Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents Psychedelic Furs & Happy Mondays on Monday, September 14, 2009 at 7:30pm at the Moore Theatre.
The Psychedelic Furs are back and currently preparing to once again unleash their distinctive brand of smartly tripped-out grooves for audiences. Reforming after 10 years gone, the Furs are headlining a spring tour in support of Sony/Legacy releasing The Psychedelic Furs Greatest Hits. In addition, the band is working on a bundle of brand-new songs that will be recorded later this year.
During the Furs' first tenure (1978-91) the group garnered tremendous respect from critics and fans alike for the music's unpredictable mix of punk rock, poetic lyricism and seductive rhythmic hooks. Fronted by vocalist and chief songwriter, Richard Butler, the Furs earned a reputation as one of the most riveting musical forces to come out of the early 80s post-punk, new wave era. The band charted big hits with "Love My Way," "Pretty In Pink," "Heaven," and "The Ghost In You," in all releasing seven studio albums on Columbia and spawning several compilations including a box set in 1997, "Should God Forget: A Retrospective."
In their finest moments on albums including 1980's Talk, Talk, Talk and 1984's Mirror Moves, Butler's husky vocals and often-brooding lyrics ingeniously intertwined with the edgy musical textures provided by brother Tim Butler on bass and John Ashton on guitar. Even when their releases didn't scorch the Top 10, Furs records remained innovative and adventurous force in early alternative music and maintained a steady presence on college radio.
Through it all, Butler's rubbery barito
Ne Yowl became one of the 80's most recognizable sounds, often managing to be both introspective and aloof at the same time. It was quirky and darkly cynical faire that expressed the detachment of the times and the itchy struggle of a generation to find meaning in the turbulent headwaters of what would later become the dawn of Information Age. Gaining much of their fame as part of MTV's first wave of video artists, Butler and company will be forever identified with a time when the stale musical paradigms of 70s were forever cast aside and replaced by the new rock of an angrier and faster world.
Throughout the Fur's reign, critics routinely compared the group's enigmatic sound to an impressive slew of art-rock icons including
David Bowie, The Velvet Underground and The Doors, as well as to punk progenitors, The Sex Pistols. Growing heavier and more guitar-oriented in their later releases, the Furs have since been placed loosely in the rock pantheon somewhere between early punk and the alternative hard rock and grunge that would rise in the band's wake during the 90s.
After twelve years of recording and touring, Butler and the other band members grew tired of being the Psychedelic Furs and in 1991, they decided to go their own ways. "It was really very amicable," Butler recalls. "We had been doing it for so long that the process became predictable. I think we all wanted to do different things. We had a great run, but after you've been playing 'Pretty In Pink' almost every night for ten years, things are bound to feel pretty old. There weren't any surprises left, so we moved on. "
In 1994, Butler formed a new band called Love Spit Love. The group recorded two albums and met with moderate success but never captured the sort of loyal following the Furs had enjoyed. In 1998, Butler and wife Annie had a daughter, Maggie Mozart Butler, and the artist who was once described as a wiser Johnny Rotten and a sober
Jim Morrison decided to concentrate on being a parent. Spending much of his time at home in Cold Springs, New York, Butler began writing songs for a solo project.
According to Butler, it was interest in developing this wealth of new material that gave rise to the Psychedelic Furs' second coming. "I was working on songs for a solo record, when I got together with Tim to do some writing. When he saw all the songs I had, he was pretty impressed and he asked me if I had ever thought about doing a Furs' record. I hadn't really given it much thought, but then our manager called and asked me if I'd be willing to do some shows. Those two things sort of coincided so it seemed like the time was right."
During the Fur's decade-long hiatus, guitarist John Ashton was also busy, producing and performing with the likes of
Marianne Faithful, Mercury Rev and Red Betty, among others including Spiv, a local band in Ashton's hometown of Woodstock, NY. Like the brothers Butler, Ashton says he ready to plug in again with the Psychedelic Furs.
"It's been fun hanging out and writing Furs material again," he says. "There's always been great tension in energy in what we do. However, our audience has always been the other half of the story. Without them we wouldn't be here."
For his part, Butler says he's warmed to the idea of tackling the old favorites as well, not only to make long-time fans happy, but also to rediscover the work itself in a fresh context. "When we decided to do this, I went back and listened to a lot of our records, and honestly, I was really surprised by how good I think they are. We did some good work and I'm really looking forward to playing those songs. I guess you could say it's like getting to know some old friends all over again.
"I'm especially delighted to be working with Tim and John Ashton. It's going to be interesting to see what influences we've all absorbed over the past few years and how those ideas will come out in the music," Butler says.
With a career spanning the rise and fall of punk, MTV, glam metal, grunge and hip-hop, Butler is wizened and happy to be in a position to communicate with an audience. "As long as there are people, who enjoy music and have fun going to shows, there'll be a place in the world for artists who try to do something interesting and different," he says. "I don't really think you can change the world making music, but it sure is nice to think that you can enable people to have a good time."
Demand for the Furs has obviously never waned, with Sony/Legacy releasing The Psychedelic Furs Greatest Hits to coincide with their latest trek across the U.S. and Canada.
Tickets: $29.50, not including applicable fees. Tickets are on sale Friday, June 26 at noon at Tickets.com, in person at the Paramount Theatre box offices, 24-hour kiosks located outside The Paramount & Moore Theatres, charge by phone at 877-STG-4TIX, or online at
STGPresents.org.
Seattle Theatre Group is the 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization that operates the historic Paramount and Moore Theatres in Seattle, Washington. Our mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region's cultural identity while keeping these two landmark venues alive and vibrant. STG presents a range of performances from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and jazz to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at both historic theatres in Seattle and venues throughout the Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon.
