The Psychedelic Furs formed in 1977 during the height of England’s punk-rock movement. They unleashed their first LP in 1980 when bands that had been spawned by the punks (such as Joy Division, the Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Public Image Limited) were bending punk’s rules, taking it in new directions of innovation and experimentalism. The Psychedelic Furs were one of the era’s most electrifying bands.
That first eponymous P-Furs album was rife with clanging, chaotic instrumentation that looked back at such late-’60s idols as the Velvet Underground and the Stooges while still looking forward toward new possibilities. On that debut the band’s vocalist, Richard Butler, sounded like a Johnny Rotten who had just gargled with Drano. Yet his voice, which was almost painful to hear, actually complemented the band’s harmonic dissonance.
On their next two albums, 1981’s Talk Talk Talk and 1982’s Forever Now, the P-Furs honed up their skills and more than lived up to the promise of the first album. The band had now reigned in its most cluttered excesses, deftly crafting tuneful songs that had just enough tightrope-teetering chaos to still be dangerous. And Butler’s vocalizing wasn’t as stridently grating – he was less hoarse, more emotive. In short, Butler had emerged as a true singer. Talk Talk Talk and Forever Now made it abundantly clear that the Psychedelic Furs were one of the most vital bands of the early-’80s British post-punk movement.
On 1984’s Mirror Moves, though, the Furs took a turn toward more commercial production. The bright sheen and liberal use of electronic enhancement on that album disappointed some, but the songs remained dark and well0executed. And any fan’s misgivings were allayed when the band toured – when performed live, the album’s songs emerged just as menacingly propellant as the band’s earlier material.
Unfortunately, the Furs continued further toward the commercial, ultra-produced direction on their fifth album, 1987’s Midnight to Midnight. The band appeared to be attempting to capitalize on the teenage girl fanaticism caused by the inclusion of a re-recorded version of Talk Talk Talk’s “Pretty in Pink” in the movie (and its soundtrack album) of the same name. In its original form, with its dark, foreboding overtones, “Pretty in Pink” was a highlight of the Furs’ best album. But the new version (which appeared again on Midnight to Midnight) is bereft of its original threatening mood, its rough edges smoothed over in a wash of shimmering studio sweetness. And the rest of Midnight to Midnight was just as bland. Die-hard Furs fans were dying with embarassment.
Most recently, the Psychedelic Furs have attempted to regain some of their early passion by recording Book of Days, an album that relies less on the studio and more on musicianship. The album is more reminiscent of early-’80s Furs material than anything since Forever Now. All in all, Book of Days is a valiant effort.
Perhaps in an attempt to revitalize themselves and to get back in touch with their punk roots, this past winter the Psychedelic Furs played five nights at New York’s punk womb, CBGB’s. The Bob talked to Richard Butler after this stint. Butler spoke with a quiet directness and a subtle sense of humor.
The Bob: I saw your last show at CBGB’s Saturday night, and I thought I’d start today by asking you…
Butler: Why.
The Bob: Yes, exactly. Why CBGB’s?
Butler: God, I don’t know why CBGB’s. It’s a really well-known club in New York. There’s lots of little reasons, I think. A band comes to town and they play a theatre, and then they’re gone again and they don’t create much of a buzz. There’s that – which is a purely selfish reason. And there’s the other reason which is that it’s ages since we played anywhere like that, and I really wanted to play somewhere like that – and I really wanted to do five dates somewhere like that. As much as people say certain bands can turn a theatre into a club atmosphere, I don’t believe it. There’s something about being in an actual club and singing to people who are “there” [he puts his hand up to his face]. It was good to do shows without any kind of production at all, without any of the trappings of rock shows.
The Bob: Were you happy with the way things went at CBGB’s?
Butler: Yeah. It was exactly what I expected. It was a bit hotter than I expected, and there wasn’t as much oxygen as I expected. But besides that, it was pretty good. I think everybody at CBGB’s made it really good to do. I meant, actually, to say thank you to Hilly Crystal. They made it really pleasant to do. It’s strange, the very first place we ever played in America was the Mudd Club. The Mudd Club flew us over to play there. And this just seemed like a good way to end the ‘80s – or begin the ‘90s.
The Bob: I can’t resist asking about the line-up of the band. Vince Ely was with the band at one time, but left. What happened to get you guys back together.
Butler: There was a lot of dissatisfaction in the band with the last record [Midnight to Midnight]. And it was either we were going to make a record that we all liked, or we didn’t want to bother making another record. We spent too long in the studio making Midnight to Midnight, and we lost direction. We were doing something which had always worked until then, which was saying, “we’ve got ideas, let’s go and write the material in the studio,” which is something we’ve done ever since Talk Talk Talk. We’ve tried to push the sound in different directions, and it worked. I think Forever Now was a good album for that. I think that Mirror Moves, for what we were trying to do with it, was a good record. And then I think we came unstuck. The chemistry of the band didn’t really feel good. It was like, we just walked into a room and everybody plugged in and played. People were off in different directions musically. And so we just changed the line-up around again and kept Joe [McGinty] the keyboard player, because he’s been working great. We got Knox [Chandler], who we’d known for a long time, in on second guitar. And Vince [Ely] was around and we asked him if he’d be interested in trying out. He just happened to be sitting around the office. We tried it out and it worked great. He’s not a great drummer in the tradition, especially in America, of rock drummers, which is somebody who keeps time exactly. He’s not the greatest time keeper. But he makes up for it with personality and chemistry and using his imagination.
The Bob: Let’s talk about Book of Days. It’s different from your recent work, and it reminds me of the early Furs.
Butler: Yeah, I think it sounds like that. It’s not a conscious effort. We didn’t say “Let’s listen to the early albums and make another record like that.” It’s just that that’s what we sound like when we’re not produced. Our songwriting has never been that radically different. It’s mainly been production differences with records. I think songs like “The Ghost in You” could have been off Talk Talk Talk or Forever Now. It’s just the way that we treated them. Book of Days is a record that we made stripped of production. We didn’t want to overproduce the record. We didn’t want to spend too long making it. We wanted to get it done as quickly as possible. We just took about six weeks to record it.
The Bob: How did you choose David Allen to produce the album?
Butler: We made up a short list. The conclusion that some people have come to is, “Ah, they used Dave Allen – they must like the Cure production,” which really isn’t the case at all. You look at the producers that are available. We wanted to work with an English producer because we wanted to work in England at Rak Studios – we’ve had a good time there in the past. And when you actually look at the producers who are available, there really aren’t an incredible amount. You can’t say, “Well, we’re not going to use this producer because people will think that we’re trying to sound like this or that.” I mean, we had done some work with Stephen Street – not because we wanted to sound like the Smiths or Morrissey...it’s just that there really aren’t that many producers around. Not very many with the right attitude that we wanted, and not many people, personality-wise, that we liked. I mean, we met up with him and we really liked him as a person.
The Bob: Speaking of production, “Pretty in Pink” was a great song until it got into the movie – then something happened to it. What happened to that song? It sounded so much different?
Butler: I don’t think it sounds that different. They wanted to use it for a movie so we said we’d like a chance to re-record it, see what happens. We did that and it didn’t sound as good. That’s something you have to do. You have to make a mistake once to learn.
The Bob: Would you ever do a song for a movie again?
Butler: I don’t think I would write a song specifically for a movie. People have come up to us since that and said, “Look, this is our movie. Will you write a song for it?” And we’ve said “No.” We don’t write to order...we don’t really right hit singles either. If we could write to order, I’d love to be a writer who could say, “Well, we’ve got a great album here, but let’s write a hit single that’s got credibility as well.” That would be a great thing to be able to do, but I don’t work like that.
The Bob: You said that there would be no singles on Book of Days.
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. Some of my favorite songs from the past never had a shot at being a single, and still wouldn’t have a shot.
The Bob: Give me an example.
Butler: Any of my favorite bands. I mean, anything by the Velvet Underground. MY favorite songs by bands that are around now that I like – I quite like bands like R.E.M. But I don’t think a song like “Stand” is anywhere near what they do well. That’s the kind of song I skip across. I’m not talking about them specifically. I’m talking about a lot of bands. I mean, Camper Van Beethoven – if I thought a band deserved a hit single I would say “All Her Favorite Fruit” from Key Lime Pie. I know that won’t be a hit single, but it’s a great song.
The Bob: In the past, your lyrics would be printed on the album sleeves, but they’re not on Book of Days.
Butler: No, I didn’t want to. I enjoy listening to people’s records who don’t write them out. I often wonder if I’ve got it right. I can listen to a record for months, and I don’t know whether I’ve got the lyrics right. And then I’ll pick up another lyric and realize what they’re saying. That adds to the pleasure. Also, when you write them out you’re putting them in the place of poetry, and they’re not. They’re just meant to be song lyrics.