The Cure

Formed in West Sussex in 1977 and rising like a phoenix from the ashes of the punk revolution, The Cure rode the crest of the new wave in the late seventies to become one of the world’s most enduring musical forces, led by one of music’s most prolific geniuses Robert Smith.

Their impressive debut album Three Imaginary Boys was released in 1979 and immediately marked them out as shining lights of the post punk era. The dawn of the eighties would see Smith take a much darker, considered approach to his songwriting with a trinity of albums between 1980 and 1982, Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography that would see the band become torchbearers for the emerging “alternative rock” movement. 

One of the overwhelming themes of the The Cure’s history however is their ability to evolve, to effortlessly re-invent their music in a heartbeat, which they did most dramatically with their early-eighties shift from doom laden darkness to brilliantly skewed pop, a move that would help turn them into the most unlikely superstars, not just in the UK but across the globe, with a slew of hits like Let’s Go to Bed, The Lovecats, The Caterpillar, Inbetween Days, Close to Me, Why Can’t I Be You? and Just Like Heaven, taken from a range of albums like The Top, The Head On The Door and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, presenting a catalogue of releases that reads like a celebration of the best music that the eighties had to offer.

The decade ended with what many believe to be one of the bands finest moments, the incredible Disintegration, where Smith married all that had gone before to create a perfect storm of lush pop and heartbreaking melancholy exemplified by the exquisite singles Lullaby and Lovesong, the album became and remains a stonewall classic.

Building on the success of Disintegration the nineties saw no let up for the band as their next album Wish shot to number one in most album charts and confirmed The Cure as one of the biggest bands on the planet, a status that they would cement with the release of the delirious Wild Mood Swings, along with numerous sold-out tours around the globe.

The noughties saw the release of the remarkable Bloodflowers, followed by the eponymous The Cure, proving that the band had lost none of their passion and creativity after more than twenty-five years at the forefront of British pop and rock, a fact they affirmed in 2008 with the release of their 13th studio album 4:13 Dream, yet another album greeted with a chorus of critical acclaim and fan adoration.

From underground heroes to worldwide heavyweights, The Cure have, over the last 30 or more years given us some of popular music’s finest moments, which is why everyone here at Bestival H.Q. is so incredibly proud that the band will be touching down in 2011 to deliver what we’re sure will be a legendary and unforgettable Saturday night headline performance.  

www.thecure.com