Songoftheday 6/3/15 - And the beat don't stop and we talk so tough, and there's a perfect kiss somewhere out in the dark...
"Heartbreak Beat" - Psychedelic Furs
from the album Midnight To Midnight (1987)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #26 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 5
Today's SOTD comes from the British new wave band Psychedelic Furs, who had a smaller yet more respected place in the second "British Invasion" of the early 80s, with songs like "Love My Way" gracing the hipper radio stations in America. They even had a John Hughes "Brat Pack" movie named for one of their songs, "Pretty In Pink", yet the re-released track just missed the US pop top-40. However, the momentum from their exposure in the film rewarded them with their next studio album Midnight To Midnight where they landed their biggest American hit. "Heartbreak Beat", written by brother Richard and Tim Butler with bandmate John Ashton, seemed like a distillation of the Furs' sound produced by Chris Kimsey, who also worked behind the deck on the Rolling Stones' 80s albums...
"Heartbreak Beat" became the Furs' sole top-40 American pop hit in May of 1987. The single also crossed over to the top-20 on both the Mainstream Rock (#11) and Dance Club Play (#14) charts in Billboard. Surprisingly, the single flopped in their native Britain, not even making the top 75, though it did reach the top-40 Down Under in Australia and New Zealand.
Their next American single, "Shock", didn't make the pop chart but nick the dance list at #30. However, with the introduction of the "modern rock" format and chart, the band had a brief resurgence, scoring three #1 hits on the chart between 1988's "All That Money Wants" and "Until She Comes" from 1991. The group split shortly after that, with Richard leading the act Love Spit Love in the 90s. They reunited in 2001 and have been touring since.
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And here's the Furs performing live in Chicago (where coincidentally they were my first concert living in that city in the late 80s) in 2011..
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