Post Punk legends The Pyschedelic Furs illuminated Friday Night at the Palladium with a twist, It was strange to even think I was seeing this band in such an “establishment venue” that in the past has paid host to the likes of Jimmy Tarbuck, Bradley Walsh and Bruce Forsyth. As I walked in, I could see pictures of various middle-of-the-road icons including the affirmed above. One wonders whether The Psychedelic Furs will join them on that “Wall of Fame,” although I somehow doubt it. Anyway, on with the show.

With the sellout audience eagerly waiting with anticipation, the lights dimmed and the show kicked off with “Heaven.” This was a massive hit single for the group and also featured on the iconic Mirror Moves album. The version the band played mixed the sensibilities of New Wave with a lush Shoegaze feel that was both atmospheric, cinematic, and poignant, especially when Butler uttered the iconic words: “There’s a song on the air with a love-you line, a face in a glass and it looks like mine.” Typical phrasing from the iconic lyricist: mournful melancholia but always with a sardonic and at times perplexing twist.

This touch of class was promptly followed up by the gorgeous celestial-orientated “The Ghost in You”, replete with existentialist references and a lyrical libretto that, whilst making references to fractured relationships and out-of-body experiences, remained shrouded in ambiguity and esoteric drama. Next up, the enthralled Palladium audience were gifted a rousing rendition of the opus killer anthem “Love My Way.” When Butler spat out from the corner of his mouth with inimitable phrasing, “It’s a fashion with a gun, my love,” I was again reminded of his enchanting but toxic turn of phrase. As the tune played out, I could not help thinking how Neil Tennant and Johnny Marr had allegedly borrowed generous portions of Richard Butler’s anthemic refrain in their hit single, ironically entitled “Getting Away With It.”

The pitch shift and mood swing morphed dramatically when the Furs pounced into some Punk-based tunes such as “In My Head” from the much-undervalued cult album World Outside. This bombastic, blistering, backbiting relationship-gone-wrong cult classic provided an upbeat moment, with Tim Butler’s pounding bassline providing a great deal of energetic, charismatic, cataclysmic charm against Zachary Alford’s almost tribal percussive patterns that have more twists and turns than Brands Hatch on acid.

The sumptuous, sizzling, scintillating set meaningfully morphed into an elongated, expansive, energetic, raucous rendition of “Pretty in Pink.” The take I witnessed was admirably amazing and far more faithful to the Steve Lillywhite-produced original than the dumbed-down version that appeared on the soundtrack named after the massive hit single, originally from the group’s best-selling album Talk Talk Talk. A tempo shift took the audience into the slower-paced, keyboard-driven “My Time.” As Richard Butler sang the pensively positive lyric “My Time to turn on a light for you”, Amanda Kramer’s gorgeous keyboard arrangements during the proceedings reverberated around the Palladium’s proscenium arch to gorgeous and gargantuan proportions.

During this marvellous moment, guitarist Rich Good was relentless, his riff intensifying the drama and underpinning Butler’s laconic vocal delivery. This was a great musical moment, with the crowd enthralled from start to finish. Pure Furs magic: spellbinding, happy and yet sad, ironic and yet sincere. This group have always been able to ring the changes, and I have to say this was one of the many highlights of the concert.

I must confess I never really understood the Midnight to Midnight album but have revisited it since hearing the clubby rendition of “Heartbreak Beat,” which was a single taken from the album in the late ’80s. I have to say I am a convert to the album, and the gateway to my musical epiphany is a direct result of me hearing the dangerously driving, infectiously hooky spin on the tune the Furs served up at this amazing show. It was deliciously perfect in every way. Last but not least, for the enduring encore, we were treated to “India” from the eponymously titled debut album.

The audience went absolutely nuts, as did Richard Butler, when he had a mock stage fight during the proceedings with brilliant guitarist Rich Good. The last-minute theatrics were great and at first quite believable, until Butler looked at the audience with a knowing smile, his first of the evening. I was smiling all the way home. Friday night at the Palladium indeed, but with a twist. I’ll never forget it.

The Psychedelic Furs website can be found here

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