Psychedelic Furs: Beautiful Chaos

by Dave Thompson

Psychedelic Furs were the ultimate post-punk band—combining the chaos and vocal rasp of the Sex Pistols with a Bowie-esque glamour. The Furs hit the big time in the U.S. when John Hughes wrote a movie based on their early single "Pretty in Pink." Poised to join U2 and Simple Minds in the premier league, they withdrew behind their shades, remaining a cult act, but one with a hugely devoted following.

Genres: Music

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

English author Dave Thompson has spent his entire working life writing biographies of other people, but is notoriously reluctant to write one for himself. Unlike the subjects of some of his best known books, he was neither raised by ferrets nor stolen from gypsies. He has never appeared on reality TV (although he did reach the semi finals of a UK pop quiz when he was sixteen), plays no musical instruments and he can’t dance, either.

However, he has written well over one hundred books in a career that is almost as old as U2’s… whom he saw in a club when they first moved to London, and memorably described as “okay, but they’ll never get any place.” Similar pronouncements published on the future prospects of Simply Red, Pearl Jam and Wang Chung (oh, and Curiosity Killed The Cat as well) probably explain why he has never been anointed a Pop Culture Nostradamus. Although the fact that he was around to pronounce gloomily on them in the first place might determine why he was recently described as “a veteran music journalist.”

Raised on rock, powered by punk, and still convinced that “American Pie” was written by Fanny Farmer and is best played with Meatloaf, Thompson lists his five favorite artists as old and obscure; his favorite album is whispered quietly and he would like to see Richard and Linda Thompson’s “I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight” installed as the go-to song for the sad, sappy ending for every medical drama on TV.

Kurt Cobain, Phil Collins, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett, David Bowie, John Travolta, Eric Clapton, Jackson Browne, Bob Marley, Roger Waters and the guy who sang that song in the jelly commercial are numbered among the myriad artists about whom Thompson has written books; he has contributed to the magazines Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Mojo and Melody Maker; and he makes regular guest appearances on WXPN’s Highs in the Seventies show.

Reviews

[Arthur Graham]

There's emptiness behind their eyes
There's dust in all their hearts
They just want to steal us all
And take us all apart, but not in

— Love My Way, The Psychedelic Furs

Not a lot of bands ever manage to achieve the balance of critical/commercial success these guys did, remaining true to their signature style and sound from the early post-punk days to flirting with pop stardom and finally getting back to basics. Review to come, but in the meantime please enjoy:

Better Days
My Time
President Gas
Like a Stranger
Forever Now
Midnight to Midnight
All of This and Nothing
We Love You
House
Here Come Cowboys
Fall
Shock
Until She Comes
I Wanna Sleep With You
Merry Go Round
No Easy Street
Alice's House
Get a Room
Pulse
I Don't Want to be Your Shadow
Should God Forget
Entertain Me
Soap Commercial
Heaven
Into You Like a Train
Heartbeat
Sleep Comes Down
Highwire Days
Goodbye
Tearing Down
The Ghost in You
All of the Law
She Is Mine
Torch
Sister Europe
Heartbreak Beat
Run and Run
Imitation of Christ
No Release
All That Money Wants
Pretty in Pink
India
Angels Don't Cry
Mr. Jones
There's a World Outside
Love My Way (Acoustic)

[Moz Copestake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of rock & blues biogs and this ticks most of the boxes. The only big miss is no photos of the band and guests as they go through their turbulent journey - not that it's over yet (I saw them earlier this year at The Albert Hall) - but it was over for many years. Over, finished, kaput.
This chronicles their highs and lows, pulling no punches to describe their many failings. It is not a sycophantic glorification although there is so much to celebrate here; they cut some great albums populated with excellent songs. Their live performances were often a tour-de-force, certainly whenever I have seen them.
Most impressive was their successful insistence, when getting their record deal, that they must keep control of their music; who would be their producer, what tracks would be on the albums, what (if anything) would be a single, what they would play live. Equally impressive their determination to tour the US when their record company railed against it, so they just went, without financial backing, and did it!
On the flip side their was much excess, mainly alcohol, leading to bitter and viscious brawls. The way the original band split was not dealt with well and there were many recriminations. The band admit their regrets in no uncertain terms. The session musicians drafted in for recordings & tours were little respected although sometimes lavishly held on retainers for months when there was nothing for them to do.
All in all this is a manual on how to do it and how not to do it, a combination of best practice for budding artists and cautionary tales. It is written (albeit with far too many typos to believe it's been proof read) in a wonderfull irreverent style reflective of much of Richard Butler's lyrics. At times cutting and critical describing how poor and under rehearsed some shows were and how disenchanted the band became on some tours with some of their own albums and songs.
They never quite got the mix as they wanted - too rough, too polished, too many layers, too sparse, not enough passion, too sterile, not as good as their live stuff, no atmosphere. Despite their own misgivings I still think most of it sounds fabulous.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering this has been the only Psychedelic Furs book to date, I was happy to read it, and since it was completed in 2005. It even mentions the reunion that the Psychedelic furs are now doing. I enjoyed it and it was comprehensive.