December 3, 1987 Bravo (Germany) (Translation below)
"They have the craziest singer of the Rock-scene"

December 3, 1987 Bravo Germany

 A lot of people puzzle over Robert Smith (28), the man with the shock headed tuft, the white painted face and the lose shoe laces - fans, managers, his family and sometimes also the other guys of The Cure; clown, crackpot or genius- nobody knows what is eating master Smith. No other rocker in the scene is so little comprehensible as he is. 

When he released the first Cure record “Boys Don’t Cry” in 1979 with his friend Laurence Tolhurst, punks and followers of the early electronic music were equally mad. But suddenly a completely new kind of fan cropped up in droves at the band’s concerts.  

Dressed in black with stern, anguished faces. But during the 30-minutes shows of The Cure, they came out of themselves and lapsed into a wild dance fever. Robert had invented the gothic rock.

 Right away, Robert Smith became an icon for the still small and exclusive circle of Gothics. The Cure-songs, but especially his habits that slowly became public, produce adoration and fans everywhere between Los Angeles and Moscow.

 It is said about Robert Smith that he suffers from terrible depressions, is constantly on the edge of going crazy, and doesn’t speak a single word sometimes for weeks or hides in bed during that time. Not with one word does the Cure-boss ever complain about his Finstermann (person who is always serious) –Image.

 In 1983 The Cure, whose band members changed every few month except for the main men Robert and Laurence, shocked their fans with some happy songs like “Love Cats” and “Let’s go to Bed", which became instant hits. 

Suddenly Robert confessed in interviews that he would feel really good from time to time and that he would even laugh sometimes. From then on, fewer Goths showed up, but instead all kinds of different types of fans, even heavy-metal specialists. By now The Cure has evolved from the insider-band of the gothic community into a super-group that makes the biggest concert halls shake when on tour.

 Robert stayed true to himself. He goes on tour with a tiny suitcase which contains six pairs of underpants, six pairs of socks, one shirt to change, one pair of sweatpants, a toothbrush and 36 cassettes with almost all Beethoven-symphonies and songs of his favorite bands like That Petrol Emotion, The Jesus and Marie Chain, Cocteau Twins and Husker Due.

 The Cure-boss does not enter his apartment in London anymore. The hectic rush of the city is not good for his sensitive nerves. He prefers to hide in the countryside with his girlfriend Mary or in his parents’ house, where he can read Nietzsche in peace.

 Robert wants to get married next spring; but he doesn’t think of himself as a guy who should raise children. He rather acts as the crazy uncle and clown for his seven nephews and one niece.

 THANKS to: Punam (MFC) & Sarah for the TRANSLATION.