Skip to main content

The Psychedelic Furs; Pretty In Pink



#ThePsychedelicFurs #LoveMyWay #PrettyInPink #JohnHughes

 The Psychedelic Furs, whose name belies their punk-influenced music, was formed in England in 1977 by brothers Richard Butler (vocals) and Tim Butler (bass), along with saxophone player Duncan Kilburn and guitarist Roger Morris.

 By the time they released their self-titled debut album in 1980, the group had become a sextet, adding guitarist John Ashton and drummer Vince Ely. That album, featuring Butler's hoarse voice (the tone of which suggested John Lydon without the sneer) was a bigger hit in England, where it reached the Top 20, than in the U.S.

Talk Talk Talk (1981) did better, reaching the U.S. Top 100 and producing two British singles chart entries, one of which was "Pretty in Pink," later also a hit in the U.S. when a new version was used as the title song of a film. Forever Now (1982) saw the band reduced to a quartet with the departure of Kilburn and Morris. The rest moved to the U.S., turned to producer Todd Rundgren, and scored a U.S. Top 50 hit with "Love My Way." Ely then left, and the remaining trio of the two Butlers and Ashton made Mirror Moves (1984), the biggest Psychedelic Furs hit yet.


The film Pretty in Pink helped spread their name further before the release of their next album, Midnight to Midnight (1987), which consequently got to number 12 in the U.K. and the Top 30 in the U.S. and included the Top 30 U.S. hit "Heartbreak Beat." Book of Days (1989) marked the return of Vince Ely, but was a considerable commercial disappointment. World Outside (1991) also failed to find an audience. The Psychedelic Furs then folded up shop, and Richard Butler launched a new group, Love Spit Love. The band lasted two albums -- 1994's Love Spit Love and 1997's Trysome Eatone -- and didn't enjoy the monumental success of Butler's original band. Butler kept on. He began writing songs for a supposed solo effort as the '90s came to a close. Those sessions led to new songs with brother Tim and a subsequent Furs reunion in early 2000. 


With both Butlers and John Ashton living in upstate New York, the time was right. They tested the waters and their audience for a joint summer tour with the Go-Go's, and the reception was warm. A year later, the Psychedelic Furs -- now featuring Love Spit Love guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Earl Harvin -- headlined their own club gigs across North America and a classic Richard Butler was keen to be back in the right place. Beautiful Chaos, a live album capturing some of the band's greatest hits from the last tour, was issued in November 2001. Their first live album ever, Beautiful Chaos was a gift for the loyalists. It also introduced their first new song in almost ten years, a somber ballad entitled "Alive." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide .
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Christopher Reeve's ''Superman' Is So Hard to Leave in the Past

#ChristopherReeve #Clarkkent #DCcomics #LoisLane #RichardDonner #Superman Forty years ago, Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve made a Superhero film that directors have been chasing for years, depicting who America was then — or at least who we wished to be Superman. It’s now easy to believe a man can fly. It wasn’t in 1978, but today, in midst of an explosion of superhero movies, it’s a belief we give into with relative ease. Flight is most often the bare minimum of what we expect from heroes and villains who can perform any feat limited only by the human imagination. It’s not simply special effects that permit our belief, but rather an overall acceptance that these costume-clad characters are a defining part of our culture, modern myths at their best and populist cinematic staples akin to the 20th century western at their lowest form. There have been a record nine theatrically released superhero movies based on comic books this year alone, each claiming a major piece of the glo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stevie Wonder, his Musicality, and his Humanity.

#Humanity #Music #SongsintheKeyofLife #StevieWonder " Songs in the Key of Life " To say this Album means Everything to me is an understatement. Throughout his conceptual album, Stevie both sings and writes of Peace, Love, Identity, Faith, Environmental Consciousness, and Cultural Awareness , to name a few. When the album was released, I was ten years old. I spent countless hours reading the liner notes—the lyrics for all the songs. I wanted to know all the people who wrote, sang, played on the album. Much of the album's depth was far too over my head as a ten-year-old, and only a few years later (Lol) do I have a little more understanding of what he was giving us. I've seen Stevie Wonder three times in my life. The first was in church, not long after moving to Los Angeles. The second time while attending Oprah's Farwell show (thanks to my brother Corey & sister in law Carrie), the third time was when my sister Sharon (R.I.P.) bought tickets for all of us ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The most popular animated series, by state

#Animation #Cartoon #FamilyGuy #Sitcoms #RickandMorty #SouthPark #Archer #TheSimpsons  As  The Simpsons  heads into their 31st  season—further cementing itself as the longest-running primetime scripted series in the US—the Data Team at All Home Connections thought it would be interesting to find out your state’s favorite animated sitcom. Using a list of the top 15 most popular animated sitcoms, our analysts then used Google Trends to identify the most popular shows by comparing those with the highest search volume in each state. Take a look at our map to find out what your state’s favorite animated sitcom is and what other states like to watch across the country. Interesting Findings Here are some interesting findings that the data team came across when they started digging a little deeper into the results. Colorado’s favorite animated sitcom is  South Park . This could be because the town of Fairplay, Colorado is the childhood home of creator Matt ...
Post a Comment
Read more