Following a reschedule of their 2021 tour, The Psychedelic Furs took the stage at Nottingham’s Rock City last Saturday to tour their first new album in almost 30 years, Made of Rain. Rose Hitchens reviews.
Spawned from the golden era of British post-punk of the late 70's and early 80's, The Psychedelic Furs have the power to transport you back to the heyday of classic new wave pop in a single song. Having not released a new album since 1991 and then having the tour for their newest album be postponed due to Covid-19 must have left the group yearning for the chanced to get back on stage. And this was evident when they performed at Rock City last Saturday, giving a career-wide performance packed with 80's-nostalgia that mesmerised fans, old and new.
The jam-packed 6-piece, originally hailing from London, found mainstream success when legendary ‘Brat-Pack’ director John Hughes used their 1981 track Pretty in Pink as the title inspiration for his 1986 movie of the same name. Around 30 years later, renewed interest spawned for The Psychedelic Furs in the late-2010's for the band when the Oscar-nominated 2017 film Call Me By Your Name featured the band’s hit 1982 single Love My Way, which has since become the group’s most streamed song on Spotify, amassing a whopping 110 million streams as of April 2022. This persist adoration for the new wave sounds of The Psychedelic Furs that has continued over the last 44 years since their initial founding was overwhelmingly accounted for when they took the stage at Nottingham’s Rock City.
Taking to the stage fashionably late, the sunglasses-clad 6-piece were every inch the 1980’s superstars you would expect them to be. Each member donning their own unique style gave an air of mystery and intrigue which didn't take away from their set, but instead only added to their eccentric performance. For a band whose last studio album was released over thirty years ago, the venue was unbelievably packed with a crowd of all ages who all seemed to know every word and beat to the setlist. The extensive breadth of the age range within the audience was one of the most striking parts about the enthusiastic crowd, which only demonstrated the incredible appeal The Psychedelic Furs have managed to maintain over the course of their career. For a band who begun performing in the 1970's, retaining not only relevance but a loyal fanbase in 2022 is something which should be applauded.
''For a band whose last studio album was released over thirty years ago, the venue was unbelievably packed with a crowd of all ages who all seemed to know every word and beat to the setlist''
For a group who have been touring for nearly 40 years, the urge to fill the setlist with newer tracks must be overwhelming. However, The Psychedelic Furs must be applauded for finding a perfect equilibrium between the new and the old, and creating a show which showcased the best of the best of their impressive discography. Beginning with a non-stop performance of Highwire Days, Dumb Waiter, You’ll be Mine, and Mr Jones, this opening gave the audience an insight into the career-wide setlist that was about to be executed. Performing an impressive 18 songs, the setlist felt like a dream for any die-hard fans, however there were moments where it felt like the mood lulled slightly. In particular, their performances of The Ghost in You and Ash Wednesday saw a noticeable subsidisation, maybe in part to the steady beat of these tracks, but also maybe partly due to the long setlist. However, their performances of Love My Way and President Gas nearer to the end of their set, both from my personal favourite album of theirs Forever Now, really got the crowd moving in a way I've never seen before. These two tracks, along with the groups performance of their famed 1981 track Pretty in Pink, seems to be the ultimate crowd pleasers of the night that got everyone singing along.
The lighting of the show was also something which couldn’t be ignored. The neon projections which adjusted to create a new unique colour palette for every song brought the 80’s nostalgia to the performance with full force. Up against the band’s all-black ensemble, the lighting design really shone through to fashion a flamboyant stage design which felt like a welcome addition to the performance.
Lead singer Richard Butler, who founded the group in 1977, guided the audience through their set with an arsenal of expressive hand gesturers which he employed in tandem to the psychedelic beats of their setlist. While only speaking to the audience very briefly throughout the show, just watching Butler once will give you the impression that this is a frontman who knows how to entertain an audience. The way Butler’s raspy vocals performed each song to their fullest while retaining an air of enigmatic nonchalance around him with his blacked-out sunglasses concealing his face only augmented the band’s overall experimental and psychedelic aesthetic.
''Just watching Butler once will give you the impression that this is a frontman who knows how to entertain an audience''
The real star of the show for me had to be Mars William, who has been the saxophonist of The Psychedelic Furs since 1983. The name itself oozes rockstar potential, but it was his outstanding talents on the saxophone and clarinet which really forced the audience’s attention onto him and left the crowd cheering after every solo. It’s a near impossible feat to steal the attention away from the frontman, let alone one as engrossing as Richard Butler, but it was something which William did with ease. A saxophone might at first appearance feel out of place in a band known for the adherence to new wave and post-punk, but the energy that William brought to the Rock City stage made it feel like a natural addition that the tracks would feel bare without. In particular, his talent really shone through in the band’s encore, India, that seriously impressed the audience and finished the show off on a high note.
It was refreshing to see a band who have continued to play to audiences with the same level of energy as they did forty years ago. Having to perform the same songs over and over again for such a lengthy career can understandably get repetitive, however The Psychedelic Furs conducted themselves with an air of vigour that exuded a real love of music and performing for their fans even after all this time. The appreciation that The Psychedelic Furs have for music is evident when they perform, and in my opinion more bands should be looking to them for inspiration on how to keep audiences coming back for more time and time again.
Rose Hitchens
Edited by: Amrit Virdi
Featured image courtesy of Rose Hitchens. Permission to use granted to The Mic.
In-article videos courtesy of The Psychedelic Furs via YouTube.
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