With frontman Richard Butler presumably recovered from the spinal surgery that sidelined the band’s New Year’s dates, The Psychedelic Furs today announced a run of seven U.S. concerts in late May and early June — including a pair on the East Coast with The Go-Go’s.

Simple Minds fans living in North America have been a patient lot, as the band hasn’t toured here in more than a decade. But there is renewed hope today, thanks to a message that reveals the group plans to record music this summer and “hopefully” will tour the U.S. and Canada this fall.

The Ramones’ 1976 self-titled debut album was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry today alongside 25 other songs and records — including Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack — as examples of the “richness and variety of our audio heritage

Released from jail on his own recognizance, Peter Murphy pleaded not guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor DUI and drug charges stemming from an alleged Los Angeles-area hit-and-run over the weekend — and his attorney indicated the singer still plans to embark on an extensive tour next month.

The Stranglers — singer-bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel, drummer Jet Black and keyboard player Dave Greenfield, plus former Toy Dolls guitarist Baz Warne — this week announced a belated U.S. release for the band’s 2012 album Giants, plus initial dates in late May and June for a planned North American tour.

Tuesday night’s Slicing Up Eyeballs Music Hour featured brand-new tracks from The Ocean Blue, The House of Love, Ian McCulloch, Wire, OMD, Gang of Four and Meat Puppets, plus old favorites from Public Image Ltd., Big Audio Dynamite, Hoodoo Gurus, Morrissey, Love and Rockets and more.

A newly revealed cassette recording of The Smiths rehearsing in a Manchester warehouse in May 1983 prior to signing their first record deal has surfaced online in what the band’s drummer today called “an early recording you’ve probably never heard before.”