The Cure Biography
"The longer we go on, the less similarities there are between what we're doing and what anyone else has ever done"
Robert Smith said that recently. Robert Smith is a man variously described in his time as "sort of delirious", "a libidinous, drug-headed weasel", "Mad Bob", "funny", "the thinking teen's pin-up", "haunting", "the Messiah of Angst", "No More Mad Bob", "hesitant", "the security blanket of the bedsit set", "a moggy replete with Whiskas", "Fat Boy", "just too damned effete to live", "brilliant", "ill, thin and pale", "his mind a constant whir of activity", "crafty", "always on a fine line between agitation and boredom", "eccentric", "a pretty good midfield player" "deviously charming", "shy", "haunted", "an old, comfortable Persian Cat" and "mortal".
The Cure, who've been called a whole lot more, have been there, or thereabouts, for 10 years now. A feverish reaction against apathy, an independent recreation, vitality on vinyl and violent laughter on stage. Since Smith (guitar and vocals) and schoolmates Lol Tolhurst (drums) and Michael Dempsey (bass) started Easy Cure in Crawley around 1977, the goals have been the same - to follow instinct and enjoy it. Hansa couldn't handle that - the lads joined and left the label without releasing anything but their demo excited the newly-formed Fiction Records and "Killing an Arab", a single inspired by Camus "The Outsider", was released to unanimous critical acclaim in early 1978 (sic).
Their debut album, "Three Imaginary Boys", created as much of a stir for its anti-pop cover featuring three household implements and NO band photo, as it did for its bold eclecticism and the second single "Boys Don't Cry", confused the critics and fans further, a deliberately straightforward pop song far removed from their presumed arty inventions. Set on avoiding the creative suicide, they saw in categorization, the Cure's next single, "Jumping Someone Else's Train", was again different, a rampant attack on fashion band-wagoneers while, as imageless as possible, they toured with, among other, Siouxsie and the Banshees. As it to confuse matters even further, Smith played two set each night, opening with the Cure then joining the Banshees whose guitarist had quit during the tour.
Dempsey left the Cure in late 1979, to be replaced by Simon Gallup (bass) and Matthieu Hartley (keyboards) of local Crawley group, the Magspies. The new line-up's first single, "A Forest", was the Cure's first major chart success, entering the top 30, and the second album "17 Seconds", reflected Smith's increasing determination not to be influenced or tainted by the mainstream. The band toured the world, gaining an uncompromising reputation and a trio of singles - "Primary", "Charlotte Sometimes" and "The Hanging Garden" - unwittingly cemented the band in the public's imagination as doyens of despair, an opinion the svelte and deliberately brittle album, "Faith", served to confirm.
The emotional whirlpool that creates these records, adopted as classics by the infamous long raincoat brigade of the early Eighties, was bound to drag Smith to breakdown and that, coupled with his loathing for the straitjacket he'd written himself into, prompted "Pornography", a kamikaze album. The band brutally bludgeoned itself and, sure enough, there were casualties. Hartley had already quit, Gallup followed and, in 1981 (sic), it seemed The Cure were no more. Smith went off to rejoined the Banshees, played on their top three hit, "Dear Prudence", and helped write their "Hyaena" album while Lol quit drumming and started to learn keyboards.
As only he anticipated, though, the rest from the Cure rejuvenated Smith and, in late 1982, Smith and Tolhurst released the first of three fantasy singles, "Let's Go To Bed", of all things a DISCO number. Liberated again from reputation and format, the follow up, "The Walk", was an electro experiment that took the Cure back into the charts and Smith built a new band featuring ex-Brilliant drummer Andy Anderson, Phil Thornalley (who'd produced "Pornography") on bass, and Lol on keyboards. This line-up recorded "The Lovecats", a mad jazz-tinged hot and "The Top", a feverish, acidic, tormented album that hinted Smith was finding it too much fulfilling his dual responsibilities. Inevitably, he surrendered his role in the Banshees and the Cure released "The Caterpillar", a strange scented single which also charted, and "Concert" a live album., before again touring the world. Along the way they hit it off with Tim Pope, an exquisitely eccentric video maker who delighted in perversely laying all the Cure's ghosts, and the band's public persona became one of "expect the unexpected". Andy Anderson left mid-tour and Boris Williams who'd drummed with (among others) the Thompson Twins, joined, along with guitarist Porl Thompson. Porl had been in an early incarnation of the band back in their local Crawley days and had subsequently become responsible, with his partner in Parched Art, Undy Vella, for the majority of the band's artwork. In late '84 while preparing for recording, Smith met up with Gallup and he rejoined replacing Thornalley who was burdened with other commitments, and this line-up, which survives and thrives today, released the accomplished "Head on the Door" album and the swinging "In Between Days" and honking "Close To Me" singles, both accompanied by disturbingly zany Tim Pope videos.
More touring ensued, "Standing on the Beach" - a compilation LP of all 13 Cure singles - was released along with a remixed hit version of "Boys Don't Cry" and a period of intense global activity culminated in August 1986, in a Roam amphitheatre in Orange, southern France, where the band were captured live on film by Tim Pope. The concert, almost two hours of Cure landmarks, was shot in such a way that "The Cure in Orange" (on general movie release from mid-april) captures both what it was like to witness the event and what it was like to PERFORM it.
After shooting, the band remained in France where they recorded "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me", a double album of unparalleled scope due for release in May 1987. The LP, co-produced by Smith and Dave Allen (who teamed up first on "The Lovecats" and stayed), exudes such confidence that, far from continuing to flee the Cure's myriad past reputation, it embraces them all from the dreamlike, gossamer "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep", to the ragged R'n'B of "Hey You" to the frazzled funk of "Hot Hot Hot!!!" to the comatose, incensed "Torture" to the quirky pop of "Catch"...in all, 18 tracks, over 70 minutes and not one wasted. "Why Can't I Be You?", the single released in April, is yet another facet of the Cure, a burning, brassy hoot accompanied by the band's most daring, daft and death-defying video yet.
"I honestly don't think there's anything the Cure couldn't do now", says Robert Smith.
Believe it.
MARCH, 1987
Name - Robert Smith
Birthday - 21 april 1959
Bird - swallow and robin
Fish - manta ray and angelfish
Letter - S and E
Tree - weeping willow and oak
Colour - white and grey
Animal - cat and polar bear
Drink - mead and milk
Saying - never
Smell - barbeque on summers night
Sound - Notre Dame cathedral bells
Weather - snow
Shape - circle
Taste - lemons
Feeling - fur
Day - Sunday
Nightmare - waking up as someone else
Place - bed
Time - 7.30pm
Game - football
Dream - to fly and be young again
Chord - Em
Book - Revelations: St John
My perfect moment - when the room swims...
Name - Simon
Birthday - 1st June 1960
Bird - crow
Fish - in batter
Letter - V
Tree - oak
Colour - maroon
Animal - dog
Drink - Jamesons
Saying - never in his life
Smell - hands
Sound - english
Weather - stormy
Shape - shifting
Taste - chilli
Feeling - happy
Day - morning
Nightmare - never having happy dreams
Place - secret
Time - 7.30am (only after sleep)
Game - Explodng Fist II
Dream - the best curry chef in the world
Chord - E minor
Book - Vivien
My perfect moment - being in the Cure and meeting at the bar with sunshine at 5.30pm
Name - Porl (hippy)
Birthday - 8.11.57
Fish - eyes
Bird - hands
Letter - S
Tree - nappy (hippy)
Colour - none
Animal - happy ones
Drink - tea
Saying - nothing
Smell - after the rain
Sound - morning
Weather - all
Shape - doc
Taste - 1st cup of tea
Feeling - far away (hippy)
Day - full
Nightmare - falling and never getting home
Place - home
Time - 4 mins to 6
Game - chess
Dream - waking up
Chord - E 9
Book - Alice in Wonderland still
My perfect moment - yet to come
CREW
Mick Kluczynski - pre-production
Pitso Pirie - stage MGR.
Mac MacPhail - L.D
Steve Spencer - F.O.H. sound
Bryan Olsen - monitors
Bruno Brunning - keys
Tom Wilson - drums
Larry Rowell - guitars
Nick Gaffnery - rigger
Taffy Jennings - chief lampie
Scott Dahig - lampie
Steve Nolan - lampie
Brad Rogers - lampie
Aland Henderson - vari-lite op.
John Morgan - vari-lite tech.
Bernard Kearns - projectionist
Dick Webber - ambasonic
Charlie Wilson - lampie
Paul Giansante - sound
Russel Emery - sound
Dagwood Daniels - trucker
Wayne Lovell - trucker
David Greene - trucker
Mike Wazorick - trucker
Bill Mosley - coach driver
Mark Brown - coach driver
Undy Vella - tea logo (parched art)
Malcolm Ross - tour manager
Chris Parry - executive producer
Perry Bamonte - assistant tour manager
Parched Art - film & slides (film thanks to Peter Goddard), shirts (printed by Schultz & Wimerau)
Name - Boris
Birthday - April 24th
Bird - housemartin
Fish - trout
Letter - B
Tree - oak
Colour - blue
Animal - killer whale
Drink - bloody Mary
Saying - good luck
Smell - (yes, sometimes) newly cut grass
Sound - wind in the trees
Weather - sunny
Shape - not the best at the moment
Taste - exquisite
Feeling - riding my motorbike
Day - Saturday
Nightmare - being chased (chaste?)
Place - A
Time - afternoon
Game - cricket
Dream - flying
Chord - E
Book - just so stories, catch 22, dtlas
My perfect moment - I'm still waiting
Name - Laurence Andrew Tolhurst
Birthday - 3rd feb 59
Bird - swallow
Fish - trout
Letter - far away
Tree - silver birch
Colour - black
Animal - sea horse
Drink - yes
Saying - nya
Smell - jasmine
Sound - water
Weather - humid at 4am in London
Shape - right angled triangle
Taste - chilli
Feeling - release
Day - tomorrow
Nightmare - yesterday
Place - Devil's bridge (Wales)
Time - same as weather
Game - life!
Dream - top of the world
Chord - Em
Book - Wasp factory: Lain Banks
My perfect moment -5.30 friday in July at the Warrington hotel with a (beer drawing) london pride
Name - Roger O'Donnell
Birthday - 29-10-55
Bird - humming bird
Fish - cod
Letter - R
Tree - oak
Colour - blue
Animal - dog
Drink - tea
Saying - let's do sushi babe
Smell - trees
Sound - waves
Weather - sunny
Shape - square
Taste - chocolate
Feeling - well
Day - Friday
Nightmare - tonight
Place - home
Time - 5pm
Game - american football
Dream - tomorrow
Chord - D minor 9th
Book - The profession of Violence
My perfect moment -falling in love
The competition is this:
The most delicious or disgusting, dreamy yummy or yuk mouth wins!
It's simple and fun?
So send to Jane at 28 Ivor Place London NW1
and wait and see...(drawing of clock)
The entries will be judged by us within a month of getting home, and the six winners get what ever they ask for!
So kiss and goodbye. Until then..
Love The Cure
