The Psychedelic Furs - John Peel Session 1981

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft OBE (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004.
Peel was one of the first broadcasters to play psychedelic rock and progressive rock records on British radio. He is widely acknowledged for promoting artists of many genres, including pop, dub reggae, punk rock and post-punk, electronic music and dance music, indie rock, extreme metal and British hip hop. Fellow DJ Paul Gambaccini described Peel as "the most important single person in popular music from approximately 1967 through 1978. He broke more important artists than any individual."[1]
Peel's Radio 1 shows were notable for the regular "Peel Sessions", which usually consisted of four songs recorded by an artist in the BBC's studios, often providing the first major national coverage to bands that later achieved fame. The annual Festive Fifty countdown of his listeners' favourite records of the year was a notable part of his promotion of new music.
The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977.[1] Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene.

The band had several hits in their early career. In 1986, filmmaker John Hughes used their song "Pretty in Pink" for his film Pretty in Pink. They went on hiatus after they finished touring in 1992, but resumed in 2000 and continue to perform live. The band released Made of Rain, their first studio album in nearly three decades, on 31 July 2020
Early days (1977–1980)
Richard Butler stated that the Psychedelic Furs began rehearsing in his family's front room but were soon banished because of the noise.[3] The band was initially called RKO, then Radio. They later vacillated between calling themselves the Europeans and the Psychedelic Furs, playing gigs under both names before permanently settling on the latter.[4] The word psychedelic was chosen to separate the band from punk rockers who ostentatiously scorned the legacy of 1960s rock music.[5]

The band initially consisted of Richard Butler (vocals), Tim Butler (bass guitar), Duncan Kilburn (saxophone), Paul Wilson (drums), and Roger Morris (guitars). By 1979, this line-up had expanded to a sextet with Vince Ely replacing Wilson on drums and John Ashton joining as a second guitarist.[1] The Psychedelic Furs' debut, a self-titled album released in March 1980, was produced by Steve Lillywhite. The album quickly established the band on radio in Europe and was a No. 18 hit in the UK Albums Chart.[1] The album also found success in Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Australia.