The Cure: “We can only cure ourselves”
Robert Smith, an unpredictable man. Hardly a few months ago he claimed that life as a rock star consists mainly out of disillusion and frustration. In the mean time he toured with Siouxsie and The Banshees, waned to record a new album with Steve Severin and “The Cure” itself is doing very well in the English charts with “The Walk”. When we ask the lead singer about it, we get no reaction. A certain Mr. Smith maybe? Yes, but he is still in bed. An answer which hardly shocks us. Not much later drummer Tolhurst and Smith come, a bite bored, down the stairs. “There they are again” says Robert not without al little bit off arrogance. Robert starts the interview, but Lol Tolhurst also share’s his opinion.
Rioting
When you choose “The Cure” as the name of a band you expect, just as a solid doctor, to come forward with solutions for all kind of problems. Talking to Tolhurst and Smith you immediately learn there are hardly any solutions to come up with. Also, the band doesn’t pretend to have something to say. There opinion is just as useful and unnecessary as yours and mine. “If you really want to change things in this world” says Smith a bit grim “You shouldn’t be in company of a group. Touring and making records doesn’t make any a difference to that. Just as rioting. For the government that would be a reason to in large there police force and build more jails. The government is such a powerful instrument and so complicated. It’s just naïf to think that changes are possible, except when you kill somebody.”
Lol Tolhurst: “That’s not true. The only possibility is to breakdown society and rebuild it again. That is just as a utopian and impossible.”
Robert: “And even when it’s possible then you still will have to do with the nature of mankind and they are nasty.”
Lol: “A large part of mankind wants to be ignorant. They kind of like it to be told what to do and what not.”
Robert: “The world is divided into different countries, but they all are just as rotten as each other. National pride is forced upon us. The basis of all problems is that we are all divided and torned.
Lol: “There is yet no place for a peaceful and harmonious world. People rather do not change. Nobody really likes changes.”
Can The Cure create healing for people?
Lol: “Yes, we can cure ourselves, and only ourselves.
The trammels
After the release of “Pornography” Robert Smith really wanted to disappear out of the spotlights. “The tour to promote the album was a disaster” he says now. “We realized that we couldn’t go on like this anymore. When bassist Simon Gallup gave up, I was totally lost.
Why go on like this? I didn’t like performing at all, which is why I quitted. It was time to do things like normal people would do. “Let’s Go To Bed” was a Christmas single, but maybe I shouldn’t have done that single with The Cure. When the Banshees came with the idea to tour with them I immediately accepted. I was bored at the time and this was a chance to do something different.
The trammels of the cure frightened me. And anyway there was always a strong connection between The Banshees and The Cure. In the beginning of our carriers we already toured together. With Severin I want to record a new single. Our group is going to be called “The Glove”. I don’t want any new photos of The Cure, no set line up and no concrete future plans.
Each new project has to be different, and done by different people. Whether our albums are good or not, doesn’t really matter. I like to be in the music charts, because you’ll be heard on the radio a lot. And anyway “The Walk” is better then 90% of the other garbage, right?”
“There is no pressure on the group at all. When we want to perform, we just do it. Not interested? Then we don’t perform.
I’ll just continue sleeping. Every day I’m longing to go to bed, because the last few months I have had the most gorgeous dreams, which I intensely enjoy. My dreams are my inspiration. Maybe I illustrate those dreams in my music.
Subtitles Photo: The Cure with a gold album for “Pornography”. Whether it is a hit doesn’t really matter to me.
Thanks so much
Debby Janssens for TRANSLATING.