The Furs initially used Martin Hannett as a producer, but their initial self-titled album from 1980 was eventually produced by Steve Lillywhite. The LP quickly established the band on radio and was a top 20 hit in the UK. The album also found success in Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Australia. The US version of the album was re-sequenced, but failed to have as strong a commercial impact.
The Furs found success in the U.S. market with the 1981 release, titled 'Talk Talk Talk', which made its impact on the US album charts and received critical acclaim worldwide. In the UK, the album was a solid hit which spun off two charting singles, "Dumb Waiters" and the original version of "Pretty in Pink". The latter song served as inspiration for the 1986 John Hughes film of the same name, and was re-recorded for the platinum-selling soundtrack.
In 1982, the band was reduced to a four-piece with the departures of Morris and Kilburn. (Ex-Birthday Party drummer Phill Calvert would briefly join the group around this time.) The band's remaining members moved permanently to New York, where they recorded the album Forever Now with producer Todd Rundgren. This album contained "Love My Way", a breakthrough Top 40 hit in both the US and the UK. Ely left the band after this release, though he would return for the 1988 single "All That Money Wants" and the 1989 album Book of Days.
The Furs' 1984 release Mirror Moves was produced by Keith Forsey, and featured the songs "The Ghost in You" and "Heaven". Both charted in the UK, and "Heaven" became the band's highest charting UK hit at the time -- but inexplicably, "Heaven" was never released as a single in America. Instead, Columbia Records opted for "Here Come Cowboys", despite both international success and heavy MTV airplay on "Heaven." "Here Come Cowboys" failed to chart, but "The Ghost In You" was a hit on the US pop charts. The band had become popular in Canada as well, CFNY, Toronto's new wave radio station, listed Mirror Moves as the #1 LP of 1984.
By this time, the band had become somewhat of a staple on US college and modern rock radio stations. As well, they were building mainstream success, fairly consistently placing singles in the pop charts on both sides of the Atlantic, though they would "have more impact on future musicians than they ever did in the marketplace." In 1986, the band re-recorded a version of "Pretty in Pink", which was their biggest hit to that time in the US, and their biggest-ever UK hit.
Richard Butler later claimed that the success of "Pretty in Pink" caused the band to be pressured into entering the studio to record a follow-up release before they were ready. The result was Midnight to Midnight, an album which Butler characterized as "hollow, vapid and weak". A more overtly commercial effort than the Furs had ever recorded before, the album also featured the single "Heartbreak Beat", which was their highest charting top 40 US hit.
However, the Furs were dissatisfied with their new commercial direction, and subsequently returned to a rawer sound with "All That Money Wants", a 1988 track especially recorded for a 'best-of' collection. 1989's Book of Days saw a return to the old-school style and the temporary return of Vince Ely. 1991's World Outside was similarly more of a "back to basics" approach.
From 1988 on The Furs' chart success continued with three #1 hits on the US Modern Rock chart between 1988 and 1991.
The band splintered in 1991, with the Butler brothers going on to found Love Spit Love. After spending most of the decade apart, Butler, Butler and Ashton re-formed The Psychedelic Furs in 2000, and released a live album Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live, which also featured a new studio recording, "Alive (For Once In My Lifetime)." A DVD version of the performance included live versions of "Alive" and three other previously unreleased songs: "Anodyne (Better Days)," "Cigarette" and "Wrong Train."
Since then the Furs continue to tour the world along with former Love Spit Love drummer Frank Ferrer, ex-Information Society and World Party keyboardist Amanda Kramer and saxophonist Mars Williams who returned to the band after a stint in the late 1980s.
Showing the band's significant influence as a part of the new wave and post-punk movements, their songs have been covered by numerous other artists. Examples include Annie Lennox, Buffalo Tom, Icehouse, Powderfinger, Regenerator, and Robyn Hitchcock.
She Is Mine
The Psychedelic Furs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It is here for you
Listen to the conversation
Playing pretty tunes
Sorry I can't wait for you
I couldn't stand to stay
You have to get right out of here
You have to get away
Just to let me use the door
I had to use a muscleman
To pick me off the floor
They're making up things
That we've all heard before
Like romance and engage and divorce
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
I met this girl and called her ma
I called her everything
I called her fab and Mrs. Fish
I didn't get her name
She's making me a pair of shoes
So I can run away
She's making me a plastic wig
She's making me again
I had to pay the doorman
Just to let me use the door
I had to use a muscleman
To pick me off the floor
They're making up things
That we've all heard before
Like romance and engage and divorce
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
Some people are dancing
And some fall in love
To the music of military tunes
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
I didn't want to put you on
Or tape you down at all
Or leave you here so all alone
Or put you in this room
They're making up things
That we've all heard before
Like romance and engage and divorce
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
The song "She Is Mine" by The Psychedelic Furs narrates a scene of desperation and chaos in a nightclub. The singer speaks directly to a girl, hoping that she will receive his invitation to meet him there. He insists that she has to come and see what's happening, as he implies that he needs her to escape from that place. As the conversation between the singer and the girl continues, he reveals that he had to bribe the doorman to let him in, and he had to fight with a muscleman to stand up. He describes the people in the club as living in a fantasy world, where they dance and fall in love to the music of military tunes, and where they talk about romantice, enage and divorce, which are things everybody has heard before. The singer notes that one has to be crazy to stay in such a place but suggests that it is better to laugh at it all.
The chorus reveals that the singer is being forced to stay in that place, which seems to be like a prison, but he does not want the girl to be stuck there. He calls her many different names, symbolizing that he lost his identity and does not know who he is anymore. She is the only one who knows him, and he needs her to make a new escape plan. The girl is building him shoes and a plastic wig so that he can run away as soon as possible.
Line by Line Meaning
I hope you get your invitation
I want you to be a part of this experience
It is here for you
The opportunity is available to you
Listen to the conversation
Pay attention to what's going on
Playing pretty tunes
The music is delightful
Sorry I can't wait for you
I can't hold on any longer
I couldn't stand to stay
I had to leave
You have to get right out of here
You need to leave too
You have to get away
It's time for you to escape
I had to pay the doorman
I had to bribe my way in
Just to let me use the door
So I could enter the premises
I had to use a muscleman
Someone had to help me up
To pick me off the floor
Because I fell down
They're making up things
People are telling stories
That we've all heard before
Nothing is new
Like romance and engage and divorce
People are talking about relationships
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
This environment is not healthy
You just have to laugh at it all
Find humor in the insanity
I met this girl and called her ma
I encountered a woman and used a nickname
I called her everything
I gave her many different names
I called her fab and Mrs. Fish
Her names were unusual and creative
I didn't get her name
I don't know her real name
She's making me a pair of shoes
She's doing something nice for me
So I can run away
To aid in my escape
She's making me a plastic wig
She's creating something unique for me
She's making me again
She's helping me escape for a second time
Some people are dancing
Others are enjoying themselves
And some fall in love
Romance is in the air
To the music of military tunes
The music is paradoxical
I didn't want to put you on
I didn't intend to burden you
Or tape you down at all
I don't want to restrict you
Or leave you here so all alone
I don't want to abandon you
Or put you in this room
I didn't intend to trap you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DUNCAN KILBURN, JOHN ASHTON, RICHARD BUTLER, ROGER NICHOLAS MORRIS, TIMOTHY BUTLER, VINCENT DAVEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@emmccord398
Nothing like the Furs.
"I met this girl and called her Ma
I called her everything
I called her Fab and Mrs. Fish
I didn't get her name
She's making me a pair of shoes
So I can run away
She's making me a plastic wig
She's making me again"
The most underrated band ever.
I remember walking around the empty streets of Savannah, Georgia in the wee hours of the morning listening to the Furs. I was in art school at the time. So many memories were were put on canvas. So many colors of my life were mixed with the rains of 3am.......and the music of the Furs.
@mehcol
I hope you get your invitation
It is here for you
Listen to the conversation
Playing pretty tunes
Sorry I can't wait for you
I couldn't stand to stay
You have to get right out of here
You have to get away
I had to pay the doorman
Just to let me use the door
I had to use a muscleman
To pick me off the floor
They're making up things
That we've all heard before
Like romance and engage and divorce
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
I met this girl and called her ma
I called her everything
I called her fab and Mrs. Fish
I didn't get her name
She's making me a pair of shoes
So I can run away
She's making me a plastic wig
She's making me again
I had to pay the doorman
Just to let me use the door
I had to use a muscleman
To pick me off the floor
They're making up things
That we've all heard before
Like romance and engage and divorce
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
Some people are dancing
And some fall in love
To the music of military tunes
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
I didn't want to put you on
Or tape you down at all
Or leave you here so all alone
Or put you in this room
They're making up things
That we've all heard before
Like romance and engage and divorce
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
Some of the best lyrics ever . Well done guys, respect.
@kingcruiser7049
I hope you get your invitation
It is here for you
Listen to the conversation
Playing pretty tunes
Sorry i can't wait for you
I couldn't stand to stay
You have to get right out of here
You have to get away
I had to pay the doorman
Just to let me use the door
I had to use a muscleman
To pick me off the floor
They're making up things
That we've all heard before
Like romance and engage and divorce
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
I met this girl and called her ma
I called her everything
I called her fab and mrs. fish
I didn't get her name
She's making me a pair of shoes
So i can run away
She's making me a plastic wig
She's making me again
I had to pay the doorman
Just to let me use the door
I had to use a muscleman
To pick me off the floor
They're making up things
That we've all heard before
Like romance and engage and divorce
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
Some people are dancing
And some fall in love
To the music of military tunes
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
I didn't want to put you on
Or tape you down at all
Or leave you here so all alone
Or put you in this room
They're making up things
That we've all heard before
Like romance and engage and divorce
You have to be crazy to stay in this place
You just have to laugh at it all
@tweety7478
Fabulous! A favorite for over 40 years.
@glennkarant6760
Me fave song from me fave album of 1981...
@glennkarant6760
"The people are dancing and some fall in love to the music of military tunes. You have to be crazy to stay in this place. You just have to laugh at it all"...
@dougtagg9162
I hope you get your invitation . That phrase stays with me.
@CliveGulch
This LP and the cassette copy I made of it for my Walkman, were in constant rotation with me from age 16 to 24. From 25 to 34, I played my CD copy on the regular. For the last 15 years tracks have made welcome appearances in my iTunes song shuffle.
@martindoyle2150
Phenomenal track from a phenomenal album.
@imbluz
My favorite song by the Furs.
@glennkarant6760
Agreed and it's a tall task picking only one...
@afc89
@@glennkarant6760very true
@drnuke7393
you have to be crazy to stay in this place, you just have to laugh at it all - ha ha ha