The Psychedelic Furs performing "Love My Way"

"We love to play the hits," says Richard Butler, lead singer of London's The Psychedelic Furs. Fans of the Furs, and music fans in general, know it's all too rare to hear a singer proclaim that. On their most recent tour, with the core of its '80s lineup intact, The Psychedelic Furs aren't saying, "Here's another song off our new album." That's because they don't have a new album. But they don't need one—the songs contained in their seven-record catalog, which stretches from 1980–1991, sound even fresher today. It could be because the sound of The Psychedelic Furs—mischievous, emotional, moody, and later drenched in brooding synths—keeps finding its way into modern alternative rock music, or it could be because that sound just sounds better when it's coming from the source.

Formed by brothers Richard and Tim Butler in the late '70s, just as British punk reached its fever pitch, The Psychedelic Furs rewrote the soundtrack of the '80s with songs that sounded nothing like their contemporaries. The lyrics were poetic, sometimes desperate, with grooves that dug tunnels during an era when bass was always low in the mix. The grabber, though, was Richard Butler's voice. With a reedy throat that suggests a coal-mining David Bowie, Butler's signature croon instantly engages listeners and scares lozenges back into their wrappers. The formula proved successful—"Love My Way" broke the band onto the US charts in 1982, and soon the band racked up more hits such as "Heaven," "The Ghost in You," and "Heartbreak Beat." But their signature song might be the one that taught Molly Ringwald what color suited her, as their 1986 rerecording of their earlier UK hit "Pretty in Pink" fueled the dance floors and sewing machines of millions of teens. Since the Furs love to play the hits, fans can expect to hear that smash and more, along with deep cuts from their seven-album legacy.