Still Made of Rain: The Psychedelic Furs Drench Leeds in 80s Nostalgia

After decades away from the stage due to a pandemic-related delay, The Psychedelic Furs proved to their fans in Leeds that time hasn’t dulled their edge. After their concert at the Stylus, they certainly left the stage with a memorable comeback into the live music scene. The band took a thirty-year gap between their iconic album World Outside (1991), and their newest album called Made Of Rain (2020). They finally got around to their album tour five years later – and they did not disappoint! Electric purple lights lit up the room upon entry, and the crowd was met by the band with the aesthetics of sunglasses, black waistcoats and iconic leopard print trousers (magnificently worn by the guitarist Rich Good). It was clear that the night was going to be filled with an unforgettable 80s energy.

To begin, the opening act, Anja Huwe, created an eerie mysterious atmosphere in the room with her intense, rocky rhythms and gloomy, theatrical lyrics. As a former member of the 80s German gothic rock band Xmal Deutschland, she was the perfect tone-setter for the evening. Her music flowed seamlessly into that of the Psychedelic Furs, who came onto stage and jumped straight into their classics. They found a nice balance between their oldies (but goodies!) and celebrating the songs from their newest album, finding a way to transport the crowd back to the feel-good era of the 80s and never losing that sense of nostalgia.

Their fans had been waiting patiently for the band’s return, and this was very much clear from their excitable reaction to the first song, up until the very end of the night. Fans spread their arms and sang their hearts out to every single song, and their emotions (having been held back since the 90s) were felt by everyone in the room. The Psychedelic Furs responded to the crowd’s energy perfectly, mirroring their excitement with a cheesy and fun performance. Richard Butler, the frontman, executed his exaggerated poses, continuously waved his hands in the air alongside the crowd, and often crouched down to make charming eye contact with some devoted fans at the barrier. The feeling in the room, particularly with one of their most notable songs, ‘Pretty in Pink’, created an atmosphere of an 80s romcom, encouraging the crowd to relive their youth a little and be transported back to when they were young. This being said, there were many younger fans in the audience who seemed to grasp onto these feelings just as much as the people who had lived through the first releases of the band’s albums back in the 80s and 90s. It created a sort of refreshing unison between generations, who had come together by the power of the band’s beautiful synths and vocals.

If all of this wasn’t enough, the end of the concert was met with a spectacular guitar solo by Rich Good. After standing near the back of the stage and subtly jamming away at his guitar all evening, he sprang to the front to have his time to shine. The solo radiated what I can imagine to be the essence of 80s rock, performed with the same enthusiasm that they had when they first performed decades ago. The best part – he stole the drummer’s stick and used it to replicate a guitar slide for his shred – what?! When his five minutes of fame from the evening came to an end, he tossed the stick into the crowd, and one lucky fan jumped up to grab it for themselves. What an incredible piece of memorabilia to take home with you (I was definitely jealous). The band members grooved together throughout the show, in what was an amazing celebration of their comeback to the stage after so long. As the pink lights faded and the echo of the lyrics still hung in the air, it was clear that this was a rainstorm of a performance that was worth waiting decades for.

Words By Katie Hawkins