Concert Ads #60

On April 19, 1983 The Psychedelic Furs performed at the Painters Mill Star Theatre in Owings Mills, Maryland during the Forever Now Tour. Tickets were $11.50. The Divinyls were the support act.

Songs (via SetlistFM; setlist incomplete)

1. Into You Like A Train

2. Love My Way

3. Imitation Of Christ

4. India

My Psychedelic Furs Vinyl #16

Forever Now (1982) (CBS 88985459991) (EU 2018 reissue)

I know I already have Forever Now on vinyl (the US LP) but I got this one because it has the original artwork.

Side 1:

1. President Gas

2. Love My Way

3. Run And Run

4. Merry-Go-Round

5. Sleep Comes Down

Side 2:

1. Forever Now

2. Danger

3. You And I

4. Goodbye

5. No Easy Street

Concert Ads #53

On October 10, 1982 The Psychedelic Furs performed at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England during the Forever Now Tour and The Passage were the openers. Tickets were £3.50 in advance, £4.00 at the door.

Songs (via SetlistFM):

1. Yes I Do (Merry Go Round)

2. Run And Run

3. Love My Way

4. No Easy Street

5. Only You And I

6. Pretty In Pink

7. Danger

8. Goodbye

9. President Gas

10. She Is Mine

11. Sleep Comes Down

12. Sister Europe

13. Into You Like A Train

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.

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.

Concert Ads #42

During the tour for Forever Now on the 11th and 12th of March 1983, The Psychedelic Furs went to the Perkins Palace in Pasadena, California. Opening act was Our Daughter's Wedding.

Concert Ads #41

On November 19, 1982 The Psychedelic Furs performed at the Santa Monica Civic in Santa Monica, California during the Forever Now tour. The tickets were $9.75 (advance) and $10.75 (day of show). The support act was The Dream Syndicate.

Promo Photo #2

Here is a UK promotional photo which was most likely for Forever Now. Notice how the font of the band name is the one from the first album.

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.

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"

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?

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.

David Bowie's Top 10 (1983)

Photo: Fiona Hamilton

Today would have been David Bowie's 75th birthday, and as all of us PFurs fans know, he had been a loyal supporter of the band, wanted to produce one of their albums, and there's even a rumor of Bowie doing a cover of "Pretty In Pink". Yesterday I found some old article from an unknown magazine and it was some readers choice awards for the year 1983. On the page there were top 10 lists by seven artists who had chosen their favorite albums and singles. David Bowie was one of them and he put The Psychedelic Furs' song "Love My Way" in third place! Here's his full list.

1. Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits, by Marvin Gaye

2. 1999, by Prince

3. "Love My Way," by The Psychedelic Furs

4. "Tour de France," by Kraftwerk

5. "Little Red Corvette," by Prince

6. Duck Rock, by Malcolm McLaren

7. "Wanna Be Startin' Something," by Michael Jackson

8. "Bring It On, Bring It On," by James Brown

9. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)," by Eurythmics

10. "We Free Kings," by Roland Kirk

Behind the Songs: No Easy Street

Interviewer: "What else lyrically for you stands out on [Forever Now]?"

Richard Butler: "I always liked the mood of 'Sleep Comes Down' a lot, that was always very dreamy. 'No Easy Street' I also liked a lot. And there was a track that never made it onto the album, called 'I Don't Want To Be Your Shadow,' which I always loved the feeling of as well. In those days it was always, if you've got ten songs you don't need any more." (iJamming! 2001)

John Ashton: "I like that one a lot. It's a little schlocky at times for me. Maybe 'schlocky' isn't the right word. It's a song that kind of has to be... When we played it right, it was wonderful, you know? You had to play it... You couldn't play it too fast. You had to play it slow. And at times, the beat would be too fast, and it would just sound like the power had been taken away from it. But great song, kind of more in that 'Sister Europe' vein. Another of my favorites. Slower, moodier, good words, nice chorus, and – appropriately enough – A nice outro." (Popdose 2012)

Behind the Songs: Goodbye

Richard Butler: "Todd [Rundgren] did do some of the horn arrangements [on Forever Now]. He and Gary Windo did the horns for 'Danger' and 'Goodbye', and that was the major part of his contribution." (Creem 1983)

John Ashton: "Again, one of those songs that really... I kind of lump it in a little bit with 'Merry Go Round' and 'Danger'. An okay song. Not my favorite." (Popdose 2012)

Behind the Songs: Only You And I

Photo: Paul Natkin

John Ashton: "If memory serves me well, 'President Gas,' 'Forever Now,' and 'Only You And I' were songs that were around when [Roger Morris and Duncan Kilburn] were around. Only maybe in a very early stage, but they're outstanding songs because the orchestration is so different, the way the songs start and then the next part. The dynamics of the songs are very different than, say, 'Merry Go Round' or 'Danger' or a couple of the others." (Popdose 2012)

John Ashton: "Love that song. Love it so much. It's another one of those songs that I think we were working out at the time when Roger and Duncan were still in the band. It definitely had its beginnings way, way early on in the project. A bit of a carryover from the Talk Talk Talk days. The cello was obviously an addition at the time, but, again, the orchestration of it, the way it starts, the way it kicks into the verse, and then the chorus is kind of a carryover to Talk Talk Talk, orchestration-wise. Dynamics-wise, definitely." (Popdose 2012)

Interviewer: "I've talked about some of the songs that I really like that you guys do. Do you have any particular favorites that you love?"

Tim Butler: "Yeah, my three favorites, I would have to say, would be 'Heaven,' 'President Gas' and 'Only You And I.'"

Interviewer: "And what do you like about those?"

Tim Butler: "They are constructed the best and all the parts of the instrumentation is perfect for those songs. They're some of the best-realized songs in our catalogue." (Songfacts 2013)

Interviewer: "You're playing singles from your back catalogue on this tour in the autumn. Which ones are you most looking forward to playing?"

Tim Butler: "My favorite songs we've ever done are 'Heaven' and 'Only You And I,' which wasn't a single but I hope we put it in there." (Outline Magazine 2017)

Tim Butler: "I love playing 'Only You And I' off of Forever Now, which we play sometimes but I'd love to play more because it's one of my favorites off that." (Rock & Roll Globe 2020)

Interviewer: "What are your favorite classic Psychedelic Furs songs to play?"

Rich Good: "'Soap Commercial', 'Sister Europe', 'Dumb Waiters', 'Only You And I', 'Alice's House'… Honestly, there's not really any I don't like playing." (Post-Punk.com 2022)

Interviewer: "Tell me about a Psychedelic Furs track that you feel is perhaps overlooked among listeners."

Tim Butler: "I'd say 'Only You And I' from Forever Now. It's not often pointed out as a fan favorite, but it's one of my favorite tracks. I think it's great because of the song structure, which was a move up for us after Talk Talk Talk." (Musoscribe 2025)

Behind the Songs: Danger

Richard Butler: "Todd [Rundgren] did do some of the horn arrangements [on Forever Now]. He and Gary Windo did the horns for 'Danger' and 'Goodbye', and that was the major part of his contribution." (Creem 1983)

John Ashton: "I felt quite strongly about the song at the time, and I think what I like most about it are the horns. It's kind of never really... It's one of those songs that we never ended up playing so much. I like the lyrics. I like the way Richard sings it. But it's one of those songs that I felt like was on the B-list, if you will." (Popdose 2012)

Behind the Songs: Forever Now

Richard Butler: "It's much harder to write ballads, we're desperate for new ballads. Although the others in the band prefer to play up-tempo pieces, I prefer the ballads to be as empty as possible, and then they don't know what to do with their energy. We have a new ballad, 'Forever Now'. It's about the word 'forever' - always. People say so frequently, 'I'll be with you forever'. So it's a lie. That's what makes me angry when people use words like that." (Sounds 1981 [German magazine])

Richard Butler: "The song 'Forever Now' is quite political also. Talking about people in politics being backed by big money from banks. And then it goes back to two lovers." (Boston Rock 1983)

Richard Butler (on being asked if "Forever Now" and "President Gas" seem to be politically linked): "Yeah, definitely, in fact they should've been a couplet. 'President Gas' is about Ronald Reagan and 'Forever Now' is a dichotomy between the way things around you work and the way two lovers can be. They're both also about organized politics, the fact that big business is running politics and that's such a frightening thing. It looks like you're voting for a face or promises but in the end you're voting for big business." (Rip It Up 1983)

John Ashton: "I worked for ages one day on a middle section for 'Forever Now', this big, bombastic guitar thing that, thankfully, [Todd Rundgren] erased. [Laughs] Although every time I hear the record, I hear the actual solo, so it might not have been a bad thing. It seems a little empty to me just to listen to those bells in the middle. It kind of seems a bit boring when it drops down and you hear these...tubular bells, almost like Mike Oldfield. Ding, dong, ding, dong. It's almost a Christmas-y kind of thing in the middle. It's, like, what the heck's that all about? There should be a guitar solo in there. And there was. [Laughs] But that's another story..." (Popdose 2012)

John Ashton: "[Todd Rundgren] taught us a lot about tightening up our rhythm. He showed us how to push a beat and pull it back. He made us do multiple takes of songs, like 'Forever Now.'" (Popdose 2012)

John Ashton: "If memory serves me well, 'President Gas,' 'Forever Now,' and 'Only You And I' were songs that were around when [Roger Morris and Duncan Kilburn] were around. Only maybe in a very early stage, but they're outstanding songs because the orchestration is so different, the way the songs start and then the next part. The dynamics of the songs are very different than, say, 'Merry Go Round' or 'Danger' or a couple of the others." (Popdose 2012)

John Ashton: "I love that song. There's so much power to it. Y'know, the chorus isn't great, but the intro starts out with that sort of flange-y guitar, and then it's onto more power-chord-y verses... I really like the song a lot. As I said, I did work on it quite extensively in the studio, only to have the guitar solo nixed. But it doesn't really bother me." (Popdose 2012)

Interviewer: "The Furs seemed to have argued all the time about everything. Music included?"

Duncan Kilburn: "Not music, importantly. But there was an issue around the production of the third album (Forever Now).

"David Bowie was approached and agreed to an executive production role but could only commit to 10 days of studio time. He was doing The Elephant Man and had minimal time in his schedule. And then there was Todd Rundgren, who was keen to do the album. Vince Ely, the Furs' drummer, was a big fan. Steve Lillywhite also expressed an interest after hearing 'President Gas' and 'Forever Now', which were already in the set.

"The logic shouted at me: 'Go with Bowie at all costs. You'll never get a better chance!' But Richard, and therefore Les [Mills], went with Todd. There was no real discussion about it." (Louder Sound 2024)

Interviewer: "Although you were fired before the Furs' Forever Now album, you had co-written music for some of the songs on it?"

Duncan Kilburn: "John Ashton and I converted the rear lounge of our tour bus into a studio with a Sony 4-track, drum machine, keyboards, and a practice amp, and we started writing Forever Now on the road. We'd bring tracks to the front of the bus to play to Richard and the rest of the band and during soundchecks to rehearse them up. We'd done 'President Gas' and 'Forever Now' this way, and the system was working, although I never got credit for the songs already written for Forever Now." (Louder Sound 2024)