Pop’s Outsider
The first night of this summer's Glastonbury CND Festival will always be remembered for the triumphant return of the Psychedelic Furs to these shores. As Richard Butler strode across the stage in the sort of suit you could get arrested for wearing in a built up area, all seemed right with the world. 'Here Come Cowboys', 'Love My Way' and an ancient little number called 'Pretty In Pink', filled the night air - so simple and so wonderful.
The last time I spoke to Mr. Butler we were both the worse for wear, and you could have got more sense from a Harpo Marx phone interview. Today he's looking disgustingly healthy, despite having flown in from Los Angeles (just to talk to RM, you understand), and being in the middle of yet another grueling US tour. He passes on the chocolate biscuits - animal fats, don't you know and tucks his expensive black top into his trousers for the first of many times. And then we begin...
How did you get involved with the film 'Pretty In Pink'?
"Well, I remember I was reading 'Rolling Stone' magazine in the States, and I saw that Molly Ringwald was making a movie called 'Pretty In Pink'. I called up my manager and said 'this is outrageous, you've got to sue them', and he said 'Why? You can't sue someone for using a common phrase', and I said 'it's not a common phrase, I made it up'. So we got onto it and found out they'd actually bought it - I just hadn't been told. Which is fair enough, it's the most money I've ever made for three words. I won't tell you how much, but it's a lot of money!" Fans of the group will realise that 'Pretty In Pink' was originally released some five years ago.
Which version do you prefer?
"Spirit wise I prefer the original, it's just got more feel, but they're not incredibly different. The new one's got a cleaner sound and a better drum sound, but the main reason for doing it was so we could have a crack at production."
What did you make of the film itself? It's been panned over here by the critics.
"Yeah, but who cares? It's showing in 250 cinemas in England, so it must be
making a lot of money, and I doubt if John Hughes (producer and screen writer) is crying in his coffee over what the critics say. At the last count he was the sixth most successful screen writer ever, so I don't think he's got anything to worry about."
It's two years since your last album 'Mirror Moves'. When's the new one out?
"It was supposed to be released earlier this but we've been quite fussy year, and hence it's been remixed and stuff. It's called 'Midnight To Midnight' and it's got more guitars on it than 'Mirror Moves', it's got more of an edge. People were quite surprised at how much of a studio album 'Mirror Moves' was, and we got a lot of flack from critics. A lot of people seem to want us to carry on making the first two albums, but things change, you know.
"We're still trying to decide which track will be the next single, there's one called 'Heartbreak Beat', one called 'Angels Don't Cry' and one called 'Shock' and we'll decide when they've been mixed."
I suppose it'll be a relief to have something new to work on after doing all this promotion for 'Pretty In Pink'?
"Yeah it's hard for me to see this single as anything new 'cos it's five years since we recorded it and it does sound a bit like history to me. Something new will be good."
Does it surprise you that you remain so popular over here without releasing many records? Fickle is the word for audiences these days, isn't it?
"Well, we're not really a business type band, if we were a teenybop band then our audience would be the most fickle of the lot, but we're not. We get some of that, quite a lot of it in the States, but we're a bit deeper than that. You could almost say serious, but I don't think any rock music is serious. A lot of people have said we're getting a lot more little girls on this tour in America, but we had a lot on the 'Mirror Moves' tour. We used to be a boys' band, very much so, and there's been a bit of a crossover because I'm such a handsome guy, you know?
"Things have changed though, like I can't jump in the audience any more. I did it once on this tour and I was crushed. It was 10 minutes before the crew could get me back on stage and that was really scary. I used to do that stuff regularly, but not anymore. I came back with my clothes in shreds and five girls' hands down the front of my trousers- they go right for the main event! It's quite scary when you can't breathe because you've got somebody's tongue down your throat and your arms are being held down, and they're ripping off your jacket."
As someone who's been living out of England for some years now, do you feel an outsider as far as dear old Blighty goes?
“I don't know, because I kind of look at everything as an outsider. Somebody asked me where I feel I belong the other day, and I don't feel I belong anywhere. I'm certainly not transatlantic-I hate that phrase, it makes me think of those people who go to New York for a month and come home with an American twang. They're wankers! I like the feeling that I'm not part of any one place, I can look at it all with a certain objectivity. It helps to be in New York when writing, because of the vibe there is around the place. It helps being in America because of this feeling that you can do anything, that if you really wanted to be in movies you can do it. I mean, come on, they've got an ex-actor as President."
Psychedelic Furs' records always seem to have this very simple, honed-down sound to them. You don't go in for too much superfluous production, do you?
"I think it's just the way things happen. Keith Forsey, in particular, his production always leaves a lot of space. Whether it's a Billy Idol record or Charlie Sexton, he's always careful that different sounds go in different ranges. There's brass on this album, Mars Williams has been with us for three and a half years now and I honestly think he's the best sax player in the world. The band is a real professional outfit these days, which I never thought we would be. It didn't come into my head when we first formed the band that we were ever going to be great musicians. It was always attitude first and foremost and it still is, but it's good to have attitude and good musicians. I hate bands that are just good musicians, I can't think of one that's ever come along that I like. I like to see someone singing with a bit of attitude whether it's an effete kind of one or not. Then you get these bands come along who are just like the new Marmalade or something, and you just know they won't be around in two years' time."
Who have you seen come through lately who you think does have some staying power?
“I think the Smiths will be around in five or six years time and the Cure will be around for a long time, I know they're not new or anything. The Smiths are the main one, I mean they're not always my cup of tea but at least what they do is interesting. I don't think they sell many records over in the States, but there's a lot of interest when they tour. I heard that they don't like any security at the gigs 'cos they like all this stage invasion stuff, and one night the promoter got really upset and ran on to the stage and he was the only one who fell off and broke his ribs. Nobody else got hurt!"
What do you make of the obsession within the British press at the moment for horror drug stories?
"It's weird, I think drugs are the remains of an old culture. That's the feeling I get. I don't do it myself anymore, but it's looked upon more and more as 'what a stupid old thing to be doing, what year are you living in?'. It used to be cool and rock 'n' roll but now who wants to be talking to you? You talk crap, you're useless! Crack is the big thing in America now, all these people free basing, you hear some real horror stories about it getting massive in Philadelphia and Washington, but I don't really see much of it. I gave up all that shit so I haven't tried it. Though every time a new one comes along I wish I hadn't given up when I did, but I feel much healthier now. I couldn't do my job properly before. When I do a show, I don't want people to see someone with a hangover or still half drunk trying to get over the last one. It takes all my energy for the two and a half hours that I'm on stage. You have to be feeling pretty good when you walk out onto that stage."
I know you're a fan of 'The Twilight Zone'. Which is your favourite story?
“It's funny you should mention this because I was talking to some people only yesterday about it. I think it's 'A Good Life' a Ray Bradbury story that was redone for the 'Twilight Zone' film. It's about this girl who goes to a house where there's a little kid who gets everything he wants and his family have to sit there and agree with him all the time. He eats hamburgers with peanut butter and tea and anything he thinks about comes on the TV. His sister had an argument with him once and now she hasn't got a mouth. I'm much a black and white person, I love old movies, I like the lighting on them and when you have only black and white it's much more easy in terms of structure. I think in movies, people get too hung up on the colour and it doesn't matter what it looks like in terms of structure and tone."
Of course, not too long before you came over to Britain to play the CND festival, you weren't a million miles away from the Chernobyl fall out area, were you?
“No, unfortunately I was in Berlin which is, like, really close. As soon as realised I was only eight miles away from Poland where they were pouring all the milk away I hated it. We were recording there, we started off in Switzerland and that got really boring 'cos Switzerland's a horrible country to be stuck in, so we moved to Berlin which is great. The vibe in Berlin is great and then we carried on in New York. East Berlin is great, we were in the famous studio where Bowie did 'Heroes'. It used to be a Gestapo whore house, and the caretaker's the original guy who was there during the war. He's got some great stories to tel I walked into the main studio and my hair stood straight up on end. It was a weird feeling." (Probably the fall out, Richard.)
With the image of Richard Butler shaking in a Nazi brothel, his hair standing upright (doesn't it always), rattling around my brain, the man tuck his top into his trousers once more an gets ready to jet back to the States. The Psychedelic Furs will be doing a month long tour of Britain in November, by which time the new LP 'Midnight To Midnight' will be featuring heavily in the RM Earbender (I guarantee it). 'Pretty In Pink' words that shook Richard Butler's bank account!
