The Psychedelic Furs reunited last year, picking up where they left off 10 years ago.It's been as easy as falling off a log.
Or, in lead singer Richard Butler's case, a stage.
At a recent show in Dallas during the British group's reunion tour, Butler fell and hurt his leg in a mishap worthy of a Chevy Chase comedy."I fell off the front of the stage and crashed into the crash barrier," he said with a hearty laugh, recalling how ridiculous he must have looked.
"I went horizontal for a split second and hit the barrier with my chest and then my legs sort of crumpled behind me. I carried on singing, though. I was most brave. So now I'm sort of limping around on painkillers."
Aside from a clumsy accident and a few snafus, the Furs' U.S. tour has been fairly smooth. The trek includes a show Wednesday night at The Showbox, with opening act Pinset.
Butler said fans are responding well to some of the band's new songs, particularly "Alive," as well as the gobs of great tunes the group recorded years ago -- among them the beautifully textured "Love My Way," "Here Come Cowboys," "Heaven," "Heartbeat" and "Pretty in Pink," featured in the mid-'80s Molly Ringwald movie of the same name.
Anyone looking for relevance in the Furs old songs need look no further than "President Gas," Butler's jab at President Reagan.
"It's getting a second wind," Butler said with a laugh.
In the '80s, the Psychedelic Furs were widely admired for their artful, melodic blend of post-punk rock and poetic lyrics and Butler's seductively husky vocals, which soared in such beautifully catchy songs as "Love My Way" and "Heaven."
But by the early '90s, the group had grown weary of touring.
"It got very tiring playing those songs again and again and again," Butler said. "And people being disappointed if you didn't."
"I got bored with the songs, basically. But having given it a 10-year hiatus, it's kind of exciting to be playing again. It's a lot of fun."
The face of rock was changing, too. But Butler liked what he heard.
"I kind of liked grunge music. I thought it was a welcome change from bands like Poison and Ratt and all that," he said.
During his hiatus from the Furs, Butler formed Love Spit Love and recorded two moderately successful albums. He and wife Annie Butler also had a daughter, Maggie Mozart, and settled into suburban life in Cold Springs, N.Y.
Butler had finished writing a batch of new songs when brother and former Fur Tim Butler brought up the "R" word.
"My brother actually brought up the reunion idea. He'd heard I'd been writing and said, 'How many songs have you got?' And I said, 'I've got about 20.' And he said, 'You've got enough songs to do your record and a Furs record, too.'"
Richard Butler thought it was a good idea, but realized it would be difficult to divide the songs between himself and the Furs.
"You've got to put your best foot forward. I couldn't save any of the best songs for myself."
Butler said his songwriting hasn't changed much, only the subject matter.
"Since I had a kid and moved to suburbia -- actually it's a bit wilder than that -- there are a couple songs in there about suburbia and what a hell it is."
The Furs recorded two shows this week at the House of Blues in Los Angeles for a live DVD due this summer. Later this year, the group will begin work on its first studio album in more than a decade, recording the new songs the Butler brothers have written.
The studio recording will certainly move the Furs in a new direction. But for now, the group is being faithful to a sound familiar to fans.
"This next record hasn't been made yet, so we're basically touring on a greatest-hits package and just saying, 'Hey, we're back again and here are some new songs.'"
Besides Butler and brother Tim on bass, the touring band includes longtime Fur John Ashton on guitar. Additional members include Earl Harvin, drummer for The The, and Richard Fortus, a Love Spit Love alumnus, on second guitar.
Fortus plays all the group's horn sounds and keyboard parts through a guitar synthesizer. Butler was irked by a recent online review that suggested the sounds were taped.
"Nothing's on tape. Richard plays everything through the guitar synthesizer," Butler said. "If anyone thinks we're cheating, they should watch the guitarist."
The Furs reunion tour continues through mid-May.
"Then I believe we're taking a break. But not 10 years this time," Butler said.