The Cure's full lineup history is as follows: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar 1976-present), Lol Tolhurst (drums, keyboards 1976-1989), Michael Dempsey (bass 1976-1979), Porl Thompson (guitar, keyboards 1976-1978, 1983-1992, 2005 -2010), Simon Gallup (bass, keyboards 1979-1982, 1985-present), Matthieu Hartley (keyboards 1979 -1980), Andy Anderson (drums 1983-1984), Phil Thornalley (bass 1983-1984), Boris Williams (drums 1984-1994), Roger O'Donnell (keyboards 1987 -1990, 1995-2005, 2011-present), Perry Bamonte (guitar, keyboards 1990-2005), Jason Cooper drums 1995-present) and Reeves Gabrels (guitar 2012-present)
Just as the group's lineup has changed, the band's sound has evolved throughout the years, starting off as a post-punk band similar to Wire and Gang of Four before morphing into a gothic rock band in the early 80's, to a synthpop group in the mid-80's and a power-pop-alternative band in the early 90's. The Cure has always been an alternative and very independent band which was evident from the early days. Shunning the anarchistic tendencies of many punk bands after their formation in 1976 , The Cure's first release was Killing an Arab, based on material from French writer Albert Camus' "L'Etranger" (translated into English as The Stranger or The Outsider). This track courted controversy because of its theme (misinterpreted as racist, it was in fact, about the futility of killing any ethnicity), but it started to secure a small following, which grew following the release of debut album Three Imaginary Boys and non-LP single Boys Don't Cry in 1979, the latter of which would become one of The Cure's most famous songs. At that time, The Cure embarked on tour as the support for Siouxsie & the Banshees' Join Hands Tour. After the sudden departure of guitarist John McKay, Robert was recruited as guitarist for the Banshees as the band 'felt he was the only person capable of taking on the task.' As a result, Robert completed the tour playing two sets a night with The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Following this, The Cure moved from their punk leanings into the portentous post-punk territory, releasing three albums of doom-laden rock in three years, Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography, the latter of which charted inside the UK top 10, though the band were repeatedly dogged by the "Second-class Joy Division" tag. Following their third set of line-up changes, the group released Japanese Whispers, a compilation of three singles and their b-sides. Through their desire to escape the Joy Division description, the singles were a poppier effort, featuring danceable tracks like Let's Go To Bed alongside pop songs like Love Cats. Following the commercial disappointment of follow-up album The Top in 1984, The Cure returned to form with 1985's The Head On The Door. Featuring the singles In Between Days and Close To Me, The Head on the Door was distant from the band's punk roots, having more in common with successful alternative bands like The Smiths and Echo & The Bunnymen than their gloomier roots.
Two years later, the eighth studio album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was a more stadium-sized effort, though featuring audacious pop songs like Why Can't I Be You, it was seemingly caught between two styles. However, it was the band's ninth effort (following the departure of last surviving founder member other than Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst), Disintegration, that would be their greatest success, both critically and commercially. Disintegration spawned hit singles like Lullaby (no.5 in the UK), Love Song (an impressive no. 2 in the USA), Pictures of You, and Fascination Street. The album itself was a culmination of The Cure's directions through the eighties, featuring the poppier side combined with the more tender aspects, as well as the gloomier facets.
Following this, a remix compilation named Mixed Up was released in 1990, featuring one new track, Never Enough, and two years later tenth studio album Wish surfaced, which was a hit mainly from the momentum gained by Disintegration, though it also featured their most famous pop song, Friday I'm In Love (no.6 in the UK and no.18 in the US). During the years following this, the band became distracted and discouraged by the lawsuit launched by former member Lol Tolhurst, who felt he had been deprived of royalties. As a result, the 1996 album Wild Mood Swings felt unfocused, and was a critical and commercial failure, though the single Mint Car was a moderate hit.
In 1997, The Cure released the compilation Galore, featuring new song Wrong Number. Three years later, at the release of original album Bloodflowers, Robert Smith announced it would be the last album for the band, the album itself being a return to the gloomier rock of Pornography and Faith. Resultantly, another hits compilation was released in 2001. However, in 2004, the band surprised all by returning with a self-titled album, their twelfth studio album, which was a surprise hit, reaching the US Top 10, its lead single - The End of the World - becoming a modest hit on Modern Rock radio, and receiving a relatively warm reception from the press.
In May 2005, Smith fired Roger O'Donnell and Perry Bamonte from the band, along with Bamonte's brother Daryl, who had been The Cure's tour manager for many years. The remaining members of the band (Robert Smith, longtime bassist Simon Gallup and Jason Cooper) made a few appearances as a trio before it was announced that founding member Porl Thompson would be returning to The Cure.
In early 2007 the band toured Asia and Oceania, but a planned North American tour in Autumn 2007 was delayed until Spring 2008 so the band could continue recording their next album.
The band released their thirteenth album 4:13 Dream on 27 October 2008. Four singles and a remix EP called "Hypnagogic States" were releases on the 13th of each month preceding the album's release.
In 2009, Robert Smith won the Godlike Genius award at the NME Awards. On April 19, 2009, the band performed at the Coachella Festival in California.
During 2010, Robert Smith contributed songs to the soundtrack of the Tim Burton film "Alice in Wonderland" and provided guest vocals on the songs "Not in Love" by Crystal Castles and "Come to Me" by 65daysofstatic.
Between 31 May 2011 and 1 June 2011, the band performed three concerts at the Sydney Opera House performing the entirety of one of their first three albums on each night. Porl Thompson did not perform with the band at any of the concerts, but Roger O'Donnell performed with the band for the "Seventeen Seconds" and "Faith" concerts, and co-founding member Lol Tulhurst performed with the band for the first time since 1988 for the "Faith" concert. As of 2011, O'Donnell has returned to the lineup officially. In 2012, the band added former Tin Machine guitarist Reeves Gabrels to the lineup.
In 2013 The Cure started The Great Circle Tour, headlining festivals in Japan, South Korea and North America. In 2014 Robert Smith announced the upcoming release of a new album, to be called 4:14 Scream, featuring 14 songs recorded during the 4:13 Dream sessions and also an accompanying double album 4:26 Dream containing all the tracks from those sessions.
The Cure official website: www.thecure.com
The Cure official Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thecure
The Cure on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/thecure?ref=ts
The Cure - Disintegration Microsite: http://www.thecuredisintegration.com/bin/thecure
Disintegration
The Cure Lyrics
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The shameless kiss of vanity
The soft and the black and the velvety
Up tight against the side of me
And mouth and eyes and heart all bleed
And run in thickening streams of greed
As bit by bit it starts the need
I miss the kiss of treachery
The aching kiss before I feed
The stench of a love for a younger meat
And the sound that it makes when it cuts in deep
The holding up on bended knees
The addiction of duplicities
As bit by bit, it starts the need
To just let go of my party piece
But I never said I would stay to the end
So I leave you with babies and hoping for frequency
Screaming like this in the hope of the secrecy
Screaming me over and over and over
I leave you with photographs, pictures of trickery
Stains on the carpet and stains on the scenery
Songs about happiness murmured in dreams
When both of us knew how the ending would be
So it's all come back 'round to breaking apart again
Breaking apart like I'm made up of glass again
Making it up behind my back again
Holding my breath for the fear of sleep again
Holding it up behind my head again
Cut in the deep to the heart of the bone again
'Round and 'round and 'round and it's coming apart again
Over and over and over
And now that I know that I'm breaking to pieces
I'll pull out my heart and I'll feed it to anyone
I'm crying for sympathy, crocodiles cry
For the love of the crowd
And the three cheers from everyone
Dropping through sky
Through the glass of the roof
Through the roof of your mouth
Through the mouth of your eye
Through the eye of the needle
It's easier for me to get closer to Heaven
Than ever feel whole again
But I never said I would stay to the end
I knew I would leave you with babies and everything
Screaming like this in the whole of sincerity
Screaming me over and over and over
I leave you with photographs, pictures of trickery
And stains on the carpet and stains on the memory of
Songs about happiness murmured in dreams
When we both of us knew how the end always is
How the end always is
How the end always is
How the end always is
How the end always is
How the end always is
Always
Always
The lyrics to The Cure's "Disintegration" explore feelings of detachment, self-destructive behavior, and the inevitability of the end of a relationship. Lead singer Robert Smith laments the loss of the treacherous and addictive aspects of love, such as the need for vanity, duplicity, and the excitement that comes from the fear of betrayal. He expresses a sense of inevitability that comes with the knowledge that the relationship will end, and the pain that comes with knowing this before it happens.
The repetition of the phrase "I miss the kiss of treachery" emphasizes the longing for the dangerous and thrilling aspects of love, even though they ultimately lead to the end of the relationship. The lines "But I never said I would stay to the end" and "So it's all come back 'round to breaking apart again" signal a sense of inevitability and foreshadowing of the end of the relationship, despite the lingering hope for a different outcome. The final repetition of "How the end always is" serves to reinforce this sense of inevitability.
Overall, "Disintegration" is a melancholic and introspective reflection on the complexities of love, detachment, and the pain of knowing that an end is near.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, I miss the kiss of treachery
I long for the feeling of deceitful love
The shameless kiss of vanity
Passionate kisses fueled by ego and self-importance
The soft and the black and the velvety
The contrast of gentle and dark sensations
Up tight against the side of me
The intense closeness of two people entwined
And mouth and eyes and heart all bleed
The physical and emotional pain resulting from a tumultuous relationship
And run in thickening streams of greed
Desire and ambition cause hurtful actions
As bit by bit it starts the need
Slowly but surely, the craving for something different emerges
To just let go my party piece
To release the behavior or attribute that keeps the relationship going
The aching kiss before I feed
The longing for passion even if it leads to heartache
The stench of a love for a younger meat
A strong and unbalanced infatuation with someone much younger
And the sound that it makes when it cuts in deep
The pain from falling deeply in love with someone out of reach
The holding up on bended knees
Pleading and begging for love and affection
The addiction of duplicities
Being hooked on deception and multiple lovers
But I never said I would stay to the end
I never promised to be fully committed to this relationship
So I leave you with babies and hoping for frequency
I abandon you with our children and a desire for communication and connection
Screaming like this in the hope of the secrecy
Yelling and acting impulsively in the hopes of hiding something
I leave you with photographs, pictures of trickery
I depart with images and memories of deceit and lies
Stains on the carpet and stains on the scenery
Evidence of our broken relationship on the floor and in our surroundings
Songs about happiness murmured in dreams
Desperately wishing for joy and love in our sleep
When both of us knew how the ending would be
We both knew this relationship was doomed from the start
And now that I know that I'm breaking to pieces
Realizing that the end is near and the relationship is shattering
I'll pull out my heart and I'll feed it to anyone
I am emotionally drained and will give my love to anyone who wants it
I'm crying for sympathy, crocodiles cry
I am asking for pity and attention, like insincere tears from a crocodile
For the love of the crowd
I am seeking validation and acceptance from others
And the three cheers from everyone
Getting applause from everyone for leaving the relationship
Dropping through sky
Falling and losing control
Through the glass of the roof
Breaking through barriers and limitations
Through the roof of your mouth
Voice and words breaking through emotional barriers
Through the mouth of your eye
Crying and emotional release
Through the eye of the needle
Navigating a difficult path to salvation
It's easier for me to get closer to Heaven
It is easier for me to die than to feel whole again
Than ever feel whole again
I feel like my life is shattered beyond repair
How the end always is
The inevitable end of love and relationships
Always
The cyclical nature of the constant breakups and heartbreaks in life
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Boris Williams, Laurence Andrew Tolhurst, Porl Thompson, Robert James Smith, Roger O'donnell, Simon Gallup
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind