Rough Trade - #23
MOJO - #31
Uncut - #69
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Robert raises £27,500 for Heart Research UK
From NME:
Robert Smith raises £27,500 for charity with artwork inspired by The Cure’s ‘Songs Of A Lost World’
"I have sadly seen too many friends and family fall victim to heart disease"
By Daniel Peters
Robert Smith has raised £27,500 for Heart Research UK with artwork that was inspired by The Cure‘s new album ‘Songs Of A Lost World’.
Earlier this month, the frontman revealed that he made five works for the anonymous heART project – an online auction featuring 576 postcard-sized pieces, with the identity of the artists only revealed after they are sold.
His creations for the 2024 auction are based on tracks from The Cure’s first studio record in 16 years: ‘Drone:Nodrone’, ‘I Can Never Say Goodbye’, ‘Warsong’ and ‘A Fragile Thing’.
After the auction ended on November 10, the piece of artwork named after ‘I Can Never Say Goodbye’ was the highest piece sold, reaching £15,500, shortly followed by ‘Warsong’ at £3,974.
In a press statement, Smith said that making these pieces “allowed me to combine other passions, expressing emotions reflected on the album in a physical way.”
He continues: “What makes it even more satisfying is how this art can help drive change and support vital research which could save millions of lives.”
“Over the years, I have sadly seen too many friends and family fall victim to heart disease. By bringing together the creativity of so many talented individuals the anonymous heART project is a wonderful opportunity to share this art and support a great cause. The project proves that art can truly make a difference – for artists, for collectors, and for the future of heart health.”
Smith jonied a host of world-famous artists and musicians in contributing to heART, including Julian Opie (who designed the iconic cover of ‘Blur: The Best Of’), the Levellers‘ Jeremy Cunningham and The Twilight Sad.
Sunday, November 17, 2024
Roger joins Bluesky
Joining The Cure, Robert and Reeves, Roger has joined Bluesky. He confirmed his account (@rogerodonnell.bsky.social) on Twitter
Saturday, November 16, 2024
The Cure Galore: Baby from front cover of album given surprise gift on wedding day
From The Yorkshire Post:
The Cure Galore: Baby from front cover of album given surprise gift on wedding day
By Marti Stelling
A York woman who featured on the cover of The Cure’s Galore album as a baby was surprised to receive a signed copy of the album at her wedding, 27 years later.
Ms Slark’s mother Julia contacted the original photographer Andy Vella to ask if the band would send a signed copy of the album as a wedding gift when she married Rupert Lloyd.
Ms Slark, 28, who works as an A&E doctor, said: “I was a very smiley baby so my parents tried to pursue some modelling for me. They sent in my photo to an agency and I was selected to be the cover of The Cure’s compilation album Galore.
“I don’t remember the photo shoot because I was only one-and-a-half years old but my parents told me that an ice cream van was hired for the day. Apparently another ice cream man came over and was really angry because we were on their patch of the beach so we had to pack up and move quite quickly! After the shoot we were given a giant poster which is still in the house somewhere, and a CD.”
Galore is the second singles compilation by The Cure and was released on October 28, 1997. It contains singles from the years 1987 to 1997.
Her mother, who was there when the photographs were taken, said: “Isabel was very happy and smiley the whole day, even when I woke her up at 4.45am.”
“We had to be at Whitstable beach for 5am that morning. Andy Vella was there in a pink classic car and I remember the ice cream van incident very well. In the end the ice cream man hired for the shoot had to park miles away and run up and down to the beach with ice creams!”
Mr Vella captured the cover art for many of The Cure’s albums including Faith, Disintegration and Galore.
Ms Slark, who has not done any other modelling since, said: “I don’t tend to tell people often but when I have to come up with a fun fact or two truths and a lie, it’s my go-to. People can recognise that it’s me on the cover when I hold it up next to me but I never got recognised out and about for it.
“I’m a big fan of The Cure and my favourite song is probably Friday I’m in Love from the album Wish. Both me and my husband had no idea we were going to be given the album at our wedding so we were very surprised.
“It was given to us in the Best Man’s speech which was hilarious, particularly because some of the people at the wedding didn’t know it was me on the cover. It was such as nice moment to share with our friends and family.”
Friday, November 15, 2024
Cure all: Universal Music's Nickie Owen on how The Cure hit the summit across Europe
From Music Week:
Cure all: Universal Music's Nickie Owen on how The Cure hit the summit across Europe
by Andre Paine
The Cure are celebrating huge success with their comeback album.
Released via Polydor, Songs Of A Lost World opened at No.1 in the UK with sales of 51,362 (Official Charts Company). That was more than the rest of the Top 5 combined.
In our interview last week, Polydor Label Group president Ben Mortimer told Music Week that the public response to Robert Smith’s return has been “overwhelming”.
The Cure’s first album in 16 years has also secured multiple No.1s internationally, including in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Portugal. In addition, there was a No.2 finish in Italy, No.3 in Ireland and New Zealand, No.4 in the US (their best result since 1992) and No.5 in Australia and Norway.
Here, Nickie Owen, president, international marketing at Universal Music UK, reveals the strategy behind the LP’s global impact…
After such a long gap between albums, how did you manage to reach so many fans for this project internationally?
“Robert had revealed the album title over two years ago and a number of the new songs had been played live around the globe in the last few years of touring. This means The Cure’s audience, which is truly global, had been eagerly waiting for Songs Of A Lost World for some time.
“The international campaign, brilliantly led by Ben Alexander and Tafara Mugumbate [international marketing, Universal Music UK] started with OOH billboards teasing the release in many major cities around the world ahead of the official announce, as well as sending bespoke postcards to the band’s biggest fans and supporters in the media in key markets. This again ramped up the anticipation globally.
“There was a fantastic 90-minute filmed interview with Robert that we transcribed and translated, so that we could supply it to media for written press, radio features and TV news – that we strategically drip-fed over the two months leading into release internationally. Their incredible fanbase was ready and waiting for the album announcement and we saw that in the huge pick-up online and in the press when the album was officially announced.”
How has this chart campaign helped re-establish the band with a global audience, particularly as they last released a record before the streaming era had begun?
“To achieve the best chart entries of any album in the band’s discography all over the world not only goes to show the size and fervour of the band’s fanbase, but also reminds everyone of the importance of The Cure in music history.
“The quality of the new album, sales numbers that continue to come, and critical acclaim from some of the biggest media in the world firmly re-establishes them as a global phenomenon that can compete with some of the biggest modern global artists.”
France has long been a strong market where The Cure have toured a lot over the years. What was the scale of the French campaign and what has the response been?
“France is a huge market for the band, so it was of course a very important focus for us from the beginning. With this campaign, we were able to partner with the biggest radio station in the country, France Inter, to have their full support from the start of the campaign, flyaway competitions to the band’s show at the Troxy, OOH billboards, fan listening parties and more. With radio still a big driver in the market, we ran a number of on-air competitions with many other major radio stations, and partnered with Deezer to run a huge campaign including flyaways to London for the Troxy show.
“We also had special The Cure ‘corner store’ pop-ups in the country’s main retailer, FNAC for the album, with a full area dedicated to the band from release last Friday, and screenings for fans of the global live stream at the very moment the album went on sale in the stores. In the end, we had well over 20,000 sales week one in France, well over double the sales of the band’s last album, and their first No.1 album there.”
As well as France, you had multiple No.1s in key European markets. How did you coordinate the campaign in terms of label partners, retail, DSPs and media?
“Unbelievably, The Cure have never had a No.1 album in Europe so to have nine No.1s [in Europe plus the UK] is an incredible result and testament to a brilliant album. The Universal territories were unbelievably excited to have a new Cure record this year. Polydor have been fantastic in delivering plans with DSPs that could be rolled out globally. The roll-out was so well timed that it meant all markets were able to have local conversations with media and retail in advance to set out the best possible campaign, which you can see from the results themselves including over 100,000 global pre-orders on the album.
“The great DSP set-up was also evident in the streaming numbers both on the launch of Alone and the album overall. The YouTube global livestream on the night of release was another brilliant way to highlight the album with many countries hosting events locally and having midnight openings for fans.”
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Live’s integral role in The Cure’s No.1 campaign
From IQ:
Long-term agent Martin Hopewell, Primary Talent's Charlie Renton, promoter AAA & Troxy unpack the seminal band's latest chart-topping feat
By James Hanley
The Cure’s touring team have spoken to IQ about live’s integral role in the multi-pronged strategy that helped the band’s first studio album in 16 years top the charts across Europe.
Songs of a Lost World reached the summit last week in most major European markets, including their native UK where it outsold the rest of the top 20 combined.
The LP – which gave the Robert Smith-fronted band their first UK #1 since 1992’s Wish, and their first ever chart-topper in several other countries – dropped via Polydor on 1 November. The promotional campaign included two solid days of Cure content and interviews across BBC channels between 31 October and 2 November (lead single Alone also premiered on Mary Anne Hobbs’ 6 Music show on 26 September).
Central to the coordinated approach, the group performed two world exclusive live sessions for BBC Radio 2 In Concert and BBC Radio 6 Music on 30 October, followed by a global livestream from the 3,100-cap art deco East London venue Troxy on the day of release.
Charlie Renton of Primary Talent International tells IQ how the Troxy show, which has attracted more than 1.7 million views on YouTube, came together.
“Robert got in touch with us towards the end of the summer saying he had a confirmed album release date, could we find a relatively small venue ‘with character’ to put on an album launch show on the release date which would be livestreamed,” says Renton.
“Not having a huge amount of lead time on this, we were so lucky to get Troxy to move a few dates around for us! It really worked out well being such a beautiful venue and so well set up for the filming too.”
Pete Wilson of promoter AAA Entertainment reveals the event was just three months in the making.
“At the back end of July, we got emails from Primary asking us what we could find for a livestream on 1 November,” he says. “After a series of calls and emails over the next 48 hours, we set about seeing what might be available in London and Brighton at around 1,000 capacity.”
Wilson explains that from an original list of 30 venues, it quickly came down to a handful.
“It needed to be a venue with character, have the facility to park nine trucks and a facility to house a 10-camera shoot,” he continues. “Eventually, the Troxy was the optimum choice and we set about trying to clear pencils. This, with the relief of all concerned, was achieved.
“To create an event with a live vibrant fanbase, media and guests was a challenge, but it happened.”
Tickets for their BBC Radio 2 In Concert set were allocated via a free ballot, while the Troxy gig went on sale via Dice, with the band maintaining their well-documented low price, anti-scalping stance. Applications for each night stretched well into six figures.
“The main focus was that we needed to make sure the tickets went to real fans – especially due to the show being livestreamed,” notes Renton. “As it was the album launch show, it was set up so fans pre-ordering the album would get a code to enter the onsale.
“Robert wanted it to be a very reasonable ticket price, with no dynamic pricing and any fees to be made absolutely clear from the very start of the buying process. The final £50 ticket price ended up including a £1 charity donation to War Child, too.
“Troxy was already partnered with Dice, which was really helpful with its pricing clarity and anti-tout set up.”
Simon Eaton, head of live at Troxy, elaborates: “In order to have the opportunity to purchase a ticket, customers were first required to preorder the band’s new album Songs of a Lost World, in order to obtain a one time use code. Once on sale, the code allowed fans to purchase a maximum of two tickets per person which could not be sold or transferred to another person, with ID required on entry.
“Messaging was explicitly clear from the outset: if it’s not been purchased on Dice, it’s not a legitimate ticket. The few that did appear on Viagogo for extortionate rates were forgeries, sent cease and desist letters and removed immediately.”
Moreover, Eaton hails the concert as “three hours of solid beauty”.
“None of this could have happened without Robert Smith, who deserves a very special mention,” he adds. “It’s rare to never that artists get involved directly, we usually only deal with their background teams. He was there right from the start, a breath of fresh air.
“His decision to not only have the show streamed globally, but to make it available to all for free is unprecedented, given the potential revenue stream if it was charged. He oversaw the merch which was made specific for the night, with the date and venue printed on, badges were given out as freebies to everyone on entry. These are things that don’t happen every day and something that will stay in the memory for a long time to come.”
More than 45 years after forming, The Cure have enjoyed a huge surge in popularity and keep getting bigger with every outing. In 2023, they achieved the highest-grossing tour of their career, with their 30-date North American tour selling 547,000 tickets for a gross of $37.5 million.
“The Cure have always been unique,” says long-term agent Martin Hopewell. “Most bands become big and then either implode or spend years trying to maintain that level, but The Cure have just continued to build – without ever compromising or shifting styles to match whatever else was going on at the time – and you’d have to say that much of the reason for that has been their live performances.
“The fact is that they’re a bloody good band and they consistently deliver some truly epic live shows. The success of this new album – and the coordinated campaign to launch it – is obviously very exciting for all of us and I’m really thrilled for Robert and the rest of the band. They deserve everything they get.”
Smith recently told Radio 6’s Matt Everitt that the band have another LP “virtually finished”, with a third new record also in the works. He also elaborated on their future touring plans up to their 50th anniversary in four years’ time.
“We’ll start up again next year,” said Smith. “Seriously, I have to finish the second album. We were going to play festivals next year, but then I decided that we weren’t going to play anything next summer.
“The next time we go out on stage will be autumn next year. But then we’ll probably be playing quite regularly through until the next anniversary – the 2028 anniversary!”
CoF on Bluesky
Once again, completely understand why so many are leaving Twitter. You can find CoF on Bluesky too - @craigatcof.bsky.social
Robert and The Cure join Bluesky
Robert Smith and The Cure have joined Bluesky! These are official accounts.
https://bsky.app/profile/thecure.com
https://bsky.app/profile/rsxthecure.bsky.social
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Reeves joins Bluesky
Welcome to Bluesky, Reeves & Susan! They did confirm this on Twitter.
https://bsky.app/profile/reevesgabrels.bsky.social
A Fragile Thing is Top 10 on AAA in US
From Billboard Charts:
The Cure hits the top 10 of this week's #AdultAlternativeAirplay with "A Fragile Thing" (up 12-10). It earns the band its first top 10 hit at the format.
It also earns the band its first top 10 on any Billboard airplay chart since "Maybe Someday" peaked at No. 10 on #AlternativeAirplay in 2000.
"A Fragile Thing" is the lead single from Songs of a Lost World, which concurrently debuts at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums.
Joel McHale Really Loves Coffee, The Cure, and Meat Pies
From Food & Wine:
On the genius of The Cure's Robert Smith
"Disintegration is one of my favorite albums. Young people listening to this podcast right now, are like, 'What the f--- are they talking about?' It's the 'Friday I'm in Love' guys. Check it out. 'Just Like Heaven' is a perfect pop song. It is like carbon on the periodic table of perfectly executed, joyous, catchiest, most perfect things. 'Pictures of You' is probably one of the most tragic pop songs ever written, and it's perfect. 'A Forest' — I remember when Nouvelle Vague covered that, and I was just like, 'Oh my gosh.' I don't know why The Cure doesn't get more recognition for how important they were.
To go from punk into New Wave, into — I think at any moment if Robert Smith wanted to, he could be like, 'I can write the poppiest song of all time.' Like Kurt Cobain, where it's just, 'I can do this all day long. But I'm going to put sandpaper in it and make your brain turn upside down.' But then you're like, 'What just happened to me?'"
Monday, November 11, 2024
Songs of a Lost World Debuts at No. 1 on Multiple Billboard Charts
From Billboard:
The Cure’s ‘Songs of a Lost World’ Debuts at No. 1 on Multiple Billboard Charts
The set marks the group's first leader on the 33-year-old Top Album Sales chart, and the band's highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 since 1992.
By Keith Caulfield
The Cure make a striking return to Billboard’s album charts (dated Nov. 16) with the arrival of Songs of a Lost World. It’s the band’s first No. 1 on the 33-year-old Top Album Sales chart and the act’s highest-charting effort on the Billboard 200 (No. 4) since 1992. It also bows at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Vinyl Albums and Indie Store Album Sales.
Songs of a Lost World is the group’s first album of new material since 2008. The new album is the act’s third top 10-charting set on the Billboard 200, following its self-titled effort (No. 7 in July 2004) and Wish (No. 2 in May 1992)
Equivalent album units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. Nov. 16, 2024-dated charts will be posted in full on Billboard’s website on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Songs of a Lost World bows with 57,000 equivalent album units earned (the act’s best week by units) in the United States in the week ending Nov. 7, according to Luminate. Of that sum, album sales comprise 53,000 (The Cure’s biggest sales week since 2004, when its self-titled album launched with 91,000), SEA units comprise 4,000 (equaling 5.02 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
The new album’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across five vinyl variants (which sold a combined 23,000 copies; the band’s best week on vinyl since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991), a standard CD, a CD/blu-ray audio package, two cassettes, a standard digital download and a deluxe digital download with five bonus live tracks (exclusive to the band’s webstore).
The set’s “A Fragile Thing” rises 25-22 on Alternative Airplay (a new peak and its highest charting song since 2004) and 12-10 on Adult Alternative Airplay (The Cure’s first top 10, and third charting hit, since the list began in 1996).
A Fragile Thing 7"
The Cure - A Fragile Thing 7"
"For this limited edition release comes two new mixes both remixed by Robert Smith
Tracklist:
Side A - A Fragile Thing (RS24 Mix)
Side B - A Fragile Thing (RS24 Remix)
Limited to 4 units per fan."
Inside the Cure’s Big Halloween Comeback: Concert, BBC Takeover and ‘Lost World’ Album
From Variety:
Brit Beat: Inside the Cure’s Big Halloween Comeback: Concert, BBC Takeover and ‘Lost World’ Album
By Mark Sutherland
It’s been 16 long years since legendary British alternative rockers the Cure last released a studio album, but the campaign for the band’s new outing, “Lost World,” has made it feel like they’ve never been away.
And the band has also returned “home” to the Fiction-via-Polydor label, which released the band’s recordings up until 2004’s self-titled album. The most recent two Cure albums came out via America on Geffen, but Polydor Label Group President Ben Mortimer says he made it his “mission” to bring the band back to the record company.
“I actually can’t believe it’s happened because it’s been a conversation that’s been going on for so long,” Mortimer tells Variety. “Robert Smith sits alongside Paul Weller, who we brought back to Polydor a few years ago, as one of those people who are really in the fabric of the label. [The return] has really energized the whole label and tapped into the soul of what we do.”
Mortimer says “huge credit” should also go to Fiction Records Managing Director Jim Chancellor, “who has had a brilliant relationship with Robert for a long time.” Smith manages the band himself and Mortimer says the release plan came together over numerous emails featuring Smith’s trademark “all caps firmly on” style.
Key to the strategy was a suitably gothic Cure takeover of the BBC on Halloween, the day before “Songs of a Lost World” dropped, with a live session on BBC Radio 6 Music and a career-spanning BBC Radio 2 “In Concert” recording, which was also televised as part of a BBC 2 Cure night on November 2. The “In Concert” recording reportedly received the most ticket applications of any show in the long-running series.
“One of the stipulations Robert had on doing the deal was that the album to come out straight after Halloween,” Mortimer says. “Our production team had to jump through hoops to deliver vinyl and everything in time. It was really touch and go but Robert was very clear, unless it’s coming November 1, we ain’t doing this!”
The band also made a spectacular full live return with an intimate show at London’s Troxy venue on November 1, which featured a full rendition of the new album as well as many other songs. It was livestreamed around the world on YouTube and attended by many other musicians, from Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong to Culture Club’s Boy George.
All that attention – and some of the best reviews of the band’s career – has also translated into record sales, with the album set to debut at No.1 in the Official U.K. Albums Chart on November 8. It had already passed 40,000 units by Monday, according to the Official Charts Company. That’s despite this being the band’s first album release of the streaming age – previous studio album “4:13 Dream” came out in 2008 – with Mortimer saying the band racked up huge numbers of Spotify pre-saves.
“The Universal catalog team, alongside Robert, have done a very good job of keeping things alive for years, but it’s more than that,” says Mortimer. “If you look at their streams, there are tracks at over 700 million on Spotify, so there is a young audience there that streams the Cure.
“We’ve brought in new ideas – Robert’s remarkably open to modern ways of thinking, he’s such an intelligent man, he grasps things so quickly – but I don’t think it changed his strategy,” Mortimer adds. “Some artists are able to speak to different generations, and the Cure are one of those.”
With the band likely to announce further touring plans, Mortimer is expecting a long campaign for the album, one of the first big releases through the new Polydor Label Group, after a major Universal U.K. restructure: Mortimer now also oversees the Capitol U.K. and 0207 Def Jam labels, run by Jo Charrington and Alec Boateng respectively.
“It’s been a crazy year across the whole business, but I’m really thankful about the new responsibilities that I have,” says Mortimer. “Working with Jo and Alec is just an absolute dream, they’re some of the best A&R executives of recent generations and they’ve brought so many brilliant artists into our system, so I’m feeling really lucky. Everyone complements each other really well.”
Meanwhile, the American release of “Songs of a Lost World” goes through Capitol, meaning Mortimer has reunited with his former Polydor co-president Tom March, now chairman/CEO of Capitol Music Group (“Tom’s wonderful – having a Brit over there who gets it has been really helpful”). The pair revived Polydor’s fortunes in the 2010s and Mortimer is hopeful the Cure’s renewed success could also bring back the buzz to music from this side of the pond.
“It feels like there’s real interest in what the U.K. and Ireland does really well again,” he says. “You look at Oasis, the Cure, plus we’re getting such an explosion of interest on Sam Fender at the moment and we’re seeing growth on a band like Inhaler… We’ve been talking about it for 15 years but it’s genuinely happening now.”
Album of the Week on BBC Radio 2
From The Cure:
SONGS OF A LOST WORLD IS ALBUM OF THE WEEK ON @BBCRADIO2. TUNE IN THIS WEEK TO VERNON KEY & OJ BORG TO HEAR TRACKS FROM THE ALBUM
Sunday, November 10, 2024
Songs of a Lost World chart positions
Songs of a Lost World debuts at:
Australia - #5
Austria - #1
Belgium (Flemish and Wallonian) - #1
Canada - #12
Denmark - #1
Dutch - #1
France - #1
Germany - #1
Ireland - #3
Italy - #2
New Zealand - #3
Norway - #5
Scotland - #1
Spain - #2
Sweden - #1
Switzerland - #1
UK - #1
US - #4
Songs of a Lost World debuts at #4 in US
The Cure's Songs of a Lost World debuts at #4 on the Billboard 200 in the US.
From Billboard:
The Cure achieves its highest charting album in over 30 years, and first top 10 in over 20 years, with the No. 4 debut of Songs of a Lost World.
Songs of a Lost World was released on Nov. 1, and cryptically announced in early September. The set’s title and release date were confirmed on Sept. 26, alongside the release of the album’s first cut (and first new song in 16 years), “Alone.” On Oct. 9, a second song from the set, “A Fragile Thing,” arrived. The latter track climbs 25-22 (a new peak) on Alternative Airplay and 12-10 on Adult Alternative Airplay. It’s the first charting hit for The Cure on Alternative Airplay since 2008 and the band’s highest-charting song since 2004’s “The End of the World” reached No. 19. On the Adult Alternative Airplay ranking, “Fragile” is the act’s third charting song ever (dating to the chart’s 1996 start), and first to reach the top 10.
Anonymous heART Project auction is up
Update:
Final prices
DRONE:NODRONE- £1,800
WARSONG - £3,974
ALL I EVER AM - £2,551
A FRAGILE THING - £3,600
I CAN NEVER SAY GOODBYE -£15,500
The @heartresearchuk auction is up.
DRONE: NODRONE - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267030793797
WARSONG - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267030793091
ALL I EVER AM - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267030794980
A FRAGILE THING - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267030793378
I CAN NEVER SAY GOODBYE - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267030794239
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