The London-based alternative rock band The Psychedelic Furs first hit the scene in 1977 with hit songs like “Love My Way” and “Pretty in Pink,” cementing the group’s reputation as one of the most significant post-punk bands of the 1980s.
Decades later, after going nearly 30 years without releasing new material, the band has a newfound confidence that can be seen on its new U.S. tour, with a stop at Tucson’s Rialto Theatre on Saturday, April 29.
“I think people were starting to give up on us ever doing new material,” said co-founder and bass player of the Psychedelic Furs, Tim Butler. “So, it’s nice to get out there and play for those people who’ve been waiting around for new stuff.”
The Furs’ latest album, “Made of Rain,” was released in July 2020 and was the first new music the band had released in nearly 30 years.
“It took us a while to put ‘Made of Rain’ together because we were sort of nervous about how it would be received after all those years,” the 64-year-old Butler said. “It was nearly 30 years between albums. But it got great reviews and it’s been getting great reactions from audiences so it’s given us the confidence to write new songs for another album.”
Butler said that the “Made of Rain” touring experience has been much different from their tours as a younger, less-mature band.
“It’s a lot more professional and together now,” Butler said, chuckling. “It used to be, we’d tour and there would be lots of arguments, drunken arguments and stuff. But now we want to try and stay as healthy as possible so we can give the performance, you know, 100%.”
Butler said the band’s diverse live audience grows with each tour. “We have a crowd now of 60 to 16,” Butler said. “Our audiences seem to be getting bigger every time we tour.”
That diversity may stem from the band’s music being used in contemporary pop culture like “The Ghost in You,” being featured in the Netflix hit “Stranger Things” and “Love my Way” in “Call me by your Name.” Butler said he appreciates the current-day nostalgia for the ’80s.
“That’s why I think it’s great that we finally did bring a new album about. So we’re not just considered a nostalgia band. I mean we’ve got a pretty current-sounding album. It doesn’t sound like an ‘old band,’” said Butler.
The Furs’ tour will swing through the southern states, starting in Phoenix on April 28 and ending in Vienna, Virginia, on Sept. 14.
Butler said he was excited for every show on the tour, saying, “There’s nothing better than getting up on stage and performing and hearing people singing the song lyrics back to you, you know, it’s the most exciting thing you can do.”
You can catch Butler’s brother, Richard, on vocals, Rich Good on guitar, Mars Williams on saxophone, Amanda Kramer on keyboards and Zachary Alford on drums at 8 p.m. at the Rialto, 318 E. Congress.
Tickets are $39.50.
For tickets or more information, visit rialtotheatre.com.
Downtown Tucson has changed over the years with the construction of apartment buildings and hotels. Take a flight over the area. Drone video by: Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star
