My Psychedelic Furs CDs #15

Should God Forget: A Retrospective (1997) (Columbia/Legacy C2K 65152) (Double CD)

This is a 2-disc compilation album that was released in 1997 and was produced by Tim Butler and Bruce Dickinson of Columbia Records. Has songs from the first seven albums, plus five live recordings, two alternate versions, and a b-side.

Track listing:

CD 1:

1. India

2. Sister Europe

3. Pulse

4. Mack The Knife (Live)

5. Blacks/Radio

6. We Love You

7. Imitation Of Christ

8. Soap Commercial (Live)

9. Pretty In Pink (Original Version)

10. Mr. Jones

11. Into You Like A Train

12. I Wanna Sleep With You

13. Merry Go Round (Yes I Do) (UK Version)

14. President Gas

15. Love My Way

16. Sleep Comes Down

17. I Don't Want To Be Your Shadow (Non-LP B-side)

CD 2:

1. Alice's House (Alternate Version)

2. The Ghost In You

3. Here Come Cowboys

4. Heaven

5. Highwire Days

6. Heartbeat (Live)

7. All Of The Law (Live)

8. Heartbreak Beat

9. All That Money Wants

10. Entertain Me

11. Should God Forget

12. Torch

13. Get A Room (Live)

14. Until She Comes

15. All About You

16. There's A World

Notes:

CD 1:

Tracks 1–3 and 5–7: From The Psychedelic Furs (1980); "Blacks/Radio" made its first US appearance on this compilation because the song was removed from US releases of the album. The only Americans who were lucky enough to hear the song were the ones who bought the UK version of the debut as an import.

Track 4: Recorded during the Peel Sessions on BBC Radio, broadcasted on June 18, 1980. 

Track 8: From the Peel Sessions, June 18, 1980.

9–12: From Talk Talk Talk (1981)

13–16: From Forever Now (1982); the version of "Merry Go Round (Yes I Do) is the one that only appeared on the British versions of Forever Now.

Track 17: B-side of "Danger" (UK single) and "Love My Way" (US single).

CD 2:

Tracks 1–6: From Mirror Moves (1984); the alternate version of "Alice's House" was recorded during the sessions for Forever Now; the live version of "Heartbeat" was from The Psychedelic Furs' concert at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, California on August 28, 1987.

7–8: From Midnight To Midnight (1987); the live version of "All Of The Law" was from the August 28, 1987 show.

Track 9: From All Of This And Nothing (1988)

10–12: From Book Of Days (1989)

13–16: From World Outside (1991); the live version of "Get A Room" was from The Psychedelic Furs' concert at the Metro in Chicago, Illinois on November 13, 1991.

Behind the Songs: No Tears

A quote from Richard Butler on the song "No Tears".

Richard Butler (on being asked what the demonstrations mentioned in the first verse meant): "Demonstrations in the sixties. It's a comparison between then and now, a kind of sad look back. The Weathermen (US anarchists) don't say anything these days, they fight with the Black Panthers and the White Panthers. Recently two Weathermen were shot dead by the police." (Sounds 1981 [German magazine])

Behind the Songs: In My Head

A quote from Tim Butler on the song "In My Head".

Tim Butler (on being asked if there were any plans of releasing a third single from World Outside): "Yes, I think 'In My Head' is going to be released. I'm not sure at the moment. We've been taking a rest over Christmas, so we haven't been in contact with the record company yet, so we don't really know." (Northern Colorado Mirror 1992) [Sadly it never came to be...]

Behind the Songs: Entertain Me

A few quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Entertain Me".

John Ashton: "It was [producer] Dave Allen's idea for me to smash the guitar during the take for 'Entertain Me'. He also provided the lighter fluid! A sort of 'Up Yours' if you will. So English." (Unknown source, 1989?)

Richard Butler: "It is pretty raucous. That song was the only one on [Book Of Days] that just happened in the studio. John [Ashton] and Knox [Chandler] were playing around with the riff, I thought it sounded good and went over to get one of Vince [Ely's] snare drums, set it on the floor of the studio and just started banging. I liked that rackety quality - the sound of total amateurism! Vince obviously thought he could do it better - or didn't want people to think the amateur sound was his, so we ended up using a proper kit. But the sound is still there." (Pulp Magazine 1990)

Tim Butler: "The day this was written I had just got an acoustic bass. I proceeded to play this through every space effects box at hand (fuzz, flanger). The ensuing riff was well received by everyone in the studio, and Richard got an immediate handle on the lyrics. The guitar sound in the middle break is John using and abusing a guitar, smashing and burning it." (Should God Forget liner notes, 1997)

Photo: Peter Robathan

Behind the Songs: Wedding Song

A couple quotes from John Ashton on the song "Wedding Song".

John Ashton: "I'd say that fifty percent of what I heard on that first [demo] tape is there on the first album. We'd written a few things together - 'India,' 'Wedding Song' - but I think the whole sound of the Psychedelic Furs evolved around that year." (Musician 1987)

John Ashton (on how the band came up with the song during the sessions for the first album): "We had recorded a version of 'India,' and were looking for another song for the album. The sax player was playing this riff, and Steve Lillywhite said, 'That's a great riff there - you should build a song around that.' We started with Vince [Ely] laying down this bit, and then it just came, like just not thinking about it." (Musician 1987)

Behind the Songs: Shadow In My Heart

A quote from Richard Butler on the song "Shadow In My Heart".

Richard Butler: "'Shock' sounds great live, and 'Heartbreak Beat' and 'Shadow In My Heart' are going over great on tour." (Rock Express 1987)

Tim Butler Biography

A short biography of Tim Butler was featured in a 1983 issue of The Island Ear.

Tim Butler Biography:

Favorite Food: Japanese

Favorite Color: Red

Favorite Album: Remain In Light (Talking Heads)

Favorite Movie: Halloween 1

Favorite Single: "Love My Way"

Favorite Actor: Dustin Hoffman

Favorite Actress: Chesty Morgan

Favorite TV Show: Fawlty Towers

Favorite Group: Velvet Underground

Favorite Pastime: Sleeping

Biggest Dislike: Eating chicken at gigs

Behind the Songs: ****

A quote from Richard Butler on the song "****".

Richard Butler (on being asked if the "Sister Europe" b-side was originally intended as the introduction to "India"): "No. We used it as the intro to 'India' afterwards. It's the introduction to 'India' played backwards." (Overview 1981)

Behind the Songs: Sex [Unreleased]

A couple quotes from Richard Butler on the unreleased song "Sex".

Richard Butler: "Well, we're not new wave and we're not punk. I mean, we do three really slow songs – 'Sister Europe', 'Imitation Of Christ', and 'Sex'. We also do 'Mack The Knife' – that Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill song – that was written years ago. I don't think we can be classed as 'new wave.'" (Slash 1980)

Richard Butler (in response to the interviewer saying some of the songs like "Blacks/Radio" could be controversial because of the titles): "Yeah, well we've had all that. We played at Portsmouth Polytechnic – they think they're clever students down there and they're all into this leftist scene. Anyway, they thought: 'Well, this song is called "Blacks"', and immediately they started throwing bottles and glasses cos they thought it was racist. They thought 'Sex' was sexist and all the women's libbers started throwing things. It was a load of bollocks." (Slash 1980)

Behind the Songs: Mack The Knife [Cover]

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on their cover of the Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht song "Mack The Knife".

Richard Butler: "Well, we're not new wave and we're not punk. I mean, we do three really slow songs – 'Sister Europe', 'Imitation Of Christ', and 'Sex' [an unreleased song]. We also do 'Mack The Knife' – that Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill song – that was written years ago. I don't think we can be classed as 'new wave.'" (Slash 1980)

Richard Butler: "We don't really do cover versions. 'Mack The Knife' is the only cover version we'd do." (Overview 1981)

Richard Butler (on the time The Furs decided to cover the song): "We were on tour and we heard it by a guy called Bobby Darin, have you heard of him? It's from a Bertolt Brecht play, The Threepenny Opera and the way Bobby Darin sang it, it sounded syrupy. It shouldn't be done syrupy. It should be done more sneering and if you've seen the play, it's a very seedy type of song. We thought it should be done in more of a seedy way...or at least a bit more aggressively. So, we thought, we don't like Bobby Darin going down doing this version, so we'll do one." (Overview 1981)

Richard Butler: "I did an album of Kurt Weill songs last year, where everybody was asked to do one track each. So they got in touch with me and I said I'd like to do 'Mack The Knife' because I'd done it before, on a B-side years ago. But they said 'Sorry. Sting's got that one, but what we have got is "Alabama Song" and I was kind of dubious about that one because a lot of people before had said 'you sound like David Bowie' and I knew Bowie had done it before. So it was like the acid test doing that, but I don't think anybody could say my version sounds remotely like his, so [__] 'em." (One Two Testing 1986)

Richard Butler (on working on the Kurt Weill tribute album): "I first wanted to do 'Mack The Knife' because I think it's a good vicious song but they wanted me to do 'The Alabama Song.'" (i-D 1987)

John Ashton (on performing the cover during the 1980 Peel Sessions): "The idea was to get on and to stay on for as long as possible. I think Duncan [Kilburn] and Richard came up with this as an idea for a cover. It was originally 8 minutes +. It was edited severely!" (Should God Forget liner notes, 1997)

Photo: David Corio

Here On Easy Street

Photo: Peter Noble

Today a new unofficial Psychedelic Furs website just got released and it is called Here On Easy Street: An Unofficial Psychedelic Furs Archive. On the website it has lots of interviews, a discography, info about the band members, and so much more! Here is the link to the website and please check it out and spread the word to other fans! https://noeasystreet.blogspot.com/

An Unexpected Miracle

While I was working on the last hour of my shift on Monday morning, something unexpected happened.

I mentioned this on one of my posts on my Green Day blog, but I work at a Walmart and they have their own radio station which they would play 24/7. They would play some songs I like, but most of the time they would play songs I'm not into. On the post from my Green Day blog, I wrote that they played two songs from American Idiot even though they weren't singles.

Anyway, on that particular morning they played a song which made my jaw drop.

The song they played was The Psychedelic Furs' "The Ghost In You"!!!!

I was really surprised and excited because they never play The Furs' music. I was thinking maybe they played "The Ghost In You" because it's the month of Halloween and it mentions the word "ghost" in the title and choruses. Or maybe not, but it was a delight hearing that song!

A thought occured to me which made me depressed thinking about it, since all my coworkers heard "The Ghost In You" playing, they probably don't know who The Psychedelic Furs are and don't know this beautiful song. Sigh.....

Psychedelic Furs October 2, 2023

It has been a long time since I had written a concert blog and it feels really good to write another one.

On October 2 my brother and I went to our fifth Psychedelic Furs show at the Silva Concert Hall in Eugene, Oregon. It was one of the most wonderful, beautiful and emotional nights for me. I can't believe I finally saw them after waiting for four years.

I remember when I arrived home after seeing The Furs for the fourth time in 2019 I thought of how in 2020 the band would go on tour to promote the upcoming (at the time) Made Of Rain, their first album in 29 years, and getting to hear more of the new songs live. I was ready for it and I felt in my heart that 2020 would be a great year for The Psychedelic Furs and for us fans.

But sadly 2020 took a turn for the worse with the pandemic happening and because of that The Psychedelic Furs had to postpone the Made Of Rain tour. I was heartbroken for the band because I knew they were looking forward to touring for the new album and performing the new songs. Why did the pandemic have to come at that point in time and ruin everything? It just wasn't fair.

Even though the tour got delayed, at least we were all fortunate enough to be treated with the release of Made Of Rain, which is a beautiful album. But we all waited patiently for the tour to happen, whenever that may be.

In the Autumn of 2021 The Psychedelic Furs started doing some shows on the East Coast and I was happy they finally got to play the new songs. On YouTube someone uploaded the full concert at one of their shows and I watched the whole thing. The Made Of Rain songs sounded awesome (I actually teared up) and I wanted to hear them so much with my own ears.

The Furs toured again in 2022 and during the Summer that year they went to two towns in Oregon, Forest Grove and Jacksonville. I was surprised not seeing Portland because the band always goes there whenever they would tour. I really wanted to go to those shows, but sadly I wasn't able to. I was disappointed but I hoped I would have the chance to see The Furs again soon.

Fast forward to 2023 The Psychedelic Furs toured for a little bit in the Spring, and soon after that they announced a tour in the Fall. They were coming back to Oregon again, this time in Eugene, at the Silva Concert Hall, which is located in a building called the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. This was my time to go, and so I bought two tickets; one for me and one for my brother, who's always my concert buddy. I didn't get the front row tickets because they were too expensive, so I just got the seated ones a little further back which were much cheaper. I wasn't bummed out that I didn't get the front row ones, because what mattered most was seeing The Psychedelic Furs for the first time in four years. Plus it's good for my feet too, since my job is overnight stocking and I walk a lot.

In late August at work I requested to have October 2nd off and two weeks later it got approved. Then I discovered to my relief that on my work schedule I got the day before the concert off! I had a feeling I was going to work on that day but I got it off instead. I could just rest at home before the big day.

But the plans for October 1st changed because at around 5:00 PM my brother called me on the phone and asked me if I wanted to go to Bend with him to visit his fiance. He said that we'll spend the night there at a motel, and on the next day head over to Eugene. I heartily said yes, and so I got ready, packed my stuff, and at around 6:30 my brother came to pick me up and we drove over to Bend. When we got there the three of us went out for dinner, then went to the motel which my brother's fiance paid for, and went to bed.

I went to bed at about 11:00 PM and unfortunately I didn't get enough sleep. I had passed out three times but they only lasted an hour. When I woke up the third time, it was 3:55 AM and I tried to go back to sleep but I just couldn't. I wasn't used to sleeping in a motel bed (the last time I slept at a motel was 13 years ago) and I forgot to bring an old T-shirt that I always use to cover my eyes when I sleep. So it was hard trying to fall asleep with my eyes uncovered.

At around 6:30 AM my brother's fiance left to go to work and my brother and I tried to sleep a little more; but all of a sudden my brother didn't feel tired so we just got ready at 7:00 and left the motel. We did some sightseeing in Bend for a little bit and before we left the city we stopped by where my brother's fiance worked. We visited him on his work break, and after that we headed out to Eugene. Instead of going on the freeway, we went on a different route that was more scenic, with mountains and forests. While we were on that route we stopped at this place and stayed there for a little bit. It was really nice and quiet.

Photo by me.

After that my brother and I headed on to Eugene and we got there at around 4:30 PM. We found the Hult Center for the Performing Arts and parked at the venue's parking area. It was actually raining in Eugene and I liked to think the rain appeared because The Psychedelic Furs were there, and too it fits the theme of Made Of Rain. My brother and I did some more sightseeing, and at 6:30 we went inside the venue.

We saw the merchandise area and went over there to see what they had and I bought two things. I got a T-shirt that has the band's name with the purple star behind it, and to my delight a hoodie that says The Psychedelic Furs on it. I always wanted to have a band hoodie and I am happy it's a Psychedelic Furs one. I feel like it represents who I am.

So then my brother and I went into the Silva Concert Hall, and I think I read that it was built in 1982 and the interior is supposed to resemble a theater from the 19th century. We found our seats, sat down, and waited during intermission.

The opening band Squeeze came on and they were fun to watch. I'm only familiar with a few of their songs because a couple of Squeeze's songs were in the Rock Band video game which my brother and I used to play, and the song I remembered the most was "Tempted". They played that song and it was great hearing it. While Squeeze was performing the thought of seeing The Psychedelic Furs in a moment entered my head and I got super emotional. I tried not to cry but a tear escaped out of my eye. I wiped my eye and composed myself. I couldn't believe it would happen soon.

After Squeeze performed we waited during the second intermission and it was so cool seeing the new look of The Psychedelic Furs' drum kit. And then at last, the moment I had been waiting for came. The lights went dim, the introduction music started, and The Psychedelic Furs arrived on stage. The band members were the ones to arrive first, and after when they got settled in their positions vocalist Richard Butler appeared. When I first saw them walk on stage the tears were finally let loose and I started crying. It was actually happening, and how did I live without seeing The Psychedelic Furs for four long years?? It absolutely felt like old times again, before all the crazy things happened in the world.

The newest member to fill in former drummer Paul Garisto's place on the drums was Zachary Alford, who first joined The Psychedelic Furs in 2021. It was cool to finally see Zach in action and he's an awesome addition to the band. And it was so wonderful to see saxophonist Mars Williams back on the stage. When The Furs did the first part of the 2023 tour Mars was sadly unable to join them because he had been going through treatment. I can't imagine a Psychedelic Furs show without Mars. He's part of what makes The Psychedelic Furs' music so great and he's incredible on the saxophone. I hope Mars is enjoying the tour and I hope his health continues to improve and get better. I shouted out "We love you Mars" twice and I don't know if my voice was loud enough but I hope he heard me.

On my blog about the second concert I attended I mentioned that the setlist for the 2016 tour was my favorite setlist, mainly because two other songs from Midnight To Midnight were played, "Angels Don't Cry" and "All Of The Law". But this setlist...  it is definitely the best one for me. All of the songs were so fantastic but I will talk about the ones that stood out to me the most.

The Psychedelic Furs played "In My Head" from their 1991 album World Outside and it was delightful hearing it. It's one of my favorite songs on that album. And the Made Of Rain songs.... Wow.... they were so amazing and I finally got to listen to them live! I'll start with "Wrong Train" first. In 2015 when I first saw The Furs, they played this song but at the time I wasn't familiar with it. But now since it's on Made Of Rain it was great hearing the song. "This'll Never Be Like Love" was very fantastic, especially when guitarist Rich Good and Mars Williams gave it their all at the end. They played beautifully.

But the two songs from Made Of Rain that made me become very emotional were "No-One" and "You'll Be Mine". As I said many times, "No-One" is my favorite Psychedelic Furs song of all time and I was in tears when they played that song. I was so glad I got to hear my favorite PFurs song in person. It was glorious. I was in awe throughout the whole song.

After when The Psychedelic Furs performed "Heaven" I knew "You'll Be Mine" was next since I looked at the setlists from the previous shows. And let me tell you, the performance of "You'll Be Mine" was something that I will never forget. It's one of those moments that stay with you forever and it makes me emotional, even cry, thinking about it. It sort of felt like a religious experience in some way, and in my opinion it was even more powerful live. On my review of the Made Of Rain album I wrote that if I heard "You'll Be Mine" live I would probably break down in tears. And it turned out I was right all along. I cried throughout the whole song and even though I really wanted to sing, I couldn't and just remained silent. It's hard to believe that three years ago when "You'll Be Mine" first came out the world was in shambles. I didn't know what would happen in the coming days, weeks, and years, and I felt like all was lost. But as I listened to the music, even though the song's about death, it gave me hope. Back then I never imagined I would be back at a concert, three years later, seeing The Psychedelic Furs and hearing them play "You'll Be Mine". It meant so much to me that they played this song and I want to thank the band with all my heart for doing that.

There was no encore this time, and when the lights came back on my brother and I left our seats and went out. Deep down I was kind of hoping we would stay for a little bit, in case we were lucky enough to meet Rich Good again but we left right away. My brother had to be at work at 11:00 AM and the drive home was an hour and a half.

My fifth Psychedelic Furs show, and my first concert in the 2020s, was absolutely wonderful. I never wanted that day to end and I wish I can go back in time to relive it all over again. I can't believe it actually happened and I really hope I will see them again next year.

Before I end this blog I want to mention something special happened during that day, and I would like to show you all. It's in this gift box right here and I will open it now:

Ta-da. Isn't it awesome? What do you all think?

Seriously though, it's in a different gift box that I keep in my heart. This is something that I have to keep to myself and believe me, I wish I can tell you all but it is too important and sacred to let it out. But I will only tell you how I feel about what happened.

How could an ordinary person like me deserve this? I feel like I am not worthy to have this happen to me. I never imagined something like this would happen in my life and I feel so happy, thankful and blessed. I wish I can think of many more words to say, but I will never forget what happened on that day for the rest of my life. It absolutely made my whole night and it means a lot to me. <3

Thank you for reading.

Setlist:

1. Into You Like A Train

2. Mr. Jones

3. Heaven

4. You'll Be Mine

5. Wrong Train

6. President Gas

7. The Ghost In You

8. In My Head

9. Pretty In Pink

10. No-One

11. This'll Never Be Like Love

12. Sister Europe

13. Heartbeat

14. Love My Way

15. Heartbreak Beat

*All concert photos by me*