Friday, June 4, 2021

Robert Smith says The Cure have recorded two new albums

From Louder:

 As Robert Smith and Chvrches launch new collaboration How Not To Drown, Smith reveals there are two new albums from The Cure almost ready to go

Robert Smith has revealed that two new albums by The Cure have been recorded. Smith made the remarks during an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, where he was interviewed alongside Chvrches about their new collaboration, How Not To Drown, which was released yesterday.  

"Probably in about six weeks time I'll be able to say when everything's coming out and what we're doing next year and everything," said Smith. "So we were doing two albums and one of them's very, very doom and gloom and the other one isn't. And they're both very close to being done. I just have to decide who's going to mix them. That's really all I've got left to do."

In the interview, Chvrches reveal how the collaboration with Smith came about. "It was a song that we had already been writing for the record," said singer Lauren Mayberry, "and then our manager had been technically sniffing about trying to see if maybe The Cure were going to tour again and maybe we could try and get a support slot or something.

Johnny Marr on Robert Smith

Thursday, June 3, 2021

The Cure’s Robert Smith says forthcoming ‘noise album’ will be a solo release

 From NME:

The Cure frontman Robert Smith has further alluded to the release of a noise album in a new interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe.

Smith featured in the interview alongside CHVRCHES, having just teamed up to release the single ‘How Not To Drown’, ahead of the band’s new album ‘Screen Violence’. Speaking to Lowe, the singer said he didn’t want to release an “hour’s worth of noise” as the band’s first record in more than a decade, so it will be a solo release.

 “I’ve always wanted to do an hour’s worth of noise, and I didn’t want it… The Cure, you wait ten years and then we bring out an album that’s just noise. So it was just like, ‘No’ – that was me doing the rest of the band. That ‘no’ was a band no. So I’ve been just having fun with that really,” Smith explained.

Smith had previously spoken to NME about the so-called “hour of noise”, along with the arrival of two new Cure albums. The singer reaffirmed these two albums elsewhere in the new interview, mentioning that one record is notably darker than the other.

Smith also told Lowe that he will have more updates soon. “Probably in about six weeks’ time I’ll be able to say when everything’s coming out and what we’re doing next year and everything … We were doing two albums and one of them’s very, very doom and gloom and the other one isn’t,” he said.

“And they’re both very close to being done. I just have to decide who’s going to mix them. That’s really all I’ve got left to do.”

In addition to his collaboration with CHVRCHES, over the past year Smith has also teamed up with Gorillaz for the track ‘Strange Timez’ and Deftones for a remix of their song ‘Teenager’.

Chvrches & Robert Smith - How Not To Drown

Before the video premiere, the band held a pre-party and called Robert on the phone (the call is around 11:10 in).

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

CURÆTION-25 is now streaming

From American Songwriter:

The Cure’s acclaimed 2018 performance in London is now available to stream, exclusively with The Coda Collection, through Amazon Prime Video. The performance, titled CURÆTION-25: From There to Here | From Here to There, is a more than 2 hour performance with 28 iconic The Cure songs.

The English gothic rock band became members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. They’ve released 13 albums and over 30 singles, as well as sold over 30 million albums worldwide, making them a staple in the rock and alternative punk scenes since the ’80s. 

 The film was captured on the final night of the 2018 Meltdown Festival, which is an arts festival curated by The Cure’s frontman Robert Smith. The set spans four decades of The Cure’s albums and songs from all 13 of the band’s studio albums. From 1979 to 2018, the band first performs songs in chronological order, and then a different set in reverse chronological order, hence the performance’s fitting name.

The Cure’s Robert Smith addressed the unique nature of this set, saying, “This Meltdown performance is memorable for many reasons. The format we chose gave the band a unique opportunity to illuminate and celebrate the kaleidoscopic musical trip we are all on, in a very special venue in a very special year.”

The setlist includes hits “Just Like Heaven,” “Lovesong,” “High,” “The End Of The World” and “The Hungry Ghost.”

The Coda Collection, launched earlier this year, is a subscription streaming service (coupled with Amazon Prime Video) that shows music documentaries and concert films that explore new perspectives on music.

Lauren & Martin on how much this project meant to them

Chvrches and Robert on the Zane Lowe show

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Reeves gives a Cure update

There are plans to do "something" later this year, and plans to do "something" all next year. They recorded enough material for two albums. Just gotta figure out what songs go with other songs.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Robert performs a Faith set

"Robert Smith performed a 3-song 'Faith' set from his home for '24 Hour Improv' to benefit Poverty Alleviation Charities' Letters To Santa program."

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Robert performs a Seventeen Seconds set

"Robert Smith performed a 3-song 'Seventeen Seconds' set from his home for 'Nine Lessons and Carols for Socially Distanced People' to benefit four charities. They were Doctors Without Borders, Turn2Us, Mind: For Better Mental Health, and the Kings Place Music Foundation."

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Cure at ACL Weekend 2

October 12th, 2019
Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, Texas
Cure are scheduled to play from 8 - 10 pm central.

Setlist: Plainsong, Pictures of You, A Night Like This, Just One Kiss, Lovesong, Last Dance, Burn, Fascination Street, Never Enough, Push, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Play For Today, A Forest, Shake Dog Shake, Disintegration

Encore: Lullaby, The Caterpillar, The Walk, Friday I'm in Love, Close to Me, Why Can't I Be You?, Boys Don't Cry.

Note: Eden Gallup is playing bass in place of Simon.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

The Cure in Mexico City

October 8th, 2019
The Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico
Cure are scheduled to play from 9:10 - 11:55 pm central time.

Setlist: Plainsong, Pictures of You, A Night Like This, Just One Kiss, Lovesong, Last Dance, 39, Burn, Fascination Street, Never Enough, Push, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Want, Play For Today, A Forest, Primary, Shake Dog Shake, Prayers for Rain, Disintegration

1st encore: Lullaby, The Caterpillar, The Lovecats, Hot Hot Hot, The Walk, Let's Go to Bed, Friday I'm in Love, Close to Me, Why Can't I Be You?

2nd encore: Three Imaginary Boys, Boys Don't Cry, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Grinding Halt, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing An Arab.


Full schedule:

5 pm Doors open
5:40 - 6:05 Violet Vendetta
6:35 - 7:10 Rey Pila
7:40 - 8:25 The Twilight Sad
9:10 - 11:55 The Cure
Midnight Curfew

Saturday, October 5, 2019

The Cure at ACL Festival weekend 1

October 5th, 2019
Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, Texas
Cure are scheduled to play from 8 - 10 pm central.

Setlist: Plainsong, Pictures of You, A Night Like This, Just One Kiss, Lovesong, Last Dance, Burn, Fascination Street, Never Enough, Push, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Play For Today, A Forest, Shake Dog Shake, Disintegration

Encore: Lullaby, The Caterpillar, The Walk, Friday I'm in Love, Close to Me, Why Can't I Be You?, Boys Don't Cry.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

The Cure at Daydream Festival

August 31st, 2019
Daydream Festival in Pasadena, CA
Cure are scheduled to start at 8:40 pm pacific

That's a start time of 9:40 pm mountain, 10:40 pm central, 11:40 pm eastern.

Setlist: Plainsong, Pictures of You, High, A Night Like This, Just One Kiss, Lovesong, Last Dance, Burn, Fascination Street, Never Enough, Push, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Play For Today, A Forest, Primary, Shake Dog Shake, 39, Disintegration

Encore: Lullaby, The Caterpillar, The Walk, Friday I'm in Love, Close to Me, Why Can't I Be You?, Boys Don't Cry.




Robert auctioning Daydream guitar for charity


Album update from Robert

The L.A. Times have a new interview with Robert, and he gives them an update about the new album:

How far along are you on a new Cure album?
We’re going back in [the studio] three days after we get back from Pasadena for me to try and finish the vocals, which is, as ever, what’s holding up the album. I keep going back over and redoing them, which is silly. At some point, I have to say that’s it.

Has this been in the works for a long time or did you suddenly get to a point where it all came out at once?
I was offered the chance to curate the Meltdown Festival [in London] and I said yes. And then I realized I didn’t really listen to very much new music anymore. So I threw myself headlong into it and started listening to bands again and meeting kids who were in bands, and something clicked inside my head: I want to do this again. It came as a bit of a shock to me, to be honest. No one really believed me until we started recording.

Is there anything from your history that you would compare this new album to?
It’s very much on the darker side of the spectrum. I lost my mother and my father and my brother recently, and obviously it had an effect on me. It’s not relentlessly doom and gloom. It has soundscapes on it, like “Disintegration,” I suppose. I was trying to create a big palette, a big wash of sound.

Do you have a title?
The working title was “Live From the Moon,” because I was enthralled by the 50th anniversary of the Apollo landing in the summer. We had a big moon hanging in the studio and lunar-related stuff lying around. I’ve always been a stargazer.

In the past, when the Cure released an album, you’ve said the band was going to retire. How are you feeling this time?
Being the contrarian that I am, I’d be very unhappy if it was the last one. We’ll be onstage tomorrow and I’ll be saying to them, “This is the last time in Paris,” and they’ll look at me and shrug their shoulders. At some point, I will be proved right.

Read the rest at the L.A. Times.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

"This is for Ricky"



Robert before closing their show at Rock en Seine on Friday night with 'Boys Don't Cry': "We have time for one last song. This is for Ricky. It's called Boys Don't Cry".







A post shared by Al (@feralpunk) on











Andy from Ride also dedicated 'Vapour Trail' to Ricky at their show on Friday night. Again, no video of the dedication, but here's the song, and if I find video of the dedication, I'll post it.


Liam Gallagher dedicated Champagne Supernova to Ricky at his show on Saturday night.


Thanks to Eden Gallup for posting this on his Facebook today. A young Paul "Ricky" Welton on drums.


Paul "Ricky" Welton was a longtime member of The Cure Crew, Jason's drum tech, and a wonderful person beloved by all who knew him. He passed away on Friday, and his band and crew paid tribute to him. This is my small attempt to also honor him.

Farewell, Ricky. Thank you for all you did for the band, for your crew, for the fans, and for keeping the shows running every night. You were so loved, and I hope you knew it. As everyone has said, you will be missed greatly!

All love and strength to his family, friends, the band, and the crew.

Rock on in eternity, Ricky! We love you so much!

Daydream Festival set times announced

Austin City Limits set times announced


Saturday Oct. 5th

Honda Stage
The Cure 8 - 10 PM
Billie Eilish 6 - 7 PM
Brittany Howard 4 - 5 PM
The Kooks 2 - 3 PM
Men I Trust 12:30 - 1:15 PM

Saturday Oct. 12th

Honda Stage
The Cure 8 - 10 PM
Billie Eilish 6 - 7 PM
Brittany Howard 4 - 5 PM
Denzel Curry 2 - 3 PM
Orville Peck 12:30 - 1:15 PM