Richard Butler has been the charismatic front man for The Psychedelic Furs for nigh unto 30 years, the band having initially formed in 1977. For a fair share of the 90s, The Psychedelic Furs were inactive, while Butler recorded and performed with Love Spit Love, which occasionally also featured Furs's bassman Tim Butler. Likewise, when the Furs reformed in 2001, Richard brought along Love Spit Love guitarist Richard Fortus.

Richard Butler recorded his debut solo album entitled simply Richard Butler in 2006, to much critical acclaim. In it, he tries out a less raucous and gravelly vocal style that reveals subtleties in emotional cadence less obvious in the noisier, electric atmosphere that his bands have provided for him. This album has been characterized as "soaring" and "epic" and reveals a kind of maturity sometimes missing in the later catalogs of others. If he never recorded another solo album, this one would stand on its own as an elegant statement of Butler's personal musical vision.