THE CURE T-shirt. "[17], Smith began sporting his trademark and cult style of smeared red lipstick, eye-liner, pale complexion, dishevelled black hair, black clothes, and creepers in the early 1980s, around the same time as the goth subculture took off. Robert Smith)" for Blink-182's self-titled album released in November,[108] and "Believe (feat. [141] Of this period, Robert Smith later went on to say: My brother was also crazy about Captain Beefheart, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, so much so that when I was 7 or 8, to the despair of my parents, I became some kinda little devil fed on psychedelic rock.[12]. [172] Gaiman said that early conceptual sketches for the character by Leigh Baulch and Dave McKean drew influence from David Bowie's Aladdin Sane persona, and Bono from U2. Smith, Jerry, "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me FM". 279–280; Vianna, Luciano, "Bloodflower opens up The Cure's wounds". The following year the song placed at number 22 on VH1's poll "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s". [66][67][71][73] His return to guitar duties with the group prompted Smith to remark: He later said that he was "fed up" and "really disillusioned" with the pressures of playing in The Cure, and that "the Banshees thing came along and I thought it would be a really good escape". Smith said that he was 15 when he first heard Alex Harvey, and that the Sensational Alex Harvey Band was the first and only group he ever really followed. Listen to Robert Smith's top 30 songs of the '80s in full in the Spotify app. I was the drunk rhythm guitarist who wrote all these weird songs. robert smith. [71], The Glove's Blue Sunshine album and its lead single "Like an Animal" were both released in August 1983,[79] followed by the Siouxsie and the Banshees' single "Dear Prudence" (a cover of the Beatles' song) in September, all on the Banshees' own label Wonderland Records. Smith is considered to be one of the most influential and underrated guitarists of the twentieth century. The only people who can stop her are film critic Leonard Maltin and actor Sidney Poitier, along with Smith. [111] Smith had also recorded vocals for another completely new version of "A Forest" during 2003, this time billed as a cover version by the German electronic duo "Blank & Jones (feat. [25][26] Of their first "proper" rehearsal at St Edwards Church, Smith said: I think it all came about because Marc Ceccagno wanted to be a guitar hero. [114], January 2004 also saw the single release of Junior Jack's "Da Hype (feat. Robert Smith has credited his older siblings Richard and Margaret with exposing him to rock music such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones when he was six years old. Others involve punk metafiction ("So What"), surrealism ("Accuracy"), straightforward rock/pop ("Boys Don't Cry", "I'm Cold"), and poetic mood pieces ("Another Day" and "Fire in Cairo"). Robert Smith met Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees at a Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire gig at the London YMCA on 3 August 1979. In 1986, Smith altered his image by appearing on-stage and in press photos sporting short spiky hair and polo shirts (this can be seen in The Cure in Orange). O'Barr, however, has downplayed the influence of Robert Smith on the lead character Eric Draven's physical appearance, saying that "the idea that the look has been inspired by him has really been overblown" and that the visual aspect of the character owed more to Peter Murphy and Iggy Pop. In 2010, he contributed a cover of "Very Good Advice" from the 1951 film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland to the album Almost Alice; a companion release to Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland,[129] while "Pirate Ships" from 1989 also saw release on CD for the first time. Some songs incorporate literary paraphrase, such as Camus' novel L'Étranger in "Killing an Arab" (1978), and "How Beautiful You Are..." (1987), based on a poem by Baudelaire. [24] Smith said that "the group" eventually became Malice, "sort of a sub-metal punk group -with Michael Dempsey, Laurence and two other blokes. "[10] However, while the Crawley Goat Band may have been Smith's first regular group, he would have been just thirteen when he and his Notre Dame schoolmates gave their first one-off performance together as The Obelisk; an early incarnation of what would eventually become the Cure. "And once they got me, they didn't like the idea of having an only child, so they had my sister. I enjoy it a lot more than any other kind of sound". During 1989, Smith and producer Mark Saunders remixed 7'’ and 12'’ versions of the song "The Pear Tree", by And Also the Trees. I think he completely changed his persona on stage because of that; he came out of his shell. [134] On 25 October 2011, instrumental rock band 65daysofstatic released the track "Come to Me" featuring Robert Smith as a free download, coinciding with the release of their album We Were Exploding Anyway. He was meanwhile invited to perform at David Bowie's 50th Birthday concert at Madison Square Garden (9 January 1997), where he duetted with Bowie on "The Last Thing You Should Do" and "Quicksand". scene was "one of my greatest moments in life". You knew straight away, you either loved it or hated it, and it polarised an entire nation for that summer. Recordings from the event were later released as The Stranglers and Friends – Live in Concert in 1995. The Cure Albums Pleasing People Robert Smith The Cure Photo Software Boys Don't Cry Michael Ealy Time In The World Denzel Washington Him Band. Between 1985 and 1996, his musical outings beyond The Cure were comparatively rare, with notable exceptions including remix work for And Also the Trees and Cranes. Bastards.[192]. However, by the time Easy Cure entered London's Sound And Vision Studio to record for Hansa in October 1977, O'Toole had left to work on a Kibbutz in Israel. [...] They were the group who led me towards doing Pornography. [207] As well as having participated in the Crawley Goat Band since around 1973, Janet played keyboards as a member of Cult Hero in 1979, and their older sister Margaret contributed backing vocals to the project. Smith offers to roshambo Cartman to get his Walkie-Talkie back, and immediately kicks Cartman in the groin, causing him to drop the walkie-talkie. south-thistle liked this . Having made a guest appearance on an episode of South Park earlier in the year (see → South Park: Mecha-Streisand), Smith again collaborated with Trey Parker under the name COGASM, featuring Reeves Gabrels and Jason Cooper, releasing the track "A Sign from God" for the film Orgazmo. [211][212] During the mid-1980s, Janet gave up a professional career as a pianist to spend more time with Porl and The Cure,[202] and the couple were married in March 1988. [77] Retrospectively, the Melody Maker's Steve Sutherland described the Glove as "a manic psychedelic pastiche". Robert Smith)" on veteran Bowie guitarist Earl Slick's Zig Zag album, released 9 December 2003. Heath, Chris. [21] Smith has given conflicting accounts of his alleged expulsion: elsewhere saying that he was merely suspended, and that it was because he did not get along with the school headmaster,[22] and, on another occasion, saying he was suspended "because my attitude towards religion was considered wrong. Although released under the name of The Cure, the only personnel to perform on the original Flexipop single release of "Lament" in August 1982 were Robert Smith and Steve Severin, and soon afterwards, Smith admitted that The Cure as a band now existed in name only. [183] Rob Newman and David Baddiel's live comedy video, History Today (1992), also features Newman's Robert Smith character, singing the children's songs "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and "I'm a Little Teapot". The series featured regular cameo performances from British rock and pop groups of the period, such as Motörhead, the Damned, and Madness. In the series' final episode, Ray is given a copy of the Cure's Disintegration LP as a present, and is so overwhelmed that he can no longer speak in a sarcastic tone, and spontaneously begins speaking Flemish. About six months later I saw it and I was completely thrown by what they had done with it. I think [producer] Mike Hedges stole it. The track is in fact a reworking of the track of the same name from the Ideal Condition, which he also contributed vocals for. The first thing Robert Smith does is apologise for the makeup. One issue of The Crow dedicated an entire page to reprinting the lyrics from The Cure song "The Hanging Garden", and O'Barr said that he was listening a lot to The Cure's early albums such as Seventeen Seconds and Faith while he was writing the story. [213] Janet is also credited with having taught Robert's guitar technician Perry Bamonte to play piano while the band were recording Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, prior to Bamonte joining the group as keyboardist in 1990. [note 9] Near the end of the year, Robert Smith made two guest appearances live at Wembley Arena; first joining Placebo on 5 November on their song "Without You I'm Nothing" and The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry",[122] followed by Blink-182 on 6 December to perform "All of This" and again, "Boys Don't Cry". Tim Burton) had asked Robert to make an appearance in a film. Unlike his previous solo covers (such as "Pirate Ships" and "World In My Eyes"), these were officially released under the name of Robert Smith, rather than The Cure. [110] Although issued under the moniker of The Cure, the "Mark Plati mix" was in fact an entirely new recording resulting from the studio collaborations between Slick, Plati and Smith. [42] In contrast to Tolhurst's recollection of their songwriting as a group effort until after 'Pornography', in 1982 Smith claimed to have written "90 per cent of the 'Pornography' album", and that he therefore couldn't leave The Cure, because it wouldn't be The Cure without him.[43]. His brother had an amp and a mic, so he sang. The beautiful Mary Poole is an extremely dedicated and devoted wife of the British musician Robert Smith. Size: Colour: Multi-buy: Buy 1. [12] At the age of thirteen in 1972, Smith first saw David Bowie on television, performing "Starman" on Top of the Pops. 80’s darlings, The Cure have announced an extensive U.S. tour. I played the entire Three Imaginary Boys album through a Top 20 pickup. [190] Smith later described the impact of the episode on his twenty-odd nieces and nephews to Q magazine: "Being in South Park has made a huge impact on their lives. Many of you know I am from Glasgow. "[10], According to Dave Bowler and Bryan Dray, biographers of The Cure, the school expelled ex-Malice co-founder Marc Ceccagno along with Smith, whose new band, called Amulet, played the December school show. [102][103] Although released under the name of The Cure, "Wrong Number" was one of several "one-off" studio projects recorded during this period by Robert Smith either performing solo, or with guest musicians from outside the full-time line-up of The Cure. In the wake of The Cure's Fourteen Explicit Moments tour, which culminated in the departure of Simon Gallup and the temporary dissolution of The Cure, in June 1982, Smith began collaborating with Steve Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees again. Sullivan, Jim. Apter, Jeff. We tried "Walking in My Shoes" at first but it didn't really work, so I went off and did "World In My Eyes" one night in Outside Studios near Reading. After being expelled from St Wilfrid's Catholic School in 1977 for allegedly causing a riot during a gig with Malice, and returning shortly afterwards, Smith reformed his band into Easy Cure, soon shortened to simply The Cure. By 1977, Malice had become Easy Cure. [201][202][203], Smith told The Face that he had once left a video camera running in their home "and after a couple of hours you forget that it's on and I was quite horrified at the amount of rubbish we say to each other. In 2002, as Exclaim! He was never able to put a foot wrong. Smith was reportedly so unhappy with the resultant track "Let's Go to Bed" that he attempted to have the single released under the name of Recur, feeling that the single let Cure fans down. [68][71][75][note 5] The Venomettes were a string and vocal performance group associated with the Batcave scene during the early 1980s, whose members collaborated with Marc Almond (as part of Marc and the Mambas), Andi Sexgang, Siouxsie and the Banshees and This Mortal Coil, among others. I feel more natural in the company of people who are mentally unbalanced because you're always more alert, wondering what they're going to do next...". Smith was influenced by Siouxsie and the Banshees' "wall of noise" and the Buzzcocks' melodies, and aspired to combine the two. [92][93][94][note 7], In 1992, Smith invited Cranes to support The Cure live on the Wish Tour. [80], Shortly before the group's scheduled Royal Albert Hall concerts in September and October 1983, Siouxsie and the Banshees were also invited to participate in an episode of Channel 4's television series "Play at Home", which they agreed to in order to take advantage of having the upcoming concerts filmed. Notably on the opening track "The Kiss" where Smith played an extended Wah-wah pedal introductory solo that opened the LP, as well as the single "Hot Hot Hot!!!" Comedy Central's debut screening in February 1998 marked the first time a cable station had beaten one of the Big Three television networks during prime time viewing,[189] and "Robert Smith Kicks Ass" T-shirts were reportedly "doing a healthy trade among Cure fans" soon afterwards. Bowler and Dray note that The Obelisk had "featured Dempsey and Ceccagno as guitarists and him [Robert] on piano as very much a background player. When: October 5 or 6, 1985 Where: Miyako Hotel, San Francisco And: When we got to the hotel to try to meet The Cure, there weren’t really any fans around except for two girls who were going to be interviewing Robert Smith for their high school paper.We hung out with them for a few hours, as Robert was three hours late for the interview. "[25] As "The Group" gradually became Malice and began regular rehearsals in January 1976, Smith was still one of several floating members. Item information. [...] I learned a lot, but got to the point where I was losing the sense of fun. I always preferred him to the other one" (i.e. The duco01 45 Favourite New Albums of 2020, No Voting necessary – Your Favourite “free” CD, Enough music polls – Tell us your BEST TV SHOWS of 2020, When a comedy phrase becomes common discourse, Poll – Best Archive or Box Set Release of 2020, Fact checking “Money for Nothing!” by Dire Straits. With Simon Gallup's departure reducing the group to a duo, and Tolhurst quitting drums to start taking keyboard lessons,[43] from July 1982 until Gallup's return in February 1985, according to Smith, much of the writing and recording process within The Cure effectively became a solo effort. Let’s show those Quietus people what a proper list looks like! [215], Smith says that he is generally uncomfortable with interviews and conversations with strangers and does not express an interest or desire to engage in either,[199] giving rise to a dry sense of humour as exemplified at his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. and "Just Like Heaven" becoming popular in the US. [67] Journalist/biographer Jo-Ann Greene noted that Smith's replacement of McGeoch "left a bad taste in many people's mouths, as [McGeoch] was informed of his sacking only a week after his recovery from a brief spell of clinical depression". "I'm not technically a good player but at least I don't sound like anyone else. "[157] The band Madness then performs a musical cameo. [39][note 3] Michael Dempsey, discussing his own departure from the group at this time, later remarked: Robert's new songs were more of a personal statement – entirely personal to him – and I couldn't make that statement on his behalf.[40]. [112] Released in September 2003, the single reached number 14 in the German Top100 Singles charts,[113] and three separate remixes later appeared on the 2004 album Monument; "A Forest" being described by AllMusic's Rick Anderson as "the centerpiece of the album". [71][74] The Glove took its name from the "murder mitten" from the Beatles' animated feature Yellow Submarine, while the album title came from a B-movie by the same name about a potent strain of LSD that caused people to lose their hair and turn into homicidal maniacs many years after their first trip. With every Cure album release onward, Smith would incorporate a number of different guitars and sounds into the Cure’s repertoire with stylistic versatility and craftsmanship over the course of thirty years. Smith bought a Fender Jazzmaster, having recently seen Elvis Costello playing one on Top of the Pops. [40][48][49] The two bands embarked on the tour later in August, and meanwhile in September Banshees singer Siouxsie Sioux contributed backing vocals to "I'm Cold", the b-side to The Cure's next single "Jumping Someone Else's Train" (released in November),[40][49][50] A few dates into the Join Hands tour, however, Banshees' guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris quit the band hours before they were due to go on stage in Aberdeen, placing the tour in limbo. [51] The tour resumed on 18 September, with Smith playing in both bands each night. "[141] Smith said that the first LP he ever purchased with his pocket-money was The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. [166] Burton asked Smith to score the soundtrack for Sleepy Hollow (1999), but Smith said that "they were postponing it so much that I got involved with [The Cure's album] Bloodflowers and let it aside". where Smith included an intricate funk playing style that intersected with Porl Thompson's guitar lines. He described the release of “Anarchy in the UK” by the Sex Pistols as, ...the last time something major happened to me and changed me ... it was the best summer of my life. "; Cartman adding "Robert Smith kicks ass!".[188]. [135] In 2012 Robert again recorded a solo cover version for a Tim Burton project;[clarification needed] this time covering Frank Sinatra's 1957 hit song "Witchcraft" for Frankenweenie Unleashed!, a 14-track collection of songs "inspired by" the filmmaker's stop-motion film, Frankenweenie, released on 25 September 2012.[136]. robert smith. [44] Of 1984's The Top, Smith would say it was "the solo album I never made",[45] having played nearly all instruments himself except for drums (by Andy Anderson),[46] with Porl Thompson contributing saxophone to one song ("Give Me It").,[47] and Tolhurst contributing keyboards to only 3 of the album's 10 songs. Some of the new songs, however, had been debuted live while on the Banshees tour. [71][75] Budgie's then girlfriend Jeanette Landray, formerly a dancer with Zoo, was recruited to perform vocals, while Andy Anderson from Brilliant was brought in to play drums. Robert Smith, 34, could hardly believe his luck when a schoolgirl from Hull posted on the Omegle website that she was "bored" and invited people to contact her. "We all voted", said Smith, "and we had an award night. [14] Smith was quoted in several earlier sources as saying he purchased the Top 20 himself for £20, in 1978. Robert Smith, of The Cure, has become a Patron for national charity Heart Research UK. [191] He told Belgian magazine Humo: When my nephews had seen that, they worshipped me, but [kept] asking: What is a disintegration, uncle Bob? [141], Elsewhere Smith said that the Stranglers were his favourite punk band and that Elvis Costello "was a cut above the whole lot of them", in terms of lyrics and songcraft. I had no idea what it was all about. 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