The Psychedelic Furs are not a traditional rock & roll band. Their philosophies are different, their approach is different and as a result, their music is very unique. The band's cult following has multiplied with each of their three albums. They've managed to do this with a sound that is mesmerizing, haunting and provocative. It's almost impossible to remain indifferent when listening to their music and there is little room for simplistic references or comparisons. They've given the word "psychedelic" a new meaning. While by no means satirizing that genre, they've taken the psychedelic concept and adapted it to the eighties. With Todd Rundgren producing their latest album, Forever Now, their cult following has expanded to include many new fans as Todd harnessed their sound to make their music more accessible while incorporating their original style. "Love My Way" is the best example of this (their biggest U.K. hit), with a strong melody, strings and brass.
The Psychedelic Furs stopped by Malibu as part of an extensive tour and it was there that I interviewed bassist and founding member, Tim Butler.
How and why did the Psychedelic Furs get together?
Tim: Basically, it was an idea of Richard's. He was at art school and he wanted to get a band together, so he asked me if I wanted to be in a band. He wanted to get into something other than art, something a bit more inventive. He already had a degree in art so he was trying another level of art. So. I said “yeah."
Did he have any music experience?
Tim: No and neither had I. He asked me what I wanted to play and I wanted to play drums but I couldn't afford a drum kit so I said I'd play bass. So he said "Buy a bass. learn to play it and we'll form a band." We were going for two years as a four piece with the old guitarist, Roger Morris, and a drummer, then we got a hold of John and Duncan and had a six piece. And we've gone through various changes...
So neither of you had ambitions to be a rock star? It was just something to do?
Tim: We never thought it would get this far. We just wanted to see if we could get some songs together, then see if we could get any gigs. When we got gigs we started picking up a following. We thought it was then time to look for a record contract.
How long was it from the beginning until you had signed a record contract?
Tim: About a year and a half. We only did about forty concerts before we were signed; which was amazing because lots of bands gig for years and years and do hundreds of concerts and they don't get signed.
How did you pick the name "The Psychedelic Furs"?
Tim: It was Richard's idea. At the time it was the punk thing. Everybody had these vicious names, like Venus and the Razor Blades, The Sex Pistols, the Clash... and Johnny Rotten was saying that he hated sixties music. It was boring and did nothing good. Some of our biggest heroes were from the sixties, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground. So we looked for what would be a good name that would separate us immediately from the punk thing. And so we thought "Psychedelic." I don't know how the "Furs" came up, it just sort of fit.
How much of an effect, if any, did the group's name have on your music?
Tim: At that time, we were quite psychedelic inventive in a sixties' way. You'd get bands that would jam in the sixties and we used to do long songs, up to twenty minutes. If it was going good it would last twenty minutes, if it was going badly it would last five. We did psychedelic guitar playing and stuff, so I suppose in that way it was psychedelic, as well as a reaction against the punk thing.
What was your impression of the psychedelic era?
Tim: I didn't get it the first time around. Richard and my other brother used to bring home LP's like the Velvet Underground and Nico. I wasn't so into music then, I was only nine. I got it second hand.
What about the San Francisco psychedelia-Jefferson Airplane...?
Tim: We were influenced by early Pink Floyd, Velvet Underground, The Seeds and Love as opposed to the Grateful Dead. We were never into that.
What do you suppose the Psychedelic Furs would be like had you come out fifteen years earlier?
Tim: We wouldn't have been so unique. Today there is very little experimentation in music. In the sixties you'd have bands like Thirteenth Floor Elevator s who would get hundreds of people in a studio banging pots & pans. I think we would have been a big cult.
Why have there been so many personnel changes in the group?
Tim: When we got to the third album, we decided that we wanted a totally different sound. We didn't want a rhythm guitar all the time or a sax on every track so we parted company with the rhythm guitarist and the sax player. We did demos in London with a cello player, a sax player and a keyboard player and we sent them over to Todd. So now, working as a four piece writing team means that you can write a song and for any one track you can bring in anything you want. You don't have to have a sax on it. If you had a sax player that was a permanent member and you had a song, he’d always want to play sax on it. So now you don’t have to have a sax on every number, you can have anything you want. It widens the scope of the sound you can get.
How did you hook up with Todd Rundgren?
Tim: He heard our first two albums and the year before last he came down to see us at the Ritz and expressed interest in working with us. We told him we'd think about it. He invited us to see his studio and we did. It was a nice studio and he was really Interested in producing us and he lowered his price as well. He's a great producer to work with. Just right for the material we wanted to do.
What were the differences between working with Todd Rundgren and Steve Lillywhite as producers?
Tim: Todd is a musician as opposed to a technician. He could feel what we were doing more, he was more open to making more musically constructive ideas. We talked about what we wanted different instruments to sound like. And he said, “Yeah, I can get that for you.” And he did.
What about working with Steve Lillywhite?
Tim: He was right for us at that time. We had that wall of sound for the first and second albums. With this album we need a crisper, sort of better production, which Todd has done.
Having started from a whim, does it surprise you that the band has progressed to this point where you're seriously discussing the technical aspects and concentrating now on melodies..?
Tim: It's not a conscious thing it's just a natural progression. We're growing and learning. There's no big plan that on the next album we'll do this and sell millions.
Will Todd produce your next album?
Tim: He might, but we might produce it ourselves.
There is a lot of imagery in your songs. In consideration of that, how important is video to the band?
Tim: It hasn't been up till now. We're getting into it now, especially with MTV, where getting a video on that can impress a lot of people. It’s not that important to me. It’s nice to see yourself on a video but I’d hate to get to that point where nobody goes to see a band and they just buy videos.
What music that’s out today interests you?
Tim: I like Talking Heads, The B-52s, anything that’s good.
What about the techno-groups?
Tim: I don't like that. It's seems a bit cold.
Most of the songs credit the band with the writing. Is there one member who contributes a larger portion?
Tim: It's sixty percent John since he's the guitarist. Then we all get together in different combinations for the other 40%. Richard does the lyrics.
What do you see in the future or near future for the Psychedelic Furs?
Tim: New Zealand, Australia. I see us maybe coming out next year with a whole string section or a horn section, getting a bigger band and a bigger sound. The next one will definitely be different than the last.
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