London, UK · post-punk · new-wave

The Psychedelic Furs

1 upcoming festival →

Richard Butler's sandpaper voice over saxophone-flecked post-punk that keeps finding new generations — 'Pretty in Pink' the eternal gateway.

The band formed in London in February 1977 around Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler. Before settling on the Psychedelic Furs, they played under the names RKO, Radio and the Europeans, choosing 'psychedelic' partly to set themselves apart from punk peers who dismissed 1960s rock outright.

The original lineup included Duncan Kilburn on saxophone, Paul Wilson on drums and Roger Morris on guitar, later expanded with drummer Vince Ely and second guitarist John Ashton. Their self-titled debut, produced by Steve Lillywhite and released in 1980, reached number eighteen on the UK albums chart.

Those early records were rooted in post-punk, saxophone woven through the arrangements and Richard Butler's hoarse, drawling voice as the defining feature. Talk Talk Talk, released in 1981, brought the singles 'Dumb Waiters' and an original version of 'Pretty in Pink'.

In 1982 the band was reduced to a quartet and relocated to the US, recording Forever Now with producer Todd Rundgren; it contained 'Love My Way', their first Billboard Hot 100 entry. Mirror Moves followed, produced by Keith Forsey, and gave them 'The Ghost in You' and 'Heaven', tracks that made the band a fixture on American college radio.

After touring through 1992 the group went on hiatus, during which the Butlers worked as Love Spit Love. They resumed touring in 2000 and eventually returned to recording, releasing Made of Rain, their first studio album in nearly three decades, in 2020.

Read more

post-punknew-wave