The Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in 1977.
The Psychedelic Furs came together in England's emerging punk scene in 1977, where they were initially called "RKO," then "Radio." They then vacillated between calling themselves "The Europeans" and "The Psychedelic Furs," playing gigs under both names before permanently settling on the latter.[1] The band initially consisted of Richard Butler (vocals), Tim Butler (bass guitar), Duncan Kilburn (saxophone), Paul Wilson (drums) and Roger Morris (guitars). By 1979, this line up had expanded to a sextet with Vince Ely replacing Wilson on drums and John Ashton being added on guitar.

The Furs debut, a self-titled album from 1980 was produced by Steve Lillywhite. The LP quickly established the band at radio and was a top 20 hit in the UK. The album also found success in Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Australia. The US version of the album was resequenced, but failed to have as strong a commercial impact.

The Furs did find success in the U.S. with their next release, 1981's Talk Talk Talk, which made its debut on the US album charts. In the UK, the album was a solid hit which spun off two charting singles, "Dumb Waiters" and the original version of "Pretty in Pink". The latter song served as inspiration for the 1986 John Hughes film of the same name, and was re-recorded for the platinum-selling soundtrack.

In 1982, the band was reduced to a four-piece with the departures of Morris and Kilburn.[2] The band's remaining members moved permanently to New York City, and they recorded their next album, Forever Now, with producer Todd Rundgren in Woodstock, New York. This album contained "Love My Way", another UK hit and also their first U.S. chart single.

Ely left the band after Forever Now, though he would return for the 1988 single "All That Money Wants" and the 1989 album Book of Days.

The Furs' 1984 release Mirror Moves was produced by Keith Forsey, and featured the songs "The Ghost in You" and "Heaven". Both charted in the UK, and "Heaven" became the band's highest charting UK hit at the time, peaking at #29 - but strangely, "Heaven" was never released as a single in the U.S. Instead, Columbia Records opted for "Here Come Cowboys", despite both international success and heavy MTV airplay for "Heaven". "Here Come Cowboys" failed to chart, but "The Ghost In You" was a hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The band also was hugely popular in Canada as well. CFNY, Toronto's new wave radio station, listed Mirror Moves as the #1 LP of 1984.

Discography

Year Album
RIAA BPI
1980 The Psychedelic Furs
1981 Talk Talk Talk
1982 Forever Now
1984 Mirror Moves
1987 Midnight to Midnight
1989 Book of Days
1991 World Outside
Live Albums
1999 Radio 1 Sessions
2001 Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live
Compilations
1988 All of This and Nothing
1994 Here Came The Psychedelic Furs: B Sides and Lost Grooves
1996 In the Pink
1997 Should God Forget: A Retrospective
2001 The Psychedelic Furs: Greatest Hits
2003 Superhits

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