I met Richard Butler in the Café Maya in Cold Spring, New York with some mutual friends. This was a restaurant that I loved not because I particularly liked the food, but for the two reasons I always love or dislike a restaurant: because of the other people who go there and the welcome and service you receive from the owner and staff. Here we thought the world of both our fellow diners and the staff.
Richard told me he was a musician, and judging how he looked, I thought he was probably a violinist with the New York Philharmonic. In my ignorance of rock music I had never heard of The Psychedelic Furs.
Hah! I saw The Psychedelic Furs at an outdoor concert sometime in their '80s heyday. I remember Butler making some comment about the fencing that kept the crowd back at some distance from the stage. He jumped down to the ground to get nearer to audience. He was wearing white pants and spats, and he landed in ankle-deep mud, it being springtime. He sang to the front row for the rest of the song, and then climbed back up onstage, mud-splattered pants and all. A nice gesture.
ReplyDeleteI'd heard that Richard Butler lived in the Hudson Valley. Because of the
ReplyDeletefurs' hit "Pretty in Pink" on the John Hughes film, I'd always thought of them as too radio friendly for me. Recently I heard some of their other tracks and changed my mind. All that Money Wants is a great post-punk record!
I have seen The Psychedelic Furs many times, plus his other band, Love Spit Love. He is an incredible performer.
ReplyDeleteI spend my life adoring Richard Butler. He's my favorite songwriter. Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful picture of Richard. When you met him you he sort of forgot to tell you that he's the best of the best. I like that.
ReplyDeleteHe is one of the very best singers to come out of the 80s, for sure...
ReplyDeleteA nice guy, too, from all accounts.