My Favourite Albums of 2024: Songs of a Lost World - The Cure (November)

 Studio Album #14 from The Cure and their first since '4:13 Dream' back in 2008. 'Songs of a Lost World' provided a lot of joy on the opening day of November (I realise how odd that must read seeing that we are considering a pretty dark album from Robert Smith and gang, but it actually was a day of celebration with  joy and happy tears).

Songs of a Lost World - The Cure (November 2024)
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Fiction Records
1st November 2024

LISTEN HERE.

Also to celebrate the release, The Cure put on a live streamed concert that began with a full live performance of the album from start to finish and then after a short Intermission they gave a superb second set of fan favourites and singles.

Live at The Troxy Theatre 1st November 2024

01. Songs from a Lost World Set

02. 2nd Set

Victoria Segal Review for Mojo

Rewind: 1980 Boys Don't...erm...Three Imaginary....whatever! - The Cure

Robert Smith has said on a number of occasions that Three Imaginary Boys, the debut album by The Cure was not very good and didn't actually sound like The Cure at all!

So imagine the excitement on hearing there was a new album from The Cure coming out on the 5th February 1980 (not even a year since the debut!) but only for the heart to sink in desolation when you discovered that it was actually a reworking of the Debut album that had been attacked with sharp knife and ungloriously put back together again using toilet roll tubes and sticky back plastic (thank you Blue Peter!) and like a piece of Ikea furniture there were bits missing and a couple of things that weren't there in the first place!

On CD versions of the album Object is replaced by So What. Also the scream on Subway was shortened and World War was cut.

Boys Don't Cry had been a stand alone single and that and the b-side Plastic Passion became the opening two songs! Foxy Lady, It's Not You,  and Meathook were removed totally (hidden track on Three Imaginary Boys known as The Weedy Burton was also removed)!

Apparently this was done for the US Market to make the band's music more accessible (but didn't actually get released there until August 1980 and it didn't chart!).

Boys Don't Cry (5th February 1980)

Three Imaginary Boys (8th May 1979)

45RPM: #42 Charlotte Sometimes - The Cure (1981)

I have a few favourite singles by The Cure and today's choice on 45RPM stands on top of the pile (Hanging Garden is close by also).

What surprises me about this single is why on earth it never broke into the Top 40, it is totally classic stuff from The Cure and towers above two of their  biggest hits The Love Cats (#7) and Lullaby (#5).

The song "Charlotte Sometimes" is based on Charlotte Sometimes, a children's novel by English writer Penelope Farmer, published in 1969. According to Robert Smith, "There have been a lot of literary influences through the years; "Charlotte Sometimes" was a very straight lift." Many lines in the song reflect lines directly from the book, such as "All the faces/All the voices blur/Change to one face/Change to one voice" from the song compared to the first sentence of the book, "By bedtime all the faces, the voices, had blurred for Charlotte to one face, one voice." The song continues, "Prepare yourself for bed/The light seems bright/And glares on white walls", and the book continues, "She prepared herself for bed... The light seemed too bright for them, glaring on white walls..." The title of the single's B-side, "Splintered in Her Head", is also taken from a line in the novel. The Cure would later release another song based on the novel, "The Empty World", from their 1984 album The Top.

A-Side: Charlotte Sometimes

B-Side: Splintered In Her Head

(on the 12" a Ten and Half Minute Version of Faith was the B-side)

Ficton

Produced by Mike Hedges and The Cure

Released 5th October 1981 (not totally sure this is correct but it was around this time it was issued)

UK Chart #44

A-Side

B-Side

Splintered In Her Head.

12" B-Side

Faith (Live).

Rewind: 1985 - The Cure Release The Head On The Door

Dedicated to Martha C. and Katrina

The Head On The Door - The Cure

Fiction

Produced by Robert Smith and David M. Allen

Released 26th August 1985

UK Chart #7

US Chart #59

Personnel

 Robert Smith - vocals, guitars, keyboards, six-string bass, production
Lol Tolhurst - keyboards
Porl Thompson - guitars, keyboards
Simon Gallup - bass guitar
Boris Williams - drums, percussion
Ren Party - horns on "Close To Me"
Ron Howe - saxophone on "A Night Like This"

The Head on the Door is the sixth studio album by British band The Cure, released in 1985.

The album is the first to feature drummer Boris Williams; it also features the return of Simon Gallup and is Porl Thompson's first album as an official member.

Singles from the Album
    "In Between Days"
    Released: 15 July 1985

UK Chart #15 Us Chart #99
    "Close to Me"
    Released: 9 September 1985

UK Chart #24

S4L Presents: The Best Debut Albums #20 - Three Imaginary Boys - The Cure

In April 1977 a 5 piece band from Crawley responded to an advertisement in Melody Maker from a German Record label Ariola-Hansa (who had Boney M and Donna Summer on their books) who were on the look out for unsigned bands and were seeking demos with the end goal a recording contract. The band, Easy Cure featuring Peter O'Toole - Vocals, Robert Smith - Guitar, Porl Thompson - Guitar, Michael Dempsey - Bass and Lol Tolhurst on Drums, signed a deal in May and by September O'Toole had left and Robert Smith took over vocal duties.

Inbetween October 77 and January 1978 Easy Cure recorded three sessions for Hansa that included 10 of their own songs. The label was not particularly interested in the original material, rather they wanted the band to record cover versions. Robert Smith said of the time, "They wanted us to be another Child. We were even offered a song that Child eventually put out as a single! They were giving us all these really old songs to cover. We couldn't believe it. This was the summer of 1977 and we thought we'd be able to do all these outrageous songs we'd written and all they wanted from us were versions of really banal old rock 'n' roll songs" (NME 16/12/78).

After Hansa had rejected the possible release of 'Killing An Arab' as the band's debut single the writing was on the wall for the five year deal they had signed. The band walked away with the original songs they had recorded and the advance from the Hansa and soon Porl Thompson became surplus to requirements. The band then became a trio and dropped the Easy and became simply The Cure.

The band began sending out copies of the demos to record labels and one fell into the lap of Chris Parry. He had been with the AR Department at Polydor Records and had a hand in signing The Jam, Sham 69, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. He was about to begin his new label Fiction Records.

Recording for the debut album began in September 1978 but Parry had somehow managed to get a one single deal with Small Wonder Records and December 1978 saw the debut of The Cure with Killing An Arab backed by 10.15 Saturday Night.

According to Smith they were recording the album at night at the same studio as The Jam were recording in the daytime All Mod Cons. He said that Tolhurst had used Bucklers kit and had manged to break the snare drum skin on the last night of recording, "we ended up patching it with chewing gum hoping no-one would notice."

The album is sometimes dismissed by Robert Smith for not sounding like The Cure at all but in 2011 they did play in sequence the album at shows in Sydney, New York and Los Angeles.

Three Imaginary Boys - The Cure

Fiction

Produced by Chris Parry

Released 8th May 1979

UK Chart #44

Personnel

The Cure
    Robert Smith – guitar, lead vocals (all but 7), harmonica (6 - Subway Song)
    Michael Dempsey – bass, backing and lead (7 - Foxy Lady) vocals
    Lol Tolhurst – drums

Original Tracklist

Side A

1.     "10:15 Saturday Night"       3:42
2.     "Accuracy"       2:17
3.     "Grinding Halt"       2:49
4.     "Another Day"       3:44
5.     "Object"       3:03
6.     "Subway Song"       2:00

Side B
1.     "Foxy Lady" (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover version)     Jimi Hendrix     2:29
2.     "Meathook"             2:17
3.     "So What"             2:37
4.     "Fire in Cairo"             3:23
5.     "It's Not You"             2:49
6.     "Three Imaginary Boys"             3:17
7.     "Untitled" (hidden track; also known as "The Weedy Burton")

Three Imaginary Boys - Live

01. 10.15 Saturday Night (Los Angeles 2011)

02. Accucary (New York 2011)

03. Grinding Halt (New York 2011)

04. Another Day (Sydney 2011)

05. Object (New York 2011)

06. Subway Song (Sydney 2011)

07. Foxy Lady (Sydney 2011)

08. Meathook (London 2011)

09. So What (London 2011)

10. Fire in Cairo (Werchter Festival 1981)

11. It's Not You (Sydney 2011)

12. Three Imaginary Boys (Paris 1979)

13. The Weedy Burton (London 2011)

Rewind: 1986 - The Cure Release Standing on a Beach - The Singles

Slicing Up Eyeballs: The Legacy of 80's College Rock posted that this album was released on the 5th May 1986. According to Wikipedia it was released on the 6th May 1986. Whatever the case, and we don't want to quibble over dates, this was the second compilation of Singles by The Cure, the first being Japanese Whispers released in December 1983. That album contained just eight tracks and with the release of Standing on a Beach it had been expanded to 13 tracks on the Vinyl release, The CD came with four extra tracks but it was the Cassette that you really wanted to buy because Side One contained the 13 songs on the Vinyl Edition but Side Two contained a further 12 tracks that had been B-Sides .

The album was a huge hit peaking at #4 on the UK Album Chart and surprisingly even though it only reached #48 in the USA the album has sold enough since its release to be awarded 2x Platinum status!

The Cure - Royal Albert Hall 28/03/14

The Cure played last night at The Royal Albert Hall in London in aid of The Teenage Cancer Trust and will play tonight also at the historic venue. Last night they pulled off a three and a half hour show that featured a very strong 45 song set! Yep, you read that right, 45 songs! A 29 song main set and 16 songs spread across three encores! Memories of last years' show in Mexico for Robert Smith's 54th birthday come creeping back when the band played for 4 hours and 16 minutes and bashed out 50 songs!

I've tried to find as many links as I can from the show and will add more and better quality ones when they become available. Enjoy.

Setlist: The Cure, Royal Albert Hall, London, UK, 28/03/14

1. “Plainsong”/2. “Prayers For Rain”
3. “A Strange Day”
4. “A Night Like This”
5. “Stop Dead”
6. “Push”
7. “Inbetween Days”
8. “2 Late” - (Live debut)/9. “Jupiter Crash” - (First time since 2004)
10. “The End of the World”
11. “Lovesong”
12. “Mint Car”
13. “Friday I’m in Love”
14. “Doing the Unstuck”
15. “Trust”
16. “Pictures of You”
17. “Lullaby”
18. “High”
19. “Harold and Joe” - (First time since 1981)
20. “The Caterpillar”
21. “The Walk”
22. “Sleep When I’m Dead”
23. “Just Like Heaven”
24. “From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea”
25. “Want”
26. “The Hungry Ghost”
27. “Wrong Number”
28. “One Hundred Years”
29. “Disintegration”

Encore 1

30. “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep”
31. “Shake Dog Shake”
32. “Fascination Street”/33. “Bananafishbones”
34. “Play For Today”
35. “A Forest”

Encore 2

36. “Catch”
37. “The Lovecats”
38. “Hot Hot Hot”
39. “Let’s Go to Bed”
40. “Freakshow” - (First time since 2008)
41. “Close To Me”
42. “Why Can’t I Be You?”

Encore 3

43. “Boys Don’t Cry”
44. “10:15 Saturday Night”
45. “Killing An Arab”

3-13
A Strange Day to Friday I'm in Love (42min video).

16-28
Pictures of You to One Hundred Years (1 Hour 6min video).

Thirty Three Minutes Highlights.

The Cure - Mexico 21st April 2013

What a way to celebrate your 54th birthday - Up on stage peforming for Four Hours and Sixteen Minutes!!

That's exactly what Robert Smith did a couple of days ago in Mexico. Prior to the start of the show there was an earthquake that registered 5.9 on the Richter scale.

Journalist Bernard Van Isacker of website Side-line.com, who was in the audience during the terrifying moment, posted online: "I thought that I was losing my balance as I felt the ground drifting away from under my feet. Then people started screaming and I was told that an earthquake was taking place.
"I could see those big station spot posts shaking back and forth as if there was a huge storm taking place. Instantly all communication via mobiles was also interrupted as thousands were trying to call their family."

Thankfully no one was injured during the event and the band stepped it up with an amazing 50 song set!

I've tried to find as many video links as I can from the show and the sound and visual quality of each link is not my responsibility.

 

1. “Open”
2. “High”
3. “The End of the World”
4. “Lovesong”
5. “Push”
6. “In Between Days”
7. “Just Like Heaven”
8. “From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea”
9. “Prayers for Rain”
10. “Pictures of You”
11. “Lullaby”
12. “Sleep When I’m Dead”
13. “Play for Today”
14. “A Forest”
15. “Bananafishbones”
16. “The Walk”
17. “Mint Car”
18. “Friday I’m in Love”
19. “Doing the Unstuck”
20. “Trust”
21. “Want”
22. “The Hungry Ghost”
23. “Wrong Number”
24. “One Hundred Years”
25. “End”

Encore:
26. “The Kiss”
27. “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep”
28. “Fight”

Encore 2:
29. “Plainsong”30. “The Same Deep Water as You”
31. “Disintegration”

Encore 3:
32. “Shake Dog Shake”
33. “Cold”
34. “A Strange Day”
35. “The Hanging Garden”
36. “Fascination Street”
37. “Charlotte Sometimes”
38. “Primary”

Encore 4:
39. “Dressing Up”
40. “The Lovecats”
41. “The Caterpillar”
42. “Close to Me”
43. “Hot Hot Hot!!!”
44. “Let’s Go to Bed”
45. “Why Can't I Be You?”
46. “Three Imaginary Boys” (Robert Smith solo)47. “Fire in Cairo” (Robert Smith solo)
48. “Boys Don’t Cry”
49. “10:15 Saturday Night”
50. “Killing an Arab”

Highlights Video 83mins. 

00:00 1. Open 09:07 2. Push 13:45 3. In between days 16:31 4. Pictures of you 23:37 5. A forest 30:48 6. The walk 33:58 7. Friday I´m in love 37:15 8. Wrong number 43:42 9. The kiss 50:47 10. Plainsong 57:02 11. The hanging garden 1:01:50 12. Dressing up 1:04:35 13. The lovecats 1:08:19 14. Close to me 1:11:52 15. Let´s go to bed 1:15:17 16. Boys don´t cry 1:18:14 17. 10:15 Saturday night (fragmento) 1:19:19 18. Killing an arab