Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Psychedelic Furs September 16, 2025



A week ago I saw The Psychedelic Furs for the seventh time at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon, and it was yet another fantastic and lovely night. This show is right up there with the 2016 and 2024 concerts because so many wonderful moments happened on that day. I'm going through the post concert blues right now, but I'm still beaming about everything and I can't wait to tell you.

Ever since The Psychedelic Furs announced the dates for this second North American tour I wanted to give guitarist Rich Good a present, and last year when he gave the bracelets to me seeing his backpack gave me a good idea. I wanted to get a Squishmallow keychain of a black cat. If you don't know what Squishmallows are, they are stuffed plushies of various animals, insects, and other things, and are super soft. There's tons of accessories as well, one of them being keychains. I went to their official store on Amazon and looked at the keychains but they didn't have one of a black cat. Disappointed, I asked my friend Mary at work what I should do, so she looked further and showed me a set of six tiny Squishmallows, and lo and behold, a black cat was one of them. I ordered the set (which came quickly) and Mary ordered a keychain which I paid her back for, and one night at work I brought the Squishmallow with me and Mary brought her sewing kit and the keychain. At break she sewed the keychain to the Squishmallow, and the end result was perfect. For my birthday in August Mary gave me a beautiful necklace that has a black cat and she said it's for me to wear at the concert because of the connection to the keychain, and my parents got me a Psychedelic Furs t-shirt that has a drawing of, you guessed it, a black cat! I took this as a sign and it is known that black cats give good luck! I also got a thank you card for Rich, to thank him for everything he did for me, and two days before the concert I wrote my message in the card. I put the card and keychain in my purse, and hoped I would be able to give them to Rich.


The keychain for Rich! :)


On the day of the concert my brother and I left for Portland in the afternoon and we got to the Crystal Ballroom at around 3:30. When we arrived there were four or five people waiting but they said they weren't in line. They were carrying vinyl records of the Psychedelic Furs' albums, and it looked like they were waiting to see if any of the band members would come out and sign them, mainly vocalist Richard Butler. My brother and I went in line, and we were the only ones there for a little bit until a lady came in line. Then suddenly the people with the vinyl records left, and it looked like they gave up after waiting for some time. I don't know if they ever went to the concert but I felt they were only there to see if they would get autographs.

Some time after that, I was looking at my phone and The Psychedelic Furs arrived at the Crystal Ballroom. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a few of the band members entering inside to do soundcheck. I didn't want to look at them while they were going in there so I kept my eyes glued to the phone until I heard a voice saying, "Hey Sarah!" I looked up and to my delight, it was Rich Good! We both hugged each other and Rich suggested we stood in the shade where the tour bus was, because it was 86 degrees and I was standing in the sun. Rich had a few minutes to chat before soundcheck, and I told Rich that it had been 10 years since my brother and I first saw The Furs at this same venue and the moment when Rich smiled at me, and waved at me when the band members left the stage. It was a year before I officially got to meet Rich and I told him I had never thought in a million years that we would meet and become good friends, and Rich said it was destiny that made it happen. Then I gave Rich my card and the keychain and he absolutely loved them, and said that he'll look at the card after soundcheck. Then my brother took pictures of us (Rich was holding the keychain!) and Rich promised we would take more photos after the concert. My brother told Rich that he appreciated drummer Zachary Alford's work with David Bowie in the '90s, and asked Rich if he would let Zach know. Rich agreed and even mentioned my brother could meet Zach. We said bye and then Rich went inside the venue for soundcheck. I was so thrilled and over the moon that Rich loved the keychain. It meant the whole world to me.

At one point we saw Zachary Alford come out of the Crystal Ballroom to go into the tour bus, but my brother didn't go up to Zach because my brother didn't want to bother him and interrupt what he was doing. We talked to the lady who was in line with us and she said that it would be her very first time seeing The Psychedelic Furs, and I told her I hoped she would have a good time seeing them. Later at around 5 the venue staff came out and were preparing to scan the tickets. While my brother and I were waiting, Rich Good came out and saw us, then asked my brother if he got to meet Zachary Alford. My brother told Rich he didn't and explained why, then Rich thanked me for the card and gave me a hug. Rich went away to go for a walk and I was smiling as I watched him leave.

There was another line from the restaurant next door where the people got the $15 deal, where if they spend that much on food and drinks they would get into the venue first. I didn't panic from seeing them because the last time it happened I was able to get to the barrier. After that I got my tickets scanned, went through the metal detectors, and my brother and I went upstairs. I turned and went towards the stage but to my dismay, I didn't see any room at the barrier. I stood in the middle trying to figure out where to stand but eventually I made my way to the second row behind a couple people who were at the barrier facing where Richard Butler would be. I was kind of disappointed because I wanted to be at the barrier on the left side of the stage to be near Rich Good but thankfully the people in front of me weren't that tall so I got a good view. And at least I'm still close to the stage. I thought to myself that if The Psychedelic Furs tour next year and return to the Crystal Ballroom my brother and I would definitely go to the restaurant. We actually did that in 2019 when we saw The Furs there but I didn't know if the restaurant was still doing that kind of thing. As I took my spot my brother went to go sit somewhere near the bar.




The opener was Gary Numan and the only song that I knew from him was "Cars". Gary was actually really good and I liked how the stage was set up. Usually I don't take pictures of the opening acts but I had to take some of Gary. I wished I had taken some photos of Frankie Rose when she opened for The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus And Mary Chain last year.







After Gary Numan performed we waited during intermission and while the music was playing one of the songs that got played was Roxy Music's 1975 single "Love Is The Drug". I got excited hearing it and to me it seemed like a coincidence because I started listening to more of Roxy's other songs.

And then, the lights went dim and we all knew what's going to happen. The exciting moment when The Psychedelic Furs go on stage. The band members arrived first, and then Richard Butler next. There were a couple mishaps with bassist Tim Butler's bass and Rich Good's guitar not working but they got quickly fixed.






The new musician who joined The Psychedelic Furs on the tour was Peter DiStefano, who was the guitarist in the band Porno For Pyros (formed by a couple members from Jane's Addiction) in the '90s, and he's a great addition to The Furs. During the show Rich Good smiled at me twice and the second time he did that, he waved at me. I got all excited. <3






The setlist was incredibly amazing and I got to hear three songs I've never heard live before. "My Time" from Mirror Moves, "It Goes On" from Talk Talk Talk, and the one I got excited for the most, "Run And Run" from Forever Now. "Run And Run" used to be my number one favorite Psychedelic Furs song (it's now my second) and I always wanted to hear it live. The Furs also played "In My Head" and "Until She Comes", both from World Outside. It was great hearing the latter song and the last time I heard it live was in 2016! And then of course, The Furs played my favorite song "No-One" from Made Of Rain. I freaked out when they started that song and when it ended I shouted out thank you twice. I'm glad I got to listen to "No-One" again. I think this setlist and the one for the 2023 concert are my favorites.

During the beginning of Midnight To Midnight's "Heartbreak Beat" I got teary eyed, looked up at the ceiling and mouthed the words "We love you Mars". As I mentioned on my blog post about the previous concert the song sounded lonely without sax player Mars Williams, and I got emotional as well during the middle in "My Time" where it was supposed to have the saxophone.








After when the concert ended I walked over to where my brother was sitting. We sat for a little bit before heading downstairs and I went over to the merchandise stand. I bought a t-shirt that had the tour dates on the back and another different shirt for Mary to thank her for the keychain. We went out of the venue and there were some fans standing around the entrance so my brother and I went a little further away from them. While standing outside Rich Good came out of the venue and he had his backpack with him. Now I don't know if I saw correctly, but I think I saw the keychain attached to the backpack. It was kind of hard to tell though because the backpack was the same color as the keychain, and I don't know if Rich has another backpack but I like to believe I saw the keychain. Rich saw me in the distance and told me he had to go in the tour bus to put his stuff away first, and after that he went out of the tour bus and walked over to me. My brother was on the phone talking while Rich came over and I walked up to Rich, hugged him and thanked him for the concert. We got a few selfies together and then we went over to my brother who was done talking on the phone.

Throughout the years of getting to know Rich he is the most kindest, caring, and down to earth person I've ever met in my entire life, and from talking to Rich I feel he understands me as a human being. I wanted to thank Rich for that and when I did, I cried. Because as a person who's on the Autism Spectrum there are times at work where I feel like an outsider and while I made friends there, I would feel lonely and not fitting in with everyone. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does, sometimes it becomes a struggle for me and it can be exhausting being in this neurotypical world at times, a world that's not made for me. That's why I always look forward to my weekends because I want to be away from that world, to not see anybody and be safe and secure at home in my own space for a little bit.

Even though I have good friends there are a couple who are the kind of friends that completely understand and accept you for who you are, and they are Rich Good and Mary. Mary's the only friend at work who I talk about my special interests to, mainly The Psychedelic Furs (unfortunately some of my co-workers don't know who The Furs are....), and previously she had never heard of The Furs until one time I played "Heartbreak Beat" at work and she really liked it. I texted more of the songs to her and because of that Mary likes The Furs. And with her having a son who has Autism it drew me close to her and it's nice to know someone who understands my situation.

It's funny because with me being Autistic I always have trouble with crowds but when I was at the show surrounded by tons of people I didn't have a problem with it, I was fine. I think it's because a Psychedelic Furs concert is, besides home, the only place where I can truly be myself. I told Rich that I find comfort in the lyrics "You got rain in your eyes and a head full of stars" in the beginning of "My Time" because I feel it describes my Autism in a positive light. Rich was so sweet and understanding when I explained everything to him and Rich said when he first met Gary Numan and was getting to know him, Gary told Rich that he's on the Spectrum. It blew my mind when I heard that and after seeing the way Gary performed I would never think he would be on the Spectrum. I like to think that maybe Gary wanted to make music as a way to express himself. I also told Rich about the time I wrote my blog The Psychedelic Furs: 40 Years of Beautiful Chaos, where when I was finishing up the blog I accidentally deleted the whole thing, and I felt writing it the second time wouldn't be as good as the first. But because of my Autism I have a really good memory and I actually remembered everything I had written, so I wrote out the entire thing. I'll never forget Rich's reaction when I told him that and he said, "I think I read that blog!" I was shocked and said, "You did?!" I was speechless and overcome with happiness. Then Rich said he loved the shirt that I was wearing (it has the black cat with The Psychedelic Furs' name on it) and asked me where I got it. I told Rich my parents got it for me for my birthday and it was from this website called TeePublic, and Rich said he might get that shirt for himself. We all talked some more, Rich gave me a guitar pick, and then we said goodbye. I really didn't want to leave Rich and I hope there would be a day where we will see each other again and have more time to talk. It was hard having to go back to work the night after the concert and I wished I could stay at home and relive the whole experience. When I started working my body felt tired but it was a happy tired.

Four days after the show I discovered that on one of Rich's Instagram Stories he posted a black and white picture of us and wrote out this caption:

"Seen lots of faces:
Here's my friend [Sarah]
She's really cool <3"

When I saw that I got so excited and I saved the screenshot of it to my phone. It totally made my whole day.


If there's ever a time where I feel lonely again I'll look at the pictures of me and Rich Good and think about the beautiful friendship we have together. Rich definitely is, as Anne Shirley would say, a kindred spirit. <3


Thank you for reading.




Setlist:

1. Heaven
2. President Gas
3. Wrong Train
4. Into You Like A Train
5. The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll
6. Mr. Jones
7. My Time
8. No-One
9. Love My Way
10. In My Head
11. Run And Run
12. Until She Comes
13. So Run Down
14. Pretty In Pink
15. Heartbreak Beat

Encore:

16. It Goes On
17. India







*All photos by me*

Saturday, September 13, 2025

The Second North American Tour

Yesterday was the first day of The Psychedelic Furs' second North American tour. They were in British Columbia, Canada, and tonight they're going to perform in Seattle. I checked the setlist from last night and it looks like the same setlist from the Summer tour. But I'm glad to see "No-One", "My Time", and "Run And Run" still on the list. In three days I will see The Furs at the Portland show and I totally can't wait. <3

Saturday, September 6, 2025

Remembering Mark Volman

Yesterday I found out that Mark Volman of The Turtles and Flo & Eddie sadly passed away.

We will always remember his contribution to The Psychedelic Furs' Forever Now, especially "Love My Way". Mark, along with Howard Kaylan gave life to that song with their wonderful harmonies. Rest in peace, Mark.




Monday, August 25, 2025

Promo Photo #4

This is the only promotional photo that I actually have and it's an American one from 1986, during the time the rerecording of "Pretty In Pink" came out. The photo was taken by Gregg Gorman.




Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Concert Ads #51

On October 24, 1982 The Psychedelic Furs performed at My Father's Place in Roslyn, New York during the Forever Now Tour. This advert appeared in the October 19—November 1, 1982 issue of Good Times.


Songs (via SetlistFM):

1. President Gas
2. Yes I Do (Merry-Go-Round)
3. Only You And I
4. No Easy Street
5. Run And Run
6. Love My Way
7. Danger
8. Goodbye
9. Pretty In Pink
10. Sister Europe
11. Sleep Comes Down
12. Into You Like A Train
13. Forever Now

Encore:

14. Imitation Of Christ
15. India


Via Friends of My Father's Place on Facebook.


Wednesday, July 9, 2025

US Summer Tour Setlist

The Psychedelic Furs are still on the road for the first segment of their North American tour, and just now I went over to Setlist FM to see what songs they had played at one of the shows. "No-One" is thankfully still being played but there are other two songs that got me excited. The Furs did "My Time" and "Run And Run"! The latter used to be my number one favorite PFurs song so I really hope I will hear this and "My Time" when I go to the Portland concert. Although it will be kind of sad listening to "My Time" without Mars Williams being there...

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Roxy Music

Recently I had been getting more into Roxy Music, who are of course one of The Psychedelic Furs' major influences.

For two years the only Roxy Music album I would always listen to was Avalon (1982) which has the two singles I was familiar with, the title track and "More Than This" (my favorite Roxy song). Then a year ago I got two of vocalist Bryan Ferry's solo albums, 1985's Boys And Girls and 1987's Bête Noire (the latter a fantastic album by the way).

At work I wanted something new to listen to so I decided to try out Roxy Music's other albums. I was kind of worried about trying out their '70s stuff because the early/mid '70s music is kind of dated to me (sorry!). The only music I like from that decade is the late '70s, like early Kate Bush, early Siouxsie, etc. So I wasn't sure if I would like it, but after a few listens I eventually did, thankfully.

After listening to Roxy Music's first single "Virginia Plain" it makes me wonder what The Psychedelic Furs' cover of it sounded like. The Furs covered that song live in the early 2000s when they got back together, and in 2004 when Rich Good opened for The Furs with his old band The Pleased, they invited Rich on stage to perform "Virginia Plain". I don't know if there's footage of The Psychedelic Furs covering that song, but I hope there is because I'm really curious.

According to the tour programme for Midnight To Midnight, the first record Tim Butler bought was Roxy Music's second album, For Your Pleasure (1973).


For Your Pleasure (1973)


Saturday, June 21, 2025

Dublin Setlist

Over on Setlist.FM I looked at the setlist for The Psychedelic Furs' concert in Dublin, Ireland yesterday and "No-One" was played! I was happy The Furs brought the song back and I really hope it will still be on the setlist when I go see them in Portland. I also saw the photos that people took at the Belfast and Dublin concerts and I can't wait until my turn comes. <3

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

UK Dates

Earlier today The Psychedelic Furs once again announced more shows, and this October they will return to the United Kingdom. Happy for the British fans who are going to see The Furs, and if I'm correct, the last time the band toured in the UK was three years ago. It was during when they were able to go there after all the waiting they had to endure because of COVID, and finally got to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The special guest for the UK tour will be Anja Huwe of Xmal Deutschland.


Via Facebook.


Friday, May 23, 2025

More Happy News

Today the tickets for The Psychedelic Furs' second North American tour in September to October are on sale and I just want to happily announce that I bought mine for the Portland concert. I am now officially going to see The Psychedelic Furs for the seventh time!!

I want to mention that something incredible happened at the end of my shift at work yesterday morning. The radio in the retail I work at actually played "Pretty In Pink"! And what's cool is that it was the 86 version! The radio at my work never plays The Psychedelic Furs so it was exciting hearing them play a Furs song.


Photo: Henry Diltz


Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Happy News

Well, it finally happened. Today The Psychedelic Furs announced more North American shows from September to October, and on September 16th they're coming back to the Crystal Ballroom!! This makes it very special for me because I saw The Furs for the first time at that same venue 10 years ago. And now, 10 years later, it will be my seventh time seeing The Furs! Plus another great thing is that the 16th is on my weekend, so I don't have to request to get the day off at work!


At the Crystal Ballroom, 2015. Photo by me.


I can't wait to see what the setlist will be like and I wonder if Richard Fortus will join The Furs again; I hope he does. The support act for this portion of the tour will be Gary Numan.


Via Facebook.


Monday, May 12, 2025

European Tour

Earlier today The Psychedelic Furs announced more shows and they will return to Europe in November. The Furs will perform in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain. To be honest I was kind of hoping for more North American dates but hopefully they will be added soon. Happy for the European fans who will get to see The Psychedelic Furs.

I want to mention that last Saturday morning when I got off from work, on the way home the radio played "Love My Way"! I was so ecstatic when I heard it because the radio never plays The Psychedelic Furs. Even though I have Spotify, hearing it on the radio is different. The last time I heard a Psychedelic Furs song on the radio was four years ago when one of the stations played "Pretty In Pink".


Via Facebook.


Friday, May 2, 2025

Strawberry Switchblade



Recently I got into Strawberry Switchblade, who were a new wave duo from Scotland in the '80s. I wanted to get their eponymous debut album from 1985 (their only one, actually) and so I looked at their Discogs page. The thing that surprised me was that Strawberry Switchblade NEVER got a CD reissue in the UK and Europe, and didn't get released in the US. However, the album got reissued on CD many times in Japan, where Strawberry Switchblade got more popular there. So on Amazon I bought the CD (used, but in very good condition) and it came all the way from Japan. What's really cool is that in the booklet there's a introduction written in Japanese (probably a biography about Strawberry Switchblade), and has the lyrics in both English and Japanese. I paid $61 for the CD, but it was totally worth it. It's the 1997 reissue with some bonus tracks added.

I know you're probably thinking, "what does this have to do with The Psychedelic Furs?", but the music videos for Strawberry Switchblade's singles "Since Yesterday" (the group's only UK top 5 hit), "Let Her Go", and "Who Knows What Love Is?" were all directed by Tim Pope, who did The Psychedelic Furs' iconic videos for "Love My Way", "Heaven", "The Ghost In You", "Here Come Cowboys", and "Angels Don't Cry". The "Since Yesterday" video kind of reminds me of "The Ghost In You" in a way, and what's interesting is I read that "Since Yesterday" is about nuclear war. That song came out in 1984, the same year as "Heaven", which is also about nuclear war!

It's a shame that Strawberry Switchblade never got the recognition they truly deserved and I definitely recommend listening to their self-titled LP. My favorite song on the album is "Deep Water".

Monday, April 28, 2025

The Mars Williams Archive

Photo by me.

On April 22 I received an email from GoFundMe and it was an update from Dave Rempis, who created the GoFundMe for Mars Williams two years ago. Here is what Dave wrote:


"Dear friends, Our beloved friend Mars Williams was a legend of the Chicago music world for decades, a musician and bandleader whose impact stretched across the globe. His passing at the end of 2023 left a hole across many lives and musical scenes. To celebrate what would have been Mars' 70th birthday on May 29th, and to launch the Mars Williams Archive now being hosted at Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago, we're planning a series of concerts and events on May 24th and 25th at Constellation, The May Chapel, Experimental Sound Studio, and The Hungry Brain. Tickets for all of these events are on sale now at the respective venue websites, and all proceeds from these concerts will go towards supporting the Mars Williams Archive. If you can't make it, but would like to help support the archive, please follow this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KHAAJ2FNV3KG4 WE HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US FOR THIS CELEBRATION!!"


If you would like to donate to and support the Mars Williams Archive, please go to the link above.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Concert Ads #50

On July 5, 1981 The Psychedelic Furs performed at the Marble Bar in Baltimore, Maryland during the Talk Talk Talk Tour. This advert mentioned that The Furs' upcoming (at the time) show would happen in June but it really took place a month later. Maybe it was supposed to be in June but got rescheduled for July. Tickets were $5.00 in advance, $6.00 at the door.


Songs (via SetlistFM)

1. Into You Like A Train
2. Soap Commercial
3. She Is Mine
4. Mr. Jones
5. So Run Down
6. Dumb Waiters
7. Pretty In Pink
8. It Goes On
9. Sister Europe
10. Imitation Of Christ
11. All Of This And Nothing
12. India
13. Pulse


Via exoticandirrational.blogspot.com


Sunday, March 23, 2025

Brand New Rich Good Interview

Photo by me.

This morning on one of Rich Good's Instagram Stories I saw he posted a snippet of an interview that he did on a podcast. The podcast is called The Over/Under Podcast and it's by the Rattlesnake Cable Company, a company that sells cables for guitars. I watched the whole episode on YouTube and here's the link if you would like to watch it. The interview was uploaded yesterday.

Monday, March 17, 2025

Summer Tour Update

Today on Facebook The Psychedelic Furs posted an announcement about the Summer Tour, and they said that The Mission are unable to go, due to one of the band members having a previously unseen medical condition which would take a length of time to recover. But The Furs said The Chameleons will join them for the tour as the new supporting act.

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Behind the Songs: Dash




Interviewer: "Talk Talk Talk has a few noteworthy keyboard parts... 'Dash' on the B-side of 'Dumb Waiters' has a piano melody. Is this a direction for the future keyboards?"

Richard Butler: "We'd like to feature more of a lot of things. I'd like to use cello and twelve string guitar as well, but keyboards will definitely be on the next album, I'd say. We just want to expand the sound. It would be great to have a big band sound on the next one. We'll have to hire session musicians to tour with us next time. Do a Talking Heads!" (Overview 1981)

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Behind the Songs: Girl's Song [Unreleased]




Richard Butler: "On the first album all the lyrics were written around the fact that I didn't think that you could be a good writer and sing from a personal point of view. There was a song called 'Girl's Song' that was eventually dropped which was sung from a girl's point of view, there's a song like 'Blacks' which is sung from a middle class prat's point of view, now I want to write from a narrative point of view." (Sounds 1980)

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Pretty In Pink: My Favorite Version

A month ago I had been listening to the 1986 version of "Pretty In Pink" a lot and I have to make a confession, which the fans would completely disagree with me.

The 1986 rerecording is my favorite version of the song.


Photo: Henry Diltz

I thought the original 1981 song would be my favorite since it's the first version I heard but after listening to the remake a lot it made me start to like it more. I know The Psychedelic Furs and the fans prefer the original but to me I think the thing that improves the rerecording is the inclusion of the saxophone, because in the original "Pretty In Pink" there was no saxophone.

I feel fortunate to hear the song live and after listening to the live rendition five times when Mars Williams was around, it started becoming my favorite and it's one of the reasons why I like the rerecording more. The saxophone just works. And even though you like the original better, I think you all probably agree that Mars was amazing in the rerecording.

I still love the original "Pretty In Pink" but if I have to choose between the 1981 and 1986 versions I would definitely have to pick '86.

Oh, one more thing I want to add, I absolutely love the ending in the 1986 version.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

New Tour Dates

This June on the 22nd The Psychedelic Furs will perform at the Forever Now music festival in England and it will be their first UK show in three years. But recently I heard they announced a North American tour in the Summer. So far I don't know who the support act will be but on the July 20th concert, The Mission and The Church will be at the event. I'm looking forward to see what The Psychedelic Furs will do this year and I'm excited to check out the setlist. I wonder if Richard Fortus will join them again or if they will hire a saxophonist this time.

Unfortunately Portland is not included in the Summer tour but I'm hoping The Furs will return there in the Fall. Fingers crossed!


Via Facebook.


2/7/25 Update: Yesterday The Furs announced two more shows. Belfast, Northern Ireland on June 19, and Dublin, Ireland on June 20. If I'm correct, I think the last time The Psychedelic Furs performed at those locations was back in August of 2017.


2/11/25 Update: From what I've seen so far, it looks like The Mission will be the main supporting act. They had toured with The Psychedelic Furs before, in 1987 during the Midnight To Midnight tour.

Saturday, January 18, 2025

Other Desert Cities

I'm happy to say that I finally have my own Other Desert Cities T-shirt, which arrived this week.

Other Desert Cities is a line of clothing that's from Very Very, a small business store in Twentynine Palms, California. The owners of the store are Rich Good himself and his girlfriend Dana.

I actually got two shirts for me: One to wear for work and the other for going out on my days off. I also got a postcard too (free!) which was really nice. I would love to buy more from Very Very again in the future.

If you would like to buy your own Other Desert Cities shirt (and/or other stuff too) here is the link to Very Very's online shop: https://www.thisisveryvery.com/




2/16/25 Update: I ordered from Very Very again and I got myself these cool badges. I really love the cat one.




Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Behind the Songs: Should God Forget



Interviewer: "Which are the up-sounding songs [on Book Of Days]?"

Richard Butler: "Rather difficult to spot on this record, aren't they? I dunno, I'd say 'Should God Forget' is. And 'Entertain Me'." (Puncture Magazine 1989)

Behind the Songs: Shine


Photo: Gene Shaw


Richard Butler: "I wanted to write something in waltz time. Tim [Butler] and I set up a waltz time on the drum machine and added some random bells and it seemed to have a great kind of feeling. I just started singing."

Interviewer: "You improvised that song?"

Richard Butler: "That's how the best ones happen." (Puncture Magazine 1989)


Interviewer: "You said that there would be no singles on Book Of Days."

Richard Butler: "Well, we made the record and I didn't think that there was anything that I could really hear in the top ten. It's not that I don't think there are great songs on there. What I think are my favorites off this record are 'Shine' or 'Torch' ...but good songs and singles are two entirely different things, I think." (The Bob 1990)