Thursday, May 22, 2025
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Win a copy of MoaLW
Be one of five to win The Cure's 'Mixes of a Lost World' on 3CD Deluxe or 2LP! Enter here.
Only open to residents of Canada.
Secret 7" test pressings
We're very excited to reveal that we have now added the super-rare test pressings for all seven Secret 7" tracks for 2025 to our auction.
Even more excitingly the test pressings for @thecure's Warsong, @frankturner's Be More Kind, @GregoryPorter's Merchants of Paradise, @JessieWare's Beautiful People and @keaneofficial's Black Rain and @SophieEB's Devotion have all been signed by the artists themselves.
Not only could you get your hands on a rare collector's item, but bidding on our test pressings is the only way to guarantee that you are bidding on the Secret 7" track of your choice.
Bid now at bit.ly/4jaeWHq, auction items 702-751
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Mark Hoppus talks about The Cure
Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 talks about his love for The Cure, the influence of Simon Gallup, playing with Robert Smith, and his "close encounter" with Robert. Cure talk from15:09-17:56.
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Audio fragments at Resident
From Resident:
Friday, May 16, 2025
Anniversary edit on WDR
From AHundredYears:
The Cure: Anniversary 1978-2018 at London Hyde Park 2018.
A 20-song version will be broadcast on german WDR television at 2:00 a.m. in the night of 18 to 19 May.
Cure comic in Italy
From Pietro:
Hi! A graphic novel just came out in Italy telling the story of the birth of The Cure.
Read more here.
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Audio fragments in Sheffield
From Bear Tree Records:
Honoured to have received this acetate from @thecure featuring audio fragments from their forthcoming remix album!
Audio fragments in Brighton
From Resident:
Somethings just arrived @thecure.com 👀
Audio fragments from Mixes Of A Lost World have been pressed to vinyl acetate which will decay more & more with each play.
Keep an eye out on our socials for more info on how to get an exclusive listen!
More info - www.thecure.com/moalw/
Audio fragments in Edinburgh
From Thorne Records:
BIG NEWS:
We're the only shop in Edinburgh to get a "Mixes of a Lost World" acetate from The Cure—only 24 exist worldwide!
Hear it in-store daily 'til May 26, then we auction it for @warchilduk.bsky.social
It decays as it plays—very Cure.
More info: thecure.com/moalw
Signed turntable auction
From Secret 7":
We have 7 Rega turntables signed by Robert Smith to be won!
Our pals at @RegaResearch have generously donated seven Planar 1 turntables, signed by the legendary frontman of @TheCure.
Six signed turntables are up for auction, with the six highest bidders each receiving a signed turntable.
One signed turntable will go to the winner of our prize draw. By donating just £10 to @WarChildUK you could be in with a chance of winning.
🔗 Enter the prize draw and auction at https://secret-7.co.uk/rega-turntables/
⏰ Prize draw ends: Sunday 1 June 2025, 19:00 BST
Monday, May 12, 2025
Another podcast with Daryl Bamonte
Daryl Bamonte (Archangelo Music) shares insights from his 25-year career working with Depeche Mode and The Cure, and looks at the music industry’s evolution over the years since he started.
Friday, May 9, 2025
My Best Shot: Andy Vella
From The Guardian:
‘I’ve met people with tattoos of it’: Andy Vella on shooting the Cure’s Boys Don’t Cry cover
‘The guitar, the hair, the mystery – I think I captured who the Cure are with this picture. When I showed it to Robert Smith and the band’s manager, they jumped up and down’
Interview by Amy Fleming
Ithink this is the Cure image that’s most reproduced. I’ve met people with tattoos of it. It’s been bootlegged, like, millions of times. The bootlegs are rubbish, though – half the time someone’s obviously cut the stencil out with a scalpel, and it’s so crude.
This image was used for the cover of Boys Don’t Cry when it was rereleased in 1986. It was taken during the video shoot, which featured three boys playing the band when young. I used to just go to those shoots as a fly on the wall, grabbing shots where I could – you try to not get in the way.
Robert Smith does that thing with his hand when he relaxes – I guess playing guitar must be quite tiring on the hands – so there’s a lovely restfulness about the image. I like how reflective it is. The silhouette of Robert was always interesting to me: the guitar, the hair, it always seemed to work. I like the dramatic, mysterious feel of the image.
I’ve worked with clients who are not specific about what they want, and you’re always thinking in the back of your mind: “Am I doing the right thing?” Every creative probably goes through that. But Robert knows what he wants: it’s good to work with people like that.
I started collaborating with the Cure in 1981. Whenever we did a shoot, the band would ask: “Do you think you got something good?” And I would say: “I don’t know until I’ve developed it.” You’re grabbing things, you’re playing with spontaneity. You see stuff through the viewfinder, and you’re composing in that. It was only later on in my career that I also started taking Polaroids.
On this shoot, though, the film jammed. I wound it back into the camera, hoping for the best. When I took it to the lab I said: “I’m not sure anything’s on this.” But there was, and when I showed the pictures to Robert and the band’s then manager, Chris Parry, the next day, they jumped up and down and said: “That’s the picture we’re going to use.” It was frame 21 on the film and it had jammed at 22 – I was lucky. That’s the beauty of this kind of work: sometimes we’re successful because of the choices that we make, but sometimes it’s the choices other people make.
The original image is black and white but the record cover is a colourised version, where I’ve used photographic dyes on top of the print. There are slight pinks and yellows and things in there, but it’s subtle. I was taught at art school to add and enhance, not take away, so I still wanted it to feel on the monochromatic scale. I didn’t want it to look too tripped out, I wanted it to have realism. But I do think I captured exactly who the Cure are with that picture, and it’s been tried and tested since with the amount of people who relate to it.
When I was younger, I had a paper round specifically so I could buy records. Then I would hide away in the corner of my house with headphones on, immersing myself in the record sleeves. I remember thinking Meddle by Pink Floyd was the best thing. It’s just a brilliant cover – a big ear with water droplets on it. It was trippy and amazing and summed up a brilliant album. Now I’ve got students who want to get into music-industry design. I don’t know if it’s easy or difficult today, but I think if you’ve got talent and passion, you can do whatever you want.
Until 1 June, 700 unique artist-designed record sleeves, including Andy Vella’s new the Cure design, are in a global online auction in aid of War Child, the specialist charity for children caught in conflict
Andy Vella’s CV
Born: Hampshire, 1961
Trained: Royal College of Art
Influences: Man Ray, André Kertész, Raoul Ubac, Wols
High point: “There are three: being invited by War Child to design a sleeve for Secret 7” 2025; having my Obscure book of photographs exhibited in Sydney Opera House in 2019; and, at Mick’s request, shooting Mick Rock’s portrait”
Low point: “Not having my camera with me when I see a great photo!”
Top tip: “Shoot loads. Think of the composition within the frame, and what it is you are trying to capture or communicate. Use light, fogging or real distortion for effects rather than relying on post-production. Go for authenticity. I try not to get bogged down with the technical, I aim for what I am after and allow all mistakes to hijack what it is I am creating.”
The headline on this article was amended on 8 May 2025. An earlier version said that the image was used as the album cover of Boys Don’t Cry; in fact, it was used as the single cover upon its 1986 rerelease.
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Monday, May 5, 2025
Reeves in Italy
WHAT THE PCTURES SOUND LIKE
Premiere of a new project from:
Reeves Gabrels
Jonathan Kane
Fabio Lannino
May 7th - Ferrara, Italy at Sala Estense. Free.
May 9th - Palermo, Italy at Mind House Tickets €14.
From Susan Gabrels:
Keyed to projections of iconic photos by ART KANE (Jonathan's late father), the trio will play songs by the subjects, including Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, Cream, Jefferson Airplane, Moondog, The Who and more.
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Daryl Bamonte podcast
EP15: Daryl Bamonte - From The Council Estate to The Stadium Stage
"As well as his work with Basildon's finest, Daryl's touring career extended to a similar role with Hall of Famers, The Cure, where his brother, Perry, had taken a similar path - going from g tech to full-time member of the band - and we hear about the fantastic connections between these seminal British acts."
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