Happy 70th birthday to Richard Butler, the frontman of ‘80s post-punk legends the Psychedelic Furs.
The band is best known for their 1981 song “Pretty in Pink,” which inspired the name of the 1986 John Hughes film starring Molly Ringwald. The band re-recorded a more polished version of the song for the film’s soundtrack. The Furs’ other ’80s classic hits include “The Ghost in You,” “Heaven” and “Heartbreak Beat.”
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Richard Lofthouse Butler was born on June 5, 1956, in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England. His father was a research chemist, while his mother was an artist. The young Butler attended art school in London planning to follow his mother’s footsteps prior to forming the Psychedelic Furs.
Aside from fronting the Furs from 1977 through the early 1990s, Butler fronted the band Love Spit Love, which released two albums, a self-titled effort in 1994 and Trysome Eatone in 1997. The second album was released by Madonna’s Maverick Records label. Butler also released an eponymously titled solo album in 2006, featuring cover art created by the singer.
In addition, to performing with the Furs, Butler is also an established visual artist and showcases his work on his @rblofthouse Instagram account. His handle is drawn from his unusual middle name.
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Richard Butler’s 70th birthday comes as a bittersweet time for the Furs. On May 8, the band announced on their social media channels that they were forced to cancel their spring and summer tour dates “due to a serious medical issue in the band.”
Nearly a month later, on June 2, the band revealed that it was Richard Butler’s bass-playing brother Tim, 67, the only other original member in the Furs, who experienced the “serious medical issue.”
A post to their social media channels read: “Please join us in saying ‘get well soon’ to our own #TimButler who has just undergone triple-bypass #heart surgery. Tim is recovering comfortably and thanks each of you for all of the love, concern and well-wishes!!!! #PFurs,” reads the post, which features a photo of Tim Butler.
This isn’t the first time in recent memory that the Furs have been beset by health problems. The band’s longtime saxophonist Mars Williams died on Nov. 20, 2023, at the age of 68 after suffering from ampullary cancer. Despite his illness, Williams continued to perform live with the band through October. We caught one of his final performances on Oct. 13, 2023, where Richard Butler saluted Williams on stage before Williams took the spotlight on the sax-laden Furs’ classic “Sister Europe,” from their 1980 self-titled debut.
Original guitarist John Ashton, who left the band after they went on a hiatus in 1992, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021. His friend, singer/bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, launched a GoFundMe to help play for his medical treatment. In 2024, Ashton shared that his cancer is in remission.
In a 2020 interview with this writer for the streaming service TIDAL, Richard Butler addressed the band’s ties to the movie Pretty in Pink.
“It’s a double-edged sword, the Pretty in Pink thing. It brought us a good deal of attention, but I think — John Hughes, God bless him — the song was sort of misrepresented. I think a lot of people think it’s about somebody actually wearing a pink dress and taking it all quite literally, but it wasn’t about that at all,” he explained. “So when ‘Love My Way’ was used in [the 2017 film] Call Me By Your Name, it felt like it righted the balance somewhat. Because I thought that was an excellent use of it, and that song couldn’t have found a better place to be.”
