leaving behind Richard Butler (vocals), John Ashton (guitar), Tim Butler (bass), and Vince Ely (drums).

Despite what happened with the band, there was something good that came out of it. With only four members left in The Furs, it gave them the freedom to explore musically further and because of that, they created one of the most greatest and influential albums of all time... the one and only Forever Now.

Before Roger and Duncan left, The Psychedelic Furs had written three songs which made it on Forever Now: The title track, "President Gas", and "Only You And I." The first two songs were performed at one of The Furs' concerts in Germany in late 1981 and Steve Lillywhite, producer of the first two albums, was there. When Steve heard "President Gas" he loved the song so much that he wanted to produce the third album, but The Furs politely declined the offer; mainly because they wanted to try out a different producer. Another person who wanted to produce the upcoming Forever Now was David Bowie, but the band didn't use him because critics at the time were making a lot of comparisons between their music and Bowie's.

Before The Psychedelic Furs went over to New York to record Forever Now they did some demos in London. The songs were more melodic and there were instruments such as the cello and marimba. The Furs wanted a producer who would be good at dealing with that kind of music, and so at last they picked Todd Rundgren. The band liked some of the stuff he had done, and also Tim Butler and Vince Ely were huge fans of Todd's.

I know Todd Rundgren had worked with the New York Dolls and other bands, but when I see his name I always think of his work on Forever Now. Todd did an amazing job producing the album and even brought his own creative ideas, too. He wanted the songs to sound a certain way, gave directions to The Furs on how to play, would sneak into the studio to play guitar parts when the band wasn't there, played instruments like the marimba and saxophone, and brought in Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (Flo and Eddie) to do backing vocals on some of the songs. The Psychedelic Furs opposed the idea of using backing vocalists at first, but when they tried it out they liked it. There were other great musicians who contributed on Forever Now, such as Gary Windo who, along with Todd Rundgren, did the horns on "Goodbye" and "Danger", and Ann Sheldon who played the cello on "Only You And I", "Sleep Comes Down", "President Gas", and "Yes I Do (Merry Go Round)".

Forever Now is famous for having one of the most beloved Psychedelic Furs songs ever, "Love My Way," (Two months ago I had already written about the song for its 40th anniversary) but it has other great tracks too. "Forever Now" which has an incredible guitar outro from John Ashton; the energetic melodies of "Danger" and "Goodbye"; the carnival-esque "Yes I Do (Merry Go Round)"; and the mysterious, brooding sound of "No Easy Street". My favorite version of "No Easy Street" is the live rendition that appeared as a b-side on the "All That Money Wants" single in 1988. It's also featured on the 1994 compilation B-Sides And Lost Grooves and the 2002 remaster of Forever Now.

There's a couple songs on Forever Now that are more of the rock and roll type, and they are "Only You And I" (called "You And I" on the UK version) and "President Gas." The working title for "Only You And I" was "Angels" and what's interesting is the song was titled with that name on a four-track 12" promo, and then again on The Furs' televised concert on the Spanish TV program La Edad de Oro in 1984. "President Gas" is a fan favorite and according to Richard Butler, the cello in the song was inspired by Stravinsky's "The Rite Of Spring."

My top three favorite songs on Forever Now are "Run And Run", the already mentioned "Love My Way", and "Sleep Comes Down". "Run And Run" used to be my favorite Psychedelic Furs song but now it's my second favorite. It has a fun, exciting sound and I absolutely love the choruses (mainly due to Flo and Eddie's backing vocals!). "Sleep Comes Down" has a dreamy, psychedelic feel to it and the cello works beautifully on the song. But in my opinion, "Sleep Comes Down" is even more powerful when played live.

I want to give a shout out to the two b-sides that were recorded during the Forever Now sessions and it makes me wish they made it on the album. The first, "Aeroplane", is a light, catchy song but the lyrics are about a dark topic: bombs dropping from the sky. The dance version of "Aeroplane" is really good and I love the sound of Tim Butler's bass on that mix. The second b-side, "I Don't Want To Be Your Shadow", is one of my favorite Psychedelic Furs songs. I love the ending with the la la las and the music is just fantastic.

Richard Butler once described Talk Talk Talk as a goodbye to England and Forever Now a hello to America, and he was definitely right. Over in The Psychedelic Furs' native UK they didn't really get a lot of success and attention, while over in the United States it gave them the love they deserved. When the band toured for The Psychedelic Furs and Talk Talk Talk they were positively received in the US, but Forever Now was the album that changed everything for The Furs. In America the album was getting a lot of recognition due to the popularity of "Love My Way," and The Psychedelic Furs were amazed by it all. They played to thousands of people all over the country, made appearances at record stores signing autographs, and inspired Richard and Tim Butler to move to New York. In 1991, nine years after Forever Now's release, the album sold over 500,000 copies and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Throughout the years Tim Butler had said many times in interviews that Forever Now's his favorite Psychedelic Furs album, while Talk Talk Talk is the favorite for the rest of the band. Here's a quote from Tim explaining why Forever Now's his favorite:

"Forever Now is my favorite album out of all of them. I think it was the peak of our psychedelicness. Some of our biggest influences were psychedelic and, finally, on that album we got psychedelic. I just thought the use of the cellos, and the horn section on some parts, was so great. And I enjoyed working with Todd [Rundgren]. I'd been a Todd fan before that, and he's a real character. It's just fun memories, as well as the music. It's just fond memories of that entire time."

On some article that I read one time it talked about Forever Now and the writer of that post said the album was dated. With this I totally disagree. Forever Now is timeless and it sounds like it could be an album from today. The record is a true original, a masterpiece, and there will never be another album like it. Happy 40th anniversary!

"Let it stay forever now..."

Photo: Antione Giacomoni

Spin's 50 Best Albums of 1982

Today Spin released an article of their top 50 albums of 1982 and I was kind of worried that Forever Now would be forgotten. To my relief they put the album in 46th place and I was happy Spin put it on the list. Here's what they wrote about Forever Now:

"There's an alternate timeline in which The Psychedelic Furs' third album was produced by David Bowie, an ardent supporter of the British new wave group, whom Columbia Records had in mind as their first choice. But when Bowie couldn't commit to producing Forever Now, Furs drummer Vince Ely suggested Todd Rundgren. The pairing brought the group further out of their comfort zone while Rundgren introduced new instruments to their sound, like cello on 'Sleep Comes Down' and marimba on hit single 'Love My Way.' (Rundgren also apparently would set off firecrackers when the band least expected it, among other unorthodox methods.) The final product stands as the group's brightest and most urgent set of pop anthems. The thought of a Bowie version is still an intriguing 'what if,' but there's really no arguing with any record that includes 'Love My Way.'"

I Follow Where My Mind Goes: 40 Years of Love My Way

A long time ago, in the Summer of 2007, I heard one of The Psychedelic Furs' brilliant songs, "Love My Way," for the very first time. While going for a drive my mom had bought a copy of The Furs' 2001 greatest hits compilation and we listened to the CD in the car. Right when "Love My Way" came on I was completely blown away. The song was unlike anything I had ever heard before and I thought the music was so awesome, I wanted to keep listening to it more and more. Looking back, it's hard to believe that "Love My Way" was 25 years old in 2007 and now, in 2022, it is 40 years old...

I was originally going to post this tomorrow on the 2nd, which was the release date in 1982, but I decided to post it a day early. On this tribute to "Love My Way" I would like to talk about the three main important things that makes this song stand out for me.

1. The Music

The music in "Love My Way" is just breathtaking and is one of the most greatest in music history. The marimba is probably the most famous part of the song and was played by producer Todd Rundgren; although the melody for the marimba was written by Ed Buller, a friend of the band, who composed it on a keyboard. The keyboards in "Love My Way" are fantastic as well, and they have that futuristic '80s sound which I love. During the early stages of "Love My Way" vocalist Richard Butler had been listening to David Bowie's 1980 album Scary Monsters, and "Love My Way" sounds sort of similar to the music on "Ashes To Ashes." It's funny because there were actually some people who thought Bowie sang "Love My Way!"

2. The Vocals

Richard Butler has one of the most recognizable voices in music and he is such a wonderful vocalist. His voice is a delectable blend of silk and velvet and the way he sings in "Love My Way" is just perfect. But that wasn't how Richard sang in the demo, because on the demo Richard was aggressive and shouted out the lyrics. When Todd Rundgren listened to the demo he thought the music was beautiful but felt that the way Richard was singing was ruining the song, and so he instructed Richard to keep it more low-key. The same thing happened before with "Sister Europe", a song from The Psychedelic Furs' 1980 debut. Richard Butler used to sing the song very harshly and producer Steve Lillywhite told Richard to sing it like if he was talking on the phone at three o'clock in the morning. I wonder what the "Love My Way" demo sounds like and I hope it will appear out of the blue someday.

3. The Backing Vocalists

One of the things that makes "Love My Way" and the album Forever Now great are the backing vocalists, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (of Flo and Eddie, The Turtles, etc.). And what's interesting is "Love My Way" originally didn't have backing vocals! After when the recording of Forever Now was finished Todd Rundgren made Mark and Howard listen to "Love My Way" because it was chosen as the first single. After listening Mark and Howard loved the song so much that they begged Todd to let them do backing vocals on it. The result was excellent and they even gave it their all at the end of the song. If I listened to the version of "Love My Way" without the BVs it wouldn't be as iconic as the official version, and the choruses and outro would sound empty without Flo and Eddie; they gave life to that song.

Photo: Marcia Resnick

When "Love My Way" first came out it charted at #42 in the UK Singles Chart, which was pretty good, but it deserved to be higher. Over in the United States it peaked at #44, although in my opinion it was more successful in the US than in Britain. The music video for "Love My Way" was heavily played on MTV, and because of that it gave The Psychedelic Furs their first taste of popularity in America. During a 2020 radio interview Richard Butler talked about the song's impact when they were at Seattle, Washington during the US Forever Now tour:

"The song 'Love My Way' became a hit in Seattle. It was kind of a West Coast hit, it never really caught on that well over on the East Coast. But in Seattle we did an in-store, and when we left the in-store we had a problem getting to the car that we were all driving in. And there were people pounding on the top of the car, and then when we got going – we were staying at the Edgewater Inn, I think. And we had to run traffic lights to get back to there without being tailed back by these people. It felt like as close as the Psychedelic Furs ever got to anything like Beatlemania and it was a very strange thing."

Throughout the years "Love My Way" appeared in movies and video games, and has been covered by many bands. In 2017 it famously got a lot of attention when it was featured in the film Call Me By Your Name, which gave the song its biggest streaming week ever. It was even one of David Bowie's favorite songs and in 1983 he put "Love My Way" as his third favorite single in a magazine poll.

"Love My Way" is a gorgeous masterpiece and is dear to the hearts of many fans. It really amazes me that the song sounds timeless after all these years, and it doesn't feel dated at all. I remember when I started becoming a new fan of The Psychedelic Furs eight years ago "Love My Way" used to be my favorite PFurs song. Nowadays it's my seventh favorite, but I still love that song a lot. 

Happy 40th anniversary to "Love My Way", one of the most greatest songs ever!

"Swallow all your tears, my love

And put on your new face

You can never win or lose

If you don't run the race"

"Pop's Outsider"

For the September 27, 1986 issue of British magazine Record Mirror Richard Butler appeared on the front cover.

East Coast Rocker 1990

This picture is sort of in low quality but Richard Butler appeared on the front cover of the January 17, 1990 issue of East Coast Rocker (now called The Aquarian Weekly).

Green Day Inspired by President Gas?

I had been wanting to talk about this but recently I was listening to Green Day's song "Holiday" from the American Idiot album, and in the lyrics it mentioned a "President Gasman." It totally made me think of The Psychedelic Furs' "President Gas", and I don't know if I'm right or wrong with this, but I wonder if "Holiday" was inspired by The Furs song? I mean, Green Day has got to be influenced by The Psychedelic Furs in some way, especially since they covered "Pretty In Pink" four years ago when they performed as their other band The Coverups.

I wish I can ask Green Day that question on their Twitter or Instagram but unfortunately I have a feeling they wouldn't respond to it. The thought is very interesting to me and if there are any of you who love both The Psychedelic Furs and Green Day, do you think the same thing too?

Edit: A long time ago on YouTube I watched a Psychedelic Furs video (I can't remember if it was a interview or a live performance) and in the comments for that particular video someone said that Green Day and the song "Holiday" were influenced by "President Gas". Maybe it's true?

Happy Birthday Rich Good

Photo: Reed Davis

Today I would like to wish a happy birthday to Rich Good, guitarist of The Psychedelic Furs. In the early 2000s Rich used to be in a band called The Pleased and in 2004 they opened for The Psychedelic Furs. Years later after when John Ashton left The Furs, Rich officially joined the band and has been their guitarist for 13 years.

In 2020 The Psychedelic Furs released their eighth album Made Of Rain and Rich wrote the music for the songs "The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll", "This'll Never Be Like Love", "Come All Ye Faithful", "No-One", and co-wrote "Don't Believe" along with Tim Butler and Paul Garisto. His guitar work on the album is absolutely amazing, especially on the songs "Ash Wednesday" and "No-One". "No-One" is my favorite Psychedelic Furs song of all time and Rich Good definitely deserves all the praise for writing the music on the song. The music is incredibly beautiful and fills you with emotion. And his work on the song "Evergreen" is fantastic too, creating an atmospheric beauty and nature that perfectly captures the lyrics of the song.

Rich Good is awesome as a guitarist and also as a human being. He has a heart of gold and is always kind to the fans whenever they meet him. Luckily I was one of them and I had the pleasure of meeting Rich twice in 2016 and 2017. I really wish I had the chance to meet Rich again when I last saw The Psychedelic Furs in 2019 but during the concert he actually recognized me, and I was so excited. He's one of the most nicest people I've ever met and I'll never forget his kindness to me.

Happy birthday Rich and hope you have a wonderful day!

Photo: Pam Baisi

Tim Butler's Lineup Ranking

I thought this was interesting but here's how Tim Butler ranked The Psychedelic Furs lineups from an interview with the Chicago Tribune back in 2014.

1. The current version*: "The best that has ever toured."

Left to right: Paul Garisto, Rich Good, Mars Williams, Richard Butler, Tim Butler, Amanda Kramer. Photo by Reed Davis.

2. The first version: "Usually we were not sober, to be honest."

Left to right: Duncan Kilburn, Vince Ely, Richard Butler, John Ashton, Roger Morris, Tim Butler. Photo by Tom Sheehan.

3. The version that toured in support of the band's smash Midnight To Midnight album: "Very polished."

Left to right: Mars Williams, John Ashton, Paul Garisto, Tim Butler, Richard Butler. Photo by Henry Diltz.

Marty Williamson: Backup guitarist for the Midnight tour.

Roger O'Donnell: Keyboardist for the Midnight tour.

4. The rest of the '80s versions: "Very keyboard-y, a very big sort of stadium sound." (This one is pretty much a tie)

*Nowadays the lineup is still mostly the same but this time Zachary Alford is on the drums. He's very good and I would love to see him play with the band live someday.

Left to right: Tim Butler, Mars Williams, Zachary Alford, Richard Butler, Rich Good, Amanda Kramer. Photo by Matthew Reeves.

Shrink Rap: Richard Butler

Photo: Tom Sheehan

Richard Butler was featured in the Shrink Rap section on the February 10, 1990 issue of British magazine Melody Maker.

How do you feel?

Fine so far...

Where did you go last night?

Played a gig in Nottingham.

What will you do today?

If I knew that already I wouldn't get out of bed.

Who are your favorite singers/musicians?

Martin Rev, Arthur Lee, Hank Williams.

If you could be someone else (alive or dead), who would you be?

Pablo Picasso for a day.

Who would you most like to kill if you could?

I never really think that.

What annoys you the most?

Stupidity, waste, pride, arrogance, hatred, fear, shame, need...

What do you consider your greatest strength?

As a musician, that I can't sing and that I like words.

What is your favorite record?

Love, "Forever Changes".

What was the last act you saw live?

Bob Mould at The Ritz.

What was the best moment in your life?

June 6, 1971.

What was the worst moment in your life?

July 18, 1987.

What is your greatest regret?

All your actions are final.

What's your favorite article of clothing?

Georgia Workboots.

Who would you most like to meet?

Jesus Christ.

What book are you reading at the moment?

"Jackson Pollock" by Steven Naifeh and G. White Smith.

What was the last film you saw?

"Roger And Me".

What do you never miss on TV?

Repeats of "The Living World" on cable.

What did you last receive in the post?

Postcard from London con Edison Bill.

What's your favorite word?

Anodyne.

What would you say to an alien?

Sorry you caught us at an awkward time, could you come back earlier?

What's your favorite tipple?

Saratoga.

What would you like your epitaph to be?

All of this and I regret not a day that I was sent.

Behind the Songs: Torch

A few quotes from Richard Butler on the song "Torch."

Richard Butler: "Originally ('Torch') was just a regular electric song. We'd put acoustic guitar on a lot of tracks [from Book Of Days] and when it came down to mixing 'Torch' we brought up the acoustics and drums and cello first. We hadn't brought up the electrics yet and I thought, 'Well that sounds pretty good — now let's try it without the drums.' We tried it without the drums and I liked it much better." (Southtown Star 1989)

Richard Butler (on being asked what he would like his epitaph to be): "'All of this and I regret not a day that I was sent.'" (Melody Maker 1990)

Richard Butler: "We've never sung a song that was just a ballad, with acoustic guitars and cello before and I liked... the change, or just the minimalism of the arrangement." (The Tampa Tribune 1990)

Concert Ads #31

During the Book Of Days tour The Psychedelic Furs performed these UK dates from January 30 to February 6, 1990. The support act for those shows was The Fat Lady Sings.

Via @nothingelseon (Twitter)

Concert Ads #30

On April 21, 1983, The Psychedelic Furs performed at the E.M. Loew's Theater in Worcester, Massachusetts during the Forever Now tour. Support act was Divinyls.

Psychedelic Furs July 22, 2017

After feeling the excitement from the second concert in 2016 I hoped The Psychedelic Furs would return to the Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon someday. The venue was awesome and I really wanted to go back there; and luckily it happened. When The Furs came out with the dates for the Summer 2017 tour I discovered the Revolution Hall was added again and I was delighted. But there was something I wanted to do, and that was to give The Psychedelic Furs a letter.

In June (a month before the concert) I bought a notebook to write my letter in, but before I wrote on the notebook I used the Notes app on my mobile device. I didn't want to write on the notebook first because I would probably waste a lot of paper, so using the app was very useful. I can't remember how many weeks it took me to write out my letter, but I finished it on the Notes app. Then in July on the day before the concert I officially wrote it on the notebook and tore the paper out. I was excited.

I took this picture right before I started my letter; July 21, 2017.

The big day finally came, and my original plan was to be in the front row again and try to give my letter to vocalist Richard Butler or throw it on stage during the show. But unfortunately my plan got backfired, because my brother (who went with me again) had a blister under his foot and he said he didn't want to stand for a long time and so wanted to sit in the balcony. I told him that was fine, but deep down I was really disappointed. At first I thought of not bringing my letter, but at the last minute I decided to take it with me, thinking "Well, just in case..." I prayed that there would be a way for me to give The Furs my letter. I wanted it to happen so much.

My brother and I got into the Revolution Hall and we went up to the third floor (where the balcony was) to stand in line. As I mentioned before, the venue used to be a high school many decades ago and seeing the old lockers by me was cool. While in line a middle-aged couple who were standing behind me noticed the 2016 tour t-shirt I was wearing and we started talking about The Furs. I actually enjoyed it, and it was fun talking to them about my favorite band. After that the doors opened and we went inside. The balcony was curved and so my brother and I sat on the left side of it.

There was a backstage door facing my direction which was open, and while opener Robyn Hitchcock was singing a lady appeared in the doorway to watch him and then left. I realized she was the keyboardist Amanda Kramer, and a little after she went away guitarist Rich Good came and watched Robyn, too. I looked at Rich and I thought about the time I met him the year before. Through the doorway I also saw Richard Butler, his brother and bassist Tim, and saxophonist Mars Williams.

Right after Robyn Hitchcock's performance somebody from the bottom floor threw something on stage. Seeing that suddenly gave me a great idea. I took the letter out of my pocket, got up from my seat, and threw it so that it would land on the stage. But as I threw my letter I saw it floating down to the floor below instead of the stage, and I sat back down with my hopes crushed. My brother wondered what I threw and I told him it was a letter for The Psychedelic Furs. I was devastated inside and I felt like I did it all for nothing. I thought of how the audience under me would probably find my letter, pick it up and read it, and I got a sick feeling in my stomach thinking about that. I really didn't want them to, because my letter was supposed to be personal and private.

Once again The Psychedelic Furs put out an amazing show and the songs I got excited hearing were "Dumb Waiters," "So Run Down," "No Tears," "Alice's House," "All That Money Wants," and "House," which I wasn't familiar with when The Furs played it at the 2016 concert because I didn't have Book Of Days at the time. They also performed another song I didn't recognize back then, and it was a cover of "Believe" by Richard Butler's other band Love Spit Love.

When the concert was over my brother bought me a t-shirt and we went out of the building. I had a good time but I was sort of still disappointed with the whole affair of the letter. But when I watched The Furs perform I never knew that something special would happen after the show, and it gave that night a happy ending for me.

My brother and I were about to cross the street but we couldn't because there were too many cars passing through. So we went around the Revolution Hall, and as we were walking my brother looked over his shoulder and suddenly whispered to me, "Sarah, behind you!" I looked back and I saw Rich Good walking out of the door of the venue. He had a drink in his hand and was heading the opposite direction. I yelled out hi to Rich and he turned around, looked at me, and said happily, "Hey, how are you doing Sarah?!" When Rich said my name I got so excited. I was blown away that he remembered me, and even my brother was too! Rich came over and hugged me, then pulled something out of the pocket of his jacket and said, "I got your letter!"

He was holding my letter... My letter... 

I was absolutely stunned. I thought it disappeared. How did Rich find it? I was like, "What?"

Then Rich said, "Yeah, I found it by my key pedals and it was really lovely and it made me tear up."

After Rich said that I was in a shock and tried to process what I heard. Then realizing my letter actually made it to The Furs I broke down crying tears of joy and relief, and as I cried Rich hugged and comforted me. I knew there were people around us who could hear me sobbing my heart out, but I didn't care... I was the happiest girl in the world that night, and I was so thankful my prayers were answered.

Rich talked to my brother and I for a little bit and asked us how our day went and if we enjoyed the concert. Then I got a photo with Rich and he gave me another guitar plectrum! As we were preparing to leave Rich hugged me, said bye, and left to go visit a couple friends of his. Rich Good is one of the most nicest and awesome people I've ever met, and I will always remember his kindness to me. I even got five hugs from him! <3

I was still in shock when we left and before my brother and I went home, we stopped by at an area where there were food trucks and benches and so we got something to eat. I didn't eat that much though because I was too excited about what happened. That night definitely ended on an awesome note, and looking back it gives me a comforting feeling to know that Richard Butler and the others saw my letter, too.

The next day I was looking at the pictures that I took at the concert and on some of the photos there was an amazing discovery. There was something laying by Rich Good's key pedals and after remembering what Rich said to me, I realized that was my letter! It did land on the stage after all and he probably found it when the show ended. My family was very happy for me when I told them about that wonderful moment. It's a beautiful memory that I will cherish forever...

My letter laying near Rich Good's key pedals during the concert!

Setlist:

1. Dumb Waiters
2. Heartbeat
3. The Ghost In You
4. So Run Down
5. Heaven
6. No Tears
7. Believe (Love Spit Love cover)
8. Highwire Days
9. Love My Way
10. Angels Don't Cry
11. Alice's House
12. Mr. Jones
13. All That Money Wants
14. House
15. Pretty In Pink

Encore:

16. President Gas
17. Heartbreak Beat
18. India

The guitar pick given to me by Rich Good.

*All photos by me*