Lol and Michael Dempsey on TV

From PR-Canada:

L.A. TV Show Lands Exclusive Episodes with Original Members of The Cure

One of the most influential and successful musical groups of the past 30 years is without a doubt The Cure. Since 1978 they have sold over 27 million units worldwide and have accumulated 40 platinum and gold records. Two of The Cure’s co-founding members Laurence (“Lol”) Tolhurst and Michael Dempsey will be taping extremely rare appearances on the Los Angeles-based television show “Focus in the Mix with Denise Ames” together Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at AMGA Studios and the media is invited to this historic event.

During their teenage years in England Tolhurst, Dempsey and Robert Smith played under a few different names before deciding on “The Cure” (named after a song Tolhurst wrote). The trio recorded the masterpiece album “Boys Don’t Cry” (spawning “Killing an Arab”, “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”, “Fire In Cairo”), wildly popular in the alternative music community. After Dempsey left to play with other big acts like Roxy Music, Tolhurst and Smith forged on to co-write many more of the band’s hits (“Let’s Go To Bed, “The Walk”, “The Caterpillar”), the genius album “Pornography” etc, putting them at Superstar Status still in heavy rotation on both alternative and main stream radio airwaves to this day.

Tolhurst has relocated to Los Angeles; Dempsey is visiting So Cal (from London) to collaborate with his former band mate. Both will be setting the record straight on back stories not often told including the disarming of the original members, during their exclusive and extremely rare on-camera, three-part interview that they chose to allow the “Focus in the Mix with Denise Ames” TV show host conduct. Very rare early photos of the band, obscure recordings as well as new material with other music groups will all be included along with their plans for the near future (Smith and Tolhurst are communicating again, much to the delight of the millions of Cure fans out there).

All Celebrity call times for Tuesday, May 6th:
Yvette Lopez/Playboy model: 12pm – 1pm; Daisy/Vh1’s Rock of Love II: 1pm – 2pm;
Laurence Tolhurst and Michael Dempsey/original members of The Cure: 2pm-4:30pm.

AMGA Studios is located at: 1520 W. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale, Ca 91201
Call (310) 490 6788 to R.S.V.P. (preferred)
Photo opps and light refreshments will be available.
(Thanks Monghi)

NIN releases 2nd album in 2 months!

Un-freaking-believable! The rumors were true. Nine Inch Nails has just released another album - The Slip. And they're giving this one away for free.
So in 2 months they have released a 36 track instrumental album and now a 10 track album. Fantastic!

Only One at Amazon (US & Canada)

Amazon (US) now has the 'Only One' cd single up for pre-ordering. $9.98 for the UK import. Still no sign of a domestic US single.

Update: Amazon (Canada) also has the import cd single.

L.A. 4Party with Lol

FRIDAY MAY 30, 2008
EVENT: THE CURE 4PARTY with Lol Tolhurst of The Cure
LIVE BANDS: THE CURSE - tribute to The Cure (for this event only, Lol will join The Curse on drums!)
with guests NOCTURNA - homage to Siouxsie and the Banshees
DJ's: Lol Tolhurst, Pivot, and Style (Club Cyanide, Las Vegas).
GIVEAWAYS: Cure music and rare merchandise!

For details visit:
http://www.bubastis.com/funeral
http://www.myspace.com/clubfuneral
http://www.thecurseband.com

THE CURE 4PARTY -- THE L.A. PRE-PARTY FOR CURE FANS!

THE CURE 4PARTY WILL BE HELD AT:
14BELOW
1348 14th Street
(corner of Santa Monica Blvd.)
SANTA MONICA, CA 90404
(just 20 minutes away from Hollywood)
Valet in parking lot and FREE PARKING ON STREETS
Event time: 8:00pm til 2:00am
$10 all night
For 21 and over with ID
2 Full Bars with Killer Drink Specials
Arrive early for dinner!
(enjoy delicious veggie burgers, philly cheese steak, burritos and more!)
Flyer image can be found here:
http://www.bubastis.com/funeral/images/myspace4party3.jpg
(Thanks Veronika)

Media round-up

The new singles story has been picked up by various media outlets:

Billboard
CMJ (Geffen says the album will be a single, not a double)
Pitchfork
Dotmusic
ContactMusic
IGN
Yahoo Music
Digital Spy
NME
FMQB
Undercover (read this one, it's good)
Chart Attack
Spin ("makeup-caked Britpoppers")
The West Australian

Finally! Official singles announcement

Check thecure.com. Finally updated with a press release about the singles. And some new info on the second single - it will be 'Freakshow' with 'All Kinds of Stuff' as the b-side. Strange that there is no mention of the release formats or the collector boxes (not true?). And even stranger, the official list of tour dates makes no mention of the May 28th show in San Jose (don't worry, probably just a mistake).

Update: There's a countdown clock and a sample of 'The Only One' on the front page of thecure.com. Also, Robert says he hopes that the new website will be up on May 13th.

Porl gets a custom PT Fastback

Another deal on the singles?

"I just heard from recordstore.co.uk and they said that it is highly likely that they will offer bundle deals on the Cure singles. Meaning a special low price for the CD, 7", and digital download. They do this quite a bit for UK singles. Even with the shipping charges they usually end up being cheaper than buying the singles in the US."
(Thanks John)

13 is NOT confirmed

Just want to clarify something in the Ideal Copy e-mail below. '13' has not been confirmed as the title of the new album.

Update: Here's the latest from Chris - "LeAnn got the info from our main import supplier. Here is the exact text:

"Brand new single 'THE ONLY ONE' which is a slice of pop Cure pop not seen since the late 90's. It is taken from the bands new double album to be released in September called '13'. This single will be the 1st of four collectable singles released prior to the album. All formats will be limited collectors editions. The Cure start the leg of the World tour in the USA on the 9th May."

I assumed that this is information supplied by Universal to the importer. but that may be an incorrect assumption?"
(Thanks to Chris @ Ideal Copy)

Ideal Copy offers singles 4 pack

From Ideal Copy:
"The Cure are scheduled to release a new double album in September called 13. Prior to that, four singles will be released, each in two formats and featuring a brand new non-album B-Side.
The first single, The Only One, comes with a collector's box that will house all 4 of the singles. There will be a separate box for the CDs and the 7" vinyl singles.
We have you covered if you want to purchase individually or as sets. Buy all four of each format or both formats for a discount on the regular sell price as well as a discount on shipping fees.
Each single is due on the 13th of the next four months. Get your Pre-Orders in to guarantee pricing. Current pricing and availability guaranteed through May 13th.

The Cure - The Only One (EURO CD) (7") (May 13th)
This Brand New Single is the first of four over the next 4 months. Each comes with a unique single mix and exclusive B-Side. You can get them all individually or as a CD 4-Pack + 7" 4-Pack, CD 4-Pack, or 7" 4-Pack. Pre-Order any of the bundles now to ensure your copies and to get pricing and shipping discounts!"

Play.com updates release date

Play.com has updated their release date for the new album - Sept. 15th in the UK. As previously posted, Universal has it listed for Sept. 16th in the US.

Update - They have now removed the date and just list it as "Coming Soon".

Japanese shm-cd ads

"Please see attached some advertisement found in tokyo for the shm-cd´s. if you buy all 7 you will get a special price (+ some promo stuff i guess - not confirmed). Release date is 21st of may."
The SHM cds are available at CDJapan and Ideal Copy.
(Thanks Thomas)

Only One on HMV and Amazon

HMV has The Only One cd single and 7" single listed for pre-ordering. Release date is May 13th.

Amazon UK has the cd single up for pre-ordering.
Amazon Germany has an import of the cd single.

New single artwork

Front of cd insert


Back of cd insert


Cd tray inlay


Back of cd inlay

Single releases confirmed!

100% confirmed by Universal. Names and locations deleted to protect the innocent:

"Universal is going to announce full info on april 28th, 2008.
There will be 4 tracks released from the album in the lead up to its release in September - one a month for the next 4 months. A physical CD single and digital download will be made available simultaneously. The single versions are edits (each will have Mix 13 on the artwork per the attached) and not the album versions. None of the B sides will appear on the album.
The b-side on The Only One will be a song called Ny Trip".
(Thanks anonymous)

Cure singles release dates

Ok, IF the info on ebay is correct, this would be the release and format info for the singles:

May 13th - The Only One (mix 13) + Ny Trip (CD, 7", Digital Download)
June 13th - Single #2 (mix 13) + new b-side (CD, 7", Digital Download)
July 13th - Single #3 (mix 13) + new b-side (CD, 7", Digital Download)
August 13th - Single #4 (mix 13) + new b-side (CD, 7", Digital Download)

Also, if true, the the first single would come with a collector's box that will house all 4 of the singles. There would be a separate box for the cds and the 7" vinyl singles. If you were around for the Wish era, you'll remember that they did the same thing with the High single.
Anyway, I hope we get an official announcement soon!

Cure to release 4 singles before album?

This comes from e-bay, so take that into consideration, but it sounds right:

"Their brand new studio album will be released worldwide on 13th September, with 4 consecutive, different single releases preceding the album on the 13th of each month: 13th May, 13th June, 13th July and 13th August. 'The Only One' is the first of this series, and as per the other formats, will be available on Limited CD & 7” Vinyl (with collectors boxes for both), as well as digital download. Each will have a brand new, non-album b-side."

'The Only One' is the song formerly known as 'Please Project'. So what do you think about this plan?

(Thanks Steve)

Cure in California, mastering new album

Just want everyone to understand that this is third hand info and is NOT 100% confirmed. I did contact Brian Gardner and he confirmed that he has worked on "new stuff" with them. Anyway, it's the first bit of good news we've had in awhile, so here it is:

"The Cure were in California on April 21, 2008 at the Mastering Lab.
Brian Gardner mastered the new album.
Robert Smith mixed it.
The new album will be a double.
I heard this personally from a source that was with The Cure, listening to their new album."

Ok, so if true, the album is done. So why is Universal holding it until September? They must have a good reason, right?
(Thanks Anonymous)

Universal says Sept. 16th

From a reliable source - Universal now has the new album scheduled for release on Sept. 16th in the US.
(Thanks Friend of COF)

RTL2 says Sept. too

"According to french radio (rtl2) this morning, the new album is now scheduled for early september...."
(Thanks Christophe)