Non-picture disc versions of the recent Record Store Day 'Greatest Hits' and 'Acoustic Hits' vinyl releases will be out June 30th. Both are up for pre-order at Amazon US - Greatest / Acoustic. Other pre-order links can be found at Super Deluxe Edition.
Thanks, Andreas, Craig and Benj.
Saturday, June 10, 2017
How America Fell In Love With The Cure
From Observer:
"By 1987, The Cure had been leading the British post-punk scene for over a decade. But here in America, unless you were a devotee of independent record stores and college radio, the legendary group was still something of a well-kept secret.
That all changed 30 years ago today.
Partially recorded at the famed Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me interjected
the dark tones of their earlier work with elements of bleeding edge
R&B, Prince-esque funk grooves, warm jazz and dreamy psychedelic pop
that caught fire on such prominent American radio stations as Los
Angeles’s KROQ and New York’s WLIR."
Read the rest at Observer.
Some more articles celebrating the 30th anniversary of 'Kiss Me' at Bible Urbaine and Frankenpost.
"By 1987, The Cure had been leading the British post-punk scene for over a decade. But here in America, unless you were a devotee of independent record stores and college radio, the legendary group was still something of a well-kept secret.
That all changed 30 years ago today.
Soon after The Cure released their ambitious double album Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me on May 25, 1987, their infectious singles like “Just Like Heaven” were dominating U.S. radio.
“I’m a sucker for short and sweet hit pop songs [like ‘Just Like Heaven’]. And
‘Why Can’t I Be You?’ does the trick for me [too],” says guitarist for
Bauhaus Daniel Ash, whose post-Bauhaus band Love & Rockets also
enjoyed the after-effects of Kiss Me in 1989 with their smash hit “So Alive.”
Read the rest at Observer.
Some more articles celebrating the 30th anniversary of 'Kiss Me' at Bible Urbaine and Frankenpost.
Lol will be in San Diego today
San Diego ! Sorry I'm going to be late today but I'll be there ! Unforeseen circumstances
— Lol Tolhurst (@LolTolhurst) June 10, 2017
.@LolTolhurst will be @VinylJunkiesUSA Record Swap on June 10th @casbahsandiego. https://t.co/tzTiKD4dyB pic.twitter.com/gprCxtQ0P3— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) June 6, 2017
'Cured' paperback out in the UK
Thank you to the hardworking team at @QuercusBooks for making this possible! https://t.co/jxfFwPcuoW
— Lol Tolhurst (@LolTolhurst) June 1, 2017
Tom Sheehan interview in Classic Pop
Read our full interview with the legendary photographer Tom Sheehan in the new issue of Classic Pop, out now - https://t.co/A4Uhcsv4uD pic.twitter.com/P21orLP7H0
— Classic Pop magazine (@ClassicPopMag) June 3, 2017
SUE readers rank all 225 Cure songs
Slicing Up Eyeballs recently conducted a poll of their readers, asking them to rank their top 25 Cure songs, and the results have now been posted:
#225 - Why Can't I Be Me?
#200 - Return / The Reasons Why (Tie)
#150 - Gone! / Stop Dead / Where the Birds Always Sing (Tie)
#100 - Last Day of Summer / Wrong Number (Tie)
#50 - M
#40 - Three Imaginary Boys
#30 - Prayers For Rain
#20 - A Letter to Elise
#10 - A Night Like This
#1 - A Forest
Read the complete list at Slicing Up Eyeballs.
#225 - Why Can't I Be Me?
#200 - Return / The Reasons Why (Tie)
#150 - Gone! / Stop Dead / Where the Birds Always Sing (Tie)
#100 - Last Day of Summer / Wrong Number (Tie)
#50 - M
#40 - Three Imaginary Boys
#30 - Prayers For Rain
#20 - A Letter to Elise
#10 - A Night Like This
#1 - A Forest
Read the complete list at Slicing Up Eyeballs.
Saturday, May 20, 2017
So what has Robert been up to lately?
Well, if you believe "the fucking internet', he's been buying guitars and writing lyrics.
Michael Ciravolo from @Schecter_Guitar says Robert is currently busy writing lyrics, possibly for a new Cure album.https://t.co/MqAFJIxhFK pic.twitter.com/qKIsPa6h9f— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) April 10, 2017
More 'Cured' events in June
From Loltolhurst.com:
Jun 10, 2017 (11am) - San Diego, CA
Vinyl Junkies Record Swap
Casbah San Diego
2501 Ketner Blvd
San Diego, CA 92101
Tickets are $3 at the door
Jun 20, 2017 (6pm) - Berkeley, CA
Mad Monks Center for Anachronistic Media
2454 Telegraph Ave,
Berkeley, CA 94704
Jun 21, 2017 (5:30pm) - San Francisco
VIP Evening with Lol Tolhurst
This event is limited to 40 people and will include a spoken word performance, question and answer session and the chance to get a photo or an autograph. Address will be provided to ticket holders 24 hours prior to the event. Buy tickets here.
Jun 21, 2017 (8:30pm) - San Francisco
VIP Evening with Lol Tolhurst (late)
This event is limited to 40 people and will include a spoken word performance, question and answer session and the chance to get a photo or an autograph. Address will be provided to ticket holders 24 hours prior to the event. Buy tickets here.
Jun 10, 2017 (11am) - San Diego, CA
Vinyl Junkies Record Swap
Casbah San Diego
2501 Ketner Blvd
San Diego, CA 92101
Tickets are $3 at the door
Jun 20, 2017 (6pm) - Berkeley, CA
Mad Monks Center for Anachronistic Media
2454 Telegraph Ave,
Berkeley, CA 94704
Jun 21, 2017 (5:30pm) - San Francisco
VIP Evening with Lol Tolhurst
This event is limited to 40 people and will include a spoken word performance, question and answer session and the chance to get a photo or an autograph. Address will be provided to ticket holders 24 hours prior to the event. Buy tickets here.
Jun 21, 2017 (8:30pm) - San Francisco
VIP Evening with Lol Tolhurst (late)
This event is limited to 40 people and will include a spoken word performance, question and answer session and the chance to get a photo or an autograph. Address will be provided to ticket holders 24 hours prior to the event. Buy tickets here.
Perry talks about 'Wish'
From Perry on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/7chK28XjIY
— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) May 7, 2017
The Cure's 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' Revisited
From The Quietus:
"It would have been at some point in late 1987, my senior year of high school, and it would have been in one of the two English literature courses I was taking that year. (Because I sure as hell didn’t want to do phys ed classes after I didn’t have to any more.) I had heard this song 'Just Like Heaven' on the radio and was randomly enthusing about it, because it was really good and all. I remember my classmate Susan Orozco - who regularly preferred to dress all in black, like a small coterie of people at our high school - saying in response “Yeah, but I think they sold out.” My reaction was essentially confusion - the class was about to start and I just wasn’t sure what to make of it. What was there to sell out from? And if it sounded this good, why complain?
A couple of years back I celebrated The Head On The Door’s 30th anniversary for tQ and so here I am again a couple of years later with the next album along the way. So I won’t try to add anything further to the potted band history I already gave in that feature, except to note an extension. After that album’s well-deserved success in the UK and elsewhere (especially on incipient alternative radio in the US) the temporarily stable lineup of Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst, Porl Thompson and Boris Williams, spent 1986 dealing with retrospection colliding with the present. The Standing On The Beach singles collection - easily one of the best of its era, hands down, a perfect illustration of just how Smith and company’s pop instincts had been on since the start - served as both a good reason to hit the road some more and create a great concert film in The Cure In Orange while they were at it. "
Read the rest at The Quietus.
"It would have been at some point in late 1987, my senior year of high school, and it would have been in one of the two English literature courses I was taking that year. (Because I sure as hell didn’t want to do phys ed classes after I didn’t have to any more.) I had heard this song 'Just Like Heaven' on the radio and was randomly enthusing about it, because it was really good and all. I remember my classmate Susan Orozco - who regularly preferred to dress all in black, like a small coterie of people at our high school - saying in response “Yeah, but I think they sold out.” My reaction was essentially confusion - the class was about to start and I just wasn’t sure what to make of it. What was there to sell out from? And if it sounded this good, why complain?
A couple of years back I celebrated The Head On The Door’s 30th anniversary for tQ and so here I am again a couple of years later with the next album along the way. So I won’t try to add anything further to the potted band history I already gave in that feature, except to note an extension. After that album’s well-deserved success in the UK and elsewhere (especially on incipient alternative radio in the US) the temporarily stable lineup of Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst, Porl Thompson and Boris Williams, spent 1986 dealing with retrospection colliding with the present. The Standing On The Beach singles collection - easily one of the best of its era, hands down, a perfect illustration of just how Smith and company’s pop instincts had been on since the start - served as both a good reason to hit the road some more and create a great concert film in The Cure In Orange while they were at it. "
Read the rest at The Quietus.
Great technical article about Cure Tour 2016
From ET Now:
PRG XL Video Supply Lighting and Video for The Cure World Tour
Iconic rock band The Cure recently completed a 76 date world tour with lighting, video and rigging supplied by PRG XL Video. The lighting and video design was by Angus 'Mac' MacPhail, with creative input from lead singer and founding member of The Cure, Robert Smith.
PRG XL Video Supply Lighting and Video for The Cure World Tour
Iconic rock band The Cure recently completed a 76 date world tour with lighting, video and rigging supplied by PRG XL Video. The lighting and video design was by Angus 'Mac' MacPhail, with creative input from lead singer and founding member of The Cure, Robert Smith.
Mac explained the creative process behind bringing
the production to life, and how they dazzled the expectations of
die-hard Cure fans: “It’s important to note that Robert Smith was very
hands-on with the design for the show; he’s been as much a member of our
creative team as he has a band member. When Robert and I first
discussed the design, we wanted a very simple look, where the set is the
lighting rig and it’s a very clean, uncluttered stage. We started off
with the idea for a curved screen at the back of the stage, added a
curved riser and pulled the ends of the truss back to extenuate the
curved look. The different lighting looks we used was kept simple, but
precise and well-executed, for happy songs we used bright colourful
lighting, and for moody songs, we adjusted the lighting accordingly.”
PRG XL’s event services co-ordinator, Ben Hornshaw
performed the role of lighting programmer, and worked closely with Mac
and Robert on all the live shows and in the pre-production stage: “We’re
confident the fans really enjoyed the show, there was an awful lot of
lighting and video technology on stage. The band played a fan-based show
which lasted for just under three hours made up not only of hits, but
also album tracks and lesser known B sides.”
The Cure's Pornography As Psychedelic Post Punk Masterpiece
From The Quietus:
"While punk did indeed make a lasting impression on those who were touched by it, there were enough influences coming through from the 60s to also make a difference in the early 80s. The passage of time has served to rub out the impact that psychedelics made on the music of the post-punk era, but LSD was still popular and a strange legislative loophole meant that magic mushrooms were legal on the proviso that they weren't prepared in any way. In theory, picking and eating them at source wouldn't be tarnished by the threat of legal sanction.
It was in this environment, with the real world issues of the threat of nuclear war and harsh economic conditions also looming, that The Cure - then a trio of guitarist and vocalist Robert Smith, bassist Simon Gallup and drummer Lol Tolhurst - released their fourth album, Pornography. Dark, claustrophobic and densely packed, it unwittingly set a benchmark for subsequent generations while adjusting the vernacular for psychedelic music. Made under the influence of LSD and alcohol and in tense circumstances, it not only concluded a run of albums that had seen the band's sound evolve over a period of four years, it would also destroy that incarnation of the group."
Read the rest at The Quietus.
"While punk did indeed make a lasting impression on those who were touched by it, there were enough influences coming through from the 60s to also make a difference in the early 80s. The passage of time has served to rub out the impact that psychedelics made on the music of the post-punk era, but LSD was still popular and a strange legislative loophole meant that magic mushrooms were legal on the proviso that they weren't prepared in any way. In theory, picking and eating them at source wouldn't be tarnished by the threat of legal sanction.
It was in this environment, with the real world issues of the threat of nuclear war and harsh economic conditions also looming, that The Cure - then a trio of guitarist and vocalist Robert Smith, bassist Simon Gallup and drummer Lol Tolhurst - released their fourth album, Pornography. Dark, claustrophobic and densely packed, it unwittingly set a benchmark for subsequent generations while adjusting the vernacular for psychedelic music. Made under the influence of LSD and alcohol and in tense circumstances, it not only concluded a run of albums that had seen the band's sound evolve over a period of four years, it would also destroy that incarnation of the group."
Read the rest at The Quietus.
Cure sales were strong on Record Store Day
Cure Greatest Hits at #5 & Acoustic at #8 - These Are the Top-Selling Albums & Singles of Record Store Day 2017. https://t.co/NpvG1i8YHX
— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) May 8, 2017
Cure Greatest Hits at #3 - Record Store Day 2017: the best-selling albums https://t.co/J87XNkEPDw
— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) April 26, 2017
Simon recording a track for Michael Ciravolo
From Michael Ciravolo on Facebook, Simon & Eden working on a track for Michael's album. https://t.co/AzzkroUXFg pic.twitter.com/4oukVOXIaH
— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) May 11, 2017
Roger at the Spanish Grand Prix
The Cure's Roger O' Donnell came to visit us #SpanishGP #FP1 pic.twitter.com/ofYbJvS1Ac
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 12, 2017
Also...
Roger O'Donnell, keyboard player with The Cure, takes us for a spin in his Dino 246 GT - https://t.co/DahhVniKYp
— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) May 4, 2017
Lol is working on a new project
From @RealLondonMay on Facebook. Looks like @LolTolhurst has a new project, The AntiMatter Network, coming soon. pic.twitter.com/10YWkvalzA
— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) May 14, 2017
New project in the works from @LolTolhurst (The Cure) and @RealLondonMay (Samhain/Danzig). Thanks to them for inviting me to be part of it! pic.twitter.com/P9h24pYcuN
— Robin Roth (@robin_roth) May 19, 2017
Pearl at the Malibu Guitar Festival
Pearl Thompson at the Malibu Guitar Festival - https://t.co/F2hSCr905i pic.twitter.com/WcjJNKnQM5
— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) May 13, 2017
Pearl Thompson and Don Moser trading riffs at #malibuguitarfestival art gallery. Those are Don's guitars and Pearl's paintings. Come see!! pic.twitter.com/WOezFA9X47
— MalibuGuitarFestival (@MalibuGtrFest) May 15, 2017
Revisit 15 Classic Tracks By The Cure
From Billboard:
"Robert Smith has been making music with The Cure since the goth-rock band formed in 1976 – and in 41 years' time, his group has given us quite an extensive body of work (including 13 albums, 4 EPs and numerous compilations). His classic songs and his eccentric image have captivated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, making The Cure one of the most internationally successful acts in alternative rock history.
Over the course of his illustrious four-decade career, Smith has performed with his idol David Bowie, appeared as a superhero version of himself in an episode of South Park, and reportedly even inspired the look of Tim Burton’s 1990 cult classic Edward Scissorhands. His favorite cover of a Cure song is Dinosaur Jr.’s “Just Like Heaven."
Today (April 21), we’re celebrating Smith’s 58th birthday by revisiting 15 classic tracks by The Cure."
Read the rest at Billboard.
"Robert Smith has been making music with The Cure since the goth-rock band formed in 1976 – and in 41 years' time, his group has given us quite an extensive body of work (including 13 albums, 4 EPs and numerous compilations). His classic songs and his eccentric image have captivated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, making The Cure one of the most internationally successful acts in alternative rock history.
Over the course of his illustrious four-decade career, Smith has performed with his idol David Bowie, appeared as a superhero version of himself in an episode of South Park, and reportedly even inspired the look of Tim Burton’s 1990 cult classic Edward Scissorhands. His favorite cover of a Cure song is Dinosaur Jr.’s “Just Like Heaven."
Today (April 21), we’re celebrating Smith’s 58th birthday by revisiting 15 classic tracks by The Cure."
Read the rest at Billboard.
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