Richard might be busy for the next year

[Fretzo]

RollingStone is reporting that the Psychedelic Furs are at work on a new album.  They don't mention any of the additional muscicians who will be working on the album but in 2001 Richard was a writing/recording/touring member of the Furs.

Here's the article:

Psychedelic Furs at Work
Eighties pop band readies first new album in more than a decade

After more than a decade away from the studio, Eighties pop act the Psychedelic Furs are at work on a new album.
"We didn't want to go out and tour on old music because we haven't been writing," frontman Richard Butler explains. "We want to be a band that's a band, not one that's just touring."

The group -- which also includes Butler's brother Tim on bass and guitarist John Ashton -- has been writing material for the past several months. They might have gotten started sooner, if not for Butler's commitment to his side project, Love Spit Love, and an in-progress solo record, a collaboration with longtime friend Jon Carin (Pink Floyd, the Who, Bryan Ferry). The band members, who share songwriting responsibilities, have been communicating ideas via tapes while Butler wraps up his project. "We use whatever seems to fit," Butler says. "It's a question of whether it fires anything in me and makes me want to sing."

The Furs are road-testing a few songs on their current tour -- which wraps on January 29th in Anaheim, California -- including "Cigarette," "Wrong Train" and "Alive." Playing new material live, Butler confesses, can be nerve-wracking, eliciting "not as good a response as something better-known." "It's a lot of fun playing when the crowd is enthusiastic," he says. "But it can be a bit daunting when the crowd is standing there with a huge question mark over their heads."

The Furs' album will be recorded and self-produced at Ashton's home in New York State. But don't expect it to hit stores until late 2005 or early 2006 --especially considering that the band has not yet signed a deal for its release, planning to remain as independent as possible. "We don't need the advance," says the veteran pop singer. "We paid for this ourselves."

CHRISTINA FUOCO
(Posted Dec 21, 2004)

Here's a RollingStone article from 2001 that mentions Richard:

Psychedelic Furs Back Again
Headlining tour, new album due from Psychedelic Furs
 
"The door certainly isn't closed. But if we were to do it, it would have to be for the fun of working together, because that's why we started," wrote Psychedelic Furs bassist Tim Butler in the liner notes of the band's 1997 retrospective, Should God Forget: A Retrospective. Following last year's brief return to live performance, the Furs are back together again for a lengthy headlining tour.
Original members Richard and Tim Butler and John Ashton, along with Richard Butler's writing partner Richard Fortus on guitar and Earl Harvin on drums, will again showcase the Psychedelic Furs' old material like "Love My Way," "The Ghost in You," and "Pretty in Pink." But this time around the Furs also plan to preview some new tunes that they plan to record immediately following the tour, which runs from March 23rd to May 10th.

JAAN UHELSZKI
(March 8, 2001)

I remember an article last year where Richard talked about living in New York because he worked with the Furs part-time as well as GNR.

[Thorazine Shuffle]

Richards not with The Furs anymore.

[anarchy]

I don't think so.

[Lesty]

The new article didn't mention him.

I'd highly doubt he would play with them over GnR, and if he did choose to tour with the furs, then more power to him. That being said, Richard Fortus' side work should have nothing
to do with the continual delay of Chinese Democracy. Anyone in the band can book shows through the entire year of 2005, but if Axl decides to release it, everyone will come runnin back.

[pilferk]

He's no longer with The Furs.

[Hammy]

he's not with them, wasn't mentioned, so unless he's quitting Gn'R it's unlikely, it's like Gn'R touring next year and saying Slash may be busy and not be able to tour with Velvet Revolver........well maybe not that xtreme

[AdZ]

Original members Richard and Tim Butler and John Ashton, along with Richard Butler's writing partner Richard Fortus on guitar and Earl Harvin on drums, will again showcase the Psychedelic Furs' old material like "Love My Way," "The Ghost in You," and "Pretty in Pink." But this time around the Furs also plan to preview some new tunes that they plan to record immediately following the tour, which runs from March 23rd to May 10th.

JAAN UHELSZKI
(March 8, 2001)

Looks like they mentioned him to me.

[2NaFish]

My guess is that, like tommy and dizzy, he'll be allowed to tour and work in the studio with them if he has nothing better to do.

Give him something to do axl. (Please note, cleaning your house on tuesdays and thrusdays is not good enough)

[vicarious existence]

Original members Richard and Tim Butler and John Ashton, along with Richard Butler's writing partner Richard Fortus on guitar and Earl Harvin on drums, will again showcase the Psychedelic Furs' old material like "Love My Way," "The Ghost in You," and "Pretty in Pink." But this time around the Furs also plan to preview some new tunes that they plan to record immediately following the tour, which runs from March 23rd to May 10th.

JAAN UHELSZKI
(March 8, 2001)

Looks like they mentioned him to me.

yeah but that was back in 2001..

[Hammy]

Original members Richard and Tim Butler and John Ashton, along with Richard Butler's writing partner Richard Fortus on guitar and Earl Harvin on drums, will again showcase the Psychedelic Furs' old material like "Love My Way," "The Ghost in You," and "Pretty in Pink." But this time around the Furs also plan to preview some new tunes that they plan to record immediately following the tour, which runs from March 23rd to May 10th.

JAAN UHELSZKI
(March 8, 2001)

Looks like they mentioned him to me.

Ahh nuts my mistake....im so tired......anyway like it says 2001......imagine what plans we thought GN'R had back then and what happened...things change

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Fortus wasn`t an original member of the furs anyway.  If he was involved with this recent reunion of the band he would have been mentioned.

[Booker Floyd]

Fortus wasn`t an original member of the furs anyway.? If he was involved with this recent reunion of the band he would have been mentioned.

You havent read the thread, have you?

[ccorn69]

i think i speak for many gnr fans when i say that i hope richard is busy next year... touring with gnr after the release of CD. 

as for the furs... the new article doesnt mention him and richard didnt join gnr till 2002 so the 2001 article... eh... i dont know... i thought he had quit the furs from what i had read here on the board. 

But I will say that i hope he doesnt leave to tour with the furs or what not cause that would be a bad sign; ether cd being delayed again (if the febuary rumours are true) or god knows what

[Booker Floyd]

as for the furs... the new article doesnt mention him and richard didnt join gnr till 2002 so the 2001 article... eh... i dont know... i thought he had quit the furs from what i had read here on the board.?

You havent read the thread, have you?

[nesquick]

is the band slowly falling appart? 
am I alone to have this impression? 

[Pandora]

is the band slowly falling appart? 
am I alone to have this impression? 

You are alone in turning every thread under the sun into some negative fantasy, that's for sure.

[Skeletor]

is the band slowly falling appart??
am I alone to have this impression??

You are alone in turning every thread under the sun into some negative fantasy, that's for sure.

Yeah man, constructive critisism, opinions etc. are fine, but stop whining all the time!

[nesquick]

well I'm realistic that's different. I don't think I'm expecially negative, I just say what I think could be the real deal.

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Fortus wasn`t an original member of the furs anyway.? If he was involved with this recent reunion of the band he would have been mentioned.

You havent read the thread, have you?

Yes I have. Who the hell are you, a moderator in you own mind?

I contributed to the discussion. Your post just shows you have nothing intelligent to add.

[AdZ]

well I'm realistic that's different. I don't think I'm expecially negative, I just say what I think could be the real deal.

Yeah, the same thing in every thread. Do you know how boring it has become?