Posts Tagged ‘The Psychedelic Furs’

Classic Video: The Psychedelic Furs

Posted: January 9, 2016 in Alternative, Classic Videos, New Wave, Post-Punk
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The Psychedelic Furs’ “Pretty in Pink” was a song with two lives, pre- and post-John Hughes. I prefer the grittier pre-Hughes version, which is probably an opinion shared by most Furs fans. The song was originally released in 1981 and is the first track off the album Talk Talk Talk. With its darker and moodier feel, the original is a much better fit with the cynical lyrics of the song. As many songs that fed my love of new wave, I first saw the video on MTV. I loved the song then and still do. The song reached #43 on the UK charts, but did not make a mark in the US until the mid-eighties.

Years later, Molly Ringwald brought the song to the attention of John Hughes and history was made. The band recorded a more upbeat and polished version of the song in 1986, and a new video was made to promote the Pretty in Pink movie. Even though they went along for the ride, the Furs weren’t too pleased with the changes and thought Hughes failed to capture the spirit of the song. As Richard Butler told Mojo magazine, “The song was about a girl who kinda sleeps around and thinks it’s really cool and thinks everybody really likes her, but they really don’t…It’s quite scathing.” Regardless, it was the song that really put the Furs on the US map and was their highest charting single in the UK, peaking at #18.

 

The Psychedelic Furs on Livewire

Posted: October 27, 2014 in Live Performances, New Wave, Post-Punk
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On the continuing search for early live performances by new wave bands, I came across an appearance by the Psychedelic Furs on a show called Livewire. I vaguely recalled the show but remember seeing Bow Wow Wow and The Ramones perform in the early eighties. It was a kids’ talk show on the Nickelodeon cable channel that ran from 1980 to 1985. The show covered current events and was known for giving many unknown bands their first US TV appearance. The performances usually included an interview where the kids could ask the musicians questions. The format wasn’t groundbreaking but was interesting for the time. Other artists featured on the show included R.E.M, Split Enz, The Lords of the New Church, Afrika Bambaata, Twisted Sister, and Manowar, among others. I’ve tried digging up more performances but they are hard to come by.

The appearance by the Furs was probably in 1980, since they performed two songs off their self-titled debut album (released in 1980), and were just finishing up their first US tour. Besides performing, they also gave an interview where they were asked about the influence of the new “British Invasion” on the American music scene. Although the Furs do not perform live, the show would later change the format and have the artists give live performances. And for some reason the clips below are in black and white, which was not the regular format of the show.

“We Love You” was the first single released from the debut album. Richard Butler gives an energetic performance besides being up for over 36 hours (as we find out in the interview).

 

The second song they performed was “Sister Europe” – one of my favorites from the group. It was the second single released from the album and would later go on to be covered by Icehouse and the Foo Fighters.