Concert Photos: The Psychedelic Furs Show Depth at MGM Northfield Park Center Stage

English quintet The Psychedelic Furs played the Center Stage venue at MGM Northfield on Saturday night. Frontman and founding member Richard Butler and his unique baritone voice were in fine form as he smiled and strutted across the stage in a Vampire Lestat-inspired outfit. Original bassist Tim Butler was in tow, along with longtime keys player Amanda Kramer, drummer Zack Alford (a relatively new member to the outfit), as well as journeyman guitarist Rich Good.

Gaining prominence stateside in the mid 1980s due to an association with the John Hughes vehicle Pretty in Pink, the band had been around for several years prior to the 1986 movie that bears the name of one of their biggest hits. It’s a shame that many people only associate the band with the Hughes movie, as their resume goes much deeper than the Molly Ringwald/teen angst opus.

Offering an eighteen-tune set, the highlights were the chart-topping “Heaven,” offered early in the evening, followed by “Love My Way,” the 1982 single that put the band on the U.S. charts. They gave us “Pretty in Pink” towards the end of the night.

Wrapping up the 80-minute set, the band played the strangely-intoxicating “India” as a capper to the evening.

Post-punk British stalwarts The Chameleons started the night with an abbreviated 45-minute set. Led by frontman Mark Burgess, the Manchester, England-founded quintet has gained a fairly rabid fanbase, but sadly never achieved the same level of notoriety as other bands from the same era.