The Cure

About The Cure

England's premiere mopey rockers The Cure have captained the goth scene into the mainstream on a wave of hair spray and eye liner. But throughout their formidable career, the band have dabbled in many styles including pop, New Wave and punk. Though roundly regarded as an 80's phenom, The Cure as we know them formed back in '76. They've been through countless lineup changes, but the one constant has always been wild-haired, strong-voiced front-man Robert Smith. Their 1978 single was the controversially titled "Killing An Arab" which, despite the title and middle-eastern guitar riff, was actually a reference to Camus The Stranger, a tribute to existential alienation. Amidst a storm of publicity, the band toured with fellow goth rockers Siouxsie and the Banshees, often shuffling band members as various guitarists and bassists left and rejoined the chaotic tour. Robert Smith-who's fond of dour pronouncements like "At 14, my ambition was to sit on the side of an abandoned mountain and die"-didn't don his full mask of corpse paint and smeared lipstick until the band's all-time classic, 1982's Pornography. The disc is widely regarded as heavily drug-influenced-the band have admitted a growing dependence on LSD at the time-and there's nary a ray of sunshine to be found on the tortured, brooding album. Oppressive Cure classics like "The Figurehead" and the tortured title track cemented the band's title as kings of all things dark. Still, after winning a devoted audience of black-clad punks, the mischievous rockers couldn't help surprising everyone by cutting a series of pop singles. The Cure's bass-driven "Lovecats," "Just Like Heaven" and "Friday I'm In Love" were all radio hits.