The Psychedelic Furs to play At Key West Theater next week
Wake up music junkies, The Psychedelic Furs are coming to the Key West Theater Friday, Oct. 22.
The Psychedelic Furs were the anthemic band of Gen-X youth, literally the soundtrack playing on the theater screens, VHS tapes and tape cassettes. They were the British band that brought post-punk cool to the U.S. with their edgy riffs and haunting lyrics. Formed by brothers, Richard Butler, the raspy, deep throated lead singer, song writer and Tim Butler, lead bassist, they defined a generation of music and a few hit songs that we will never forget — whether you’re a child of the ’80s or not.
Considered British New wave in the late ’70s, their music was influenced by such cult leaders as the Sex Pistols, Velvet Underground, Roxy Music, and David Bowie. Richard wrote the songs based on his own experiences and brother Tim added the music creating classic albums such as “All of This and Now” (1980) and “Talk Talk Talk” (1981).
Then a young actress named Molly Ringwald played movie director John Hughes a song written by the Furs, “Pretty In Pink.” Based on the song, Hughes’s movie classic, “Pretty In Pink” was made in 1986. The Furs recorded a newer, nicer version for Hughes, one that to this day on the radio.
“It’s a double-edge sword,” said Tim Butler of Pretty in Pink fame. “We were really grateful, it’s one of the top movie soundtrack songs ever but we lost a lot of our hardcore fans who thought we sold out.” The Furs are so much more than that one song with hits like: “It’s My life,” “Love My Way,” “Heaven,” “Heartbeat Hill,” and “The Ghost in You.”
“Bands nowadays don’t have anything to kick against. We were born out of necessity, at the time there were no jobs so it was our only way to get out of London,” said Tim Butler, bassist. Now Butler describes modern music as “too stylized, vapid and with bad lyrics.”
Today The Furs still haven’t lost their ’80s edge in the modern age. They influence and play with quintessential modern bands today such as The Killers, making them just as hardcore and legendary as yesterday. For tickets and more info go to www.thekeywesttheater.com.
