Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta

The Psychedelic Furs
Birmingham HMV Institute

Before we begin let's just get the terminology correct shall we………..firstly let's do some NAME calling! As far as I'm concerned the Hammersmith Odeon will always be the Hammersmith Odeon and not the bleedin "Apollo"; a gypsy will always be a mercurial gypsy who dances in the woods on a moonlit night and roasts hedgehogs over an open fire and never a "traveller"; Eskimos will always be Eskimos softening animal hides with their teeth in blindingly white igloos lit by whale blubber and never "Inuit"; the all new polished and gleaming HMV Institute will always be the Digbeth Civic Hall cos where I saw the likes JJ Burnel & Magazine back in the day and finally The Psychedelic Furs will always be The Psychedelic Furs and never The Furs. You might say what's in a NAME? And I'd reply everything. You might say I'm being a sad old git supplanting romantic & nostalgic connotations onto people and places for no real reason. And I'd say without a sense of romance and nostalgia we are nothing. OK? Good - I'm done.

I saw the Psychedelic Furs first in 1980 and I'm guessing it was at the Cedar Ballroom in Birmingham - at least that's where I think it was - but in the absence of a ticket stub more research will have to be done. Anyway I was late leaving work and I'd never been to The Cedar Ballroom so when I finally found the place The Psychedelic Furs already on and I was forced to stand pretty much with my back to the back wall of the hall. This meant I only got sight of Richard Butler a couple of times during the gig as he spent most of it recumbent on the stage boards or below waist height. Was it the Cedar Ballroom? I never went there again so I'm buggered if I know - "it all seems just like a hazy dream".

Next time round it was at the Odeon in Brum on the 30th May 1981, just prior to the release of TALK TALK TALK and at the end of a month that started with The Cure playing the same venue on their "Faith" tour. A few nights before Brum The Psychedelic Furs played Doncaster and this is what was said.

And then in the blinking of an eye it was 29 years later and a transatlantic voice was telling us we are about to hear "TAWRK TAWRK TAWRK" in its entirety then they'll be a short "INTOURMISSION" followed by some "favourites". And that is exactly what transpired. Soon enough a plethora of cameras and mobiles and recorders of all kinds were aimed at the stage by old and the young alike; and the "DUMB WAITERS" sax riff was forcefully ejaculated back into the Digbeth Civic Hall crowd by Mars Williams; the Psychedelic Furs were back and all was well with the world. "Pretty in Pink" followed; the geezer to my left with green spiked hair started to dance a la John Lydon whilst all around folk continued to document and document and document on iphones, on mobiles, on box brownies, on anything that came to hand.

The crowd then went onto a par boil setting until the in your face "Mr Jones" came to stoke them up again; the Butler boys moved round the stage as ever they did and a guy in a Chameleons decorated leather jacket seemed to be pogoing, no he couldn't be, yeah he was, he was pogoing. For those of you living in Doncaster and still none the wiser we did get "Guilty like a Tray", "Coming like a Slave" and "Into you like a Train" and once Talk Talk Talk was completed with "She is Mine" the aforementioned intermission followed - but, no ice creams, no choc ices or family bags of confectionary - we got offered ice creams, choc ices or family bags of confectionary at The Coral in July - Hey think on HMV Institute you get ice creams, choc ices or family bags of confectionary at the ALEXANDRA THEATRE - please for the love of all that's holy don't go there!

After "India" had closed things down it was time to reflect - the sound had been different from '81 but not in a negative sense, and anyway it wasn't supposed to be a reconstruction it was supposed to be a damn good performance, and it was. After '84 the Psychedelic Furs departed for a musical destination that I wasn't going to follow them to. Tonight it was good to see them back on solid ground; there were shouts during the second half favourites for "Flowers" for "Pulse" for "We Love You" or was the latter just some getting a little over excited in a transatlantic style. The only question that remained unanswered was ...................is it time to put the memorabilia away?

PS: Let's leave the last word to MOZ from Smash Hits November 1984. We are still awaiting the de-Americanization of The Psychedelic Furs and I guess we always will be.