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"When we started up," bassist Tim Butler said of the 1977 formation of The Psychedelic Furs, "you just wanted to get out there, get drunk and meet some women or whatever — play the rock star."

And now, with a new tour approaching — including a Tuesday gig at Park City Live — what sort of wild, hedonistic antics are the English alt-rock icons up to?

"I am calling from Lexington, Kentucky. I'm out with my wife shopping — I'm sitting in the car," Butler said, laughing.

Very rock 'n' roll, indeed.

It stands to reason that — nearly 40 years since they started the band, more than 30 years since their first album and more than 20 years since their last album — the Furs would be a bit more restrained these days.

Then again, there's clearly no lack of passion there for a band that still feels the itch to hit the road even if it hasn't released a full album of new material since 1991. Butler attributes the Furs' recent resurgence to harmony within the ranks, on account of a new lineup (he and brother Richard Butler, the lead singer, are the only remaining original members) and a willingness to leave behind all those aforementioned rock-star proclivities.

"I think, to me, this is the best incarnation of the Furs I've played with, including the original. We all get along better than the original band did, and we just play together more cohesively," he said. "We love touring now. We've lost all our egos and wild sort of drinking and stuff that used to cause arguments and stuff. The egos are in check; we just like each other. There's no rubbing anybody else the wrong way. And we just love getting out there. We love the fact that we've still got the audiences. We can still play songs that are over 30 years old and get a great reaction to them."

But then, the Furs always did know how to get a reaction from the crowd.

It just wasn't always a great one in the early days.

"So, the first gig we did was a party at Richard's art college he was going to, and we were so bad that the people — when we started playing, they were watching us, and after one song, one number, they'd all left and shut the door," Butler said. "So that was our beginning. And it got better from there, as you probably realized."

While the Furs' musical ability would improve, it turned out that their timing could not have been better.

Though inspired by the chaotic energy of England's punk scene and drawn specifically to the attitude of the Sex Pistols, it was the Psychedelic Furs' differences from that genre and that band — their self-described "beautiful chaos" style has encompassed everything from austere art rock to buoyant synth pop — that would soon make them resonate with the public.

"We came along at the right time," Butler said. "I think at that time, it was the tail end of punk, and people were starting to get a bit tired of, you know, three minutes of 'eff this' and 'screw that' and 'it all sucks.' And they were ready for something else, and we just arrived at exactly the right time."

Now, the Furs are working on their own time.

Butler confirmed that the Psychedelic Furs are writing songs with the idea of eventually releasing a new album. He could not provide a timetable for its ultimate release, noting that there was little incentive to rush it out.

After all, he pointed out, not only do the band members have zero interest in self-imposing the kind of deadline pressure that led to their breakup a couple decades ago, they also have enough self-awareness to realize they have been out of the limelight long enough that the only benchmark a new album would have to satisfy is living up to the Furs' own creative ideals.

"Yeah, I mean, we're all in the process of writing. We have lots of song ideas — we're just waiting for Richard to catch up lyrically," Butler said. "But there's no hurry. We want to do it on our own timetable, with no outside pressure. That's the reason why, in the early '90s, we initially split up. All the record company pressure — you know, 'Write a single. Write an album. You've got to tour. You've got to do this.' It just wasn't fun anymore. So we don't want to make it not fun anymore. We're going on our own time. We don't think we're going to come out with an album that goes on the top of the charts now, so we just want to make sure it's right."

Ultimately, it's the Furs' desire to get it right that is the driving force on the tour bus.

Knowing, all these years later, that they can still go out and pack a venue with people who've come specifically to hear their music is both humbling and inspiring, Butler said.

"It makes us feel it was worthwhile. Any trials and tribulations we went through when we initially wrote all of those songs, it makes it all worthwhile," Butler said. "Basically, it's all down to pleasing the public. Writing songs that people like — that's what every musician dreams of. And our dreams have been fulfilled. There's nothing better in the world, to me and I think to Richard, than to go out onstage and play a song and have people sing along with every word. The whole audience is singing and you can hear them sing along — it's just an incredible feeling. It's like, 'Yeah! We wrote that! And it's lasted the test of time.' "

Twitter: @esotericwalden —

Psychedelic Furs

Where • Park City Live: 427 Main St., Park City

When • Tuesday, Oct. 28; doors at 7 p.m., opening band The Lemonheads at 8 p.m., Furs at 10:15 p.m.

Tickets • $25 and $50; parkcitylive.net