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
Heroin Face
The Cure Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Death is an honour with doubts
So you live in the end
And you mistrust the start
Because you don't think it counts
But you'll pay for yourself
You'll pay for yourself
You're just a heroin face
You see a heroin face in the mirror
And someone is clutching your breath
And you believe in the needle of night
You're only doing your best
But you'll pay for yourself
You'll pay for yourself
You believe in the needle of night
And someone is clutching your breath
So you mistrust the start
By always running away
But you'll never come back
You're just a heroin face
Heroin face
The lyrics to The Cure's "Heroin Face" describe the struggles of addiction and the sense of hopelessness that often accompanies it. The opening lines "Spit out the shout of a warning / Death is an honour with doubts" suggest that there is a warning being issued to someone about the dangers of addiction. However, the line "Death is an honour with doubts" implies that death may seem like a relieving alternative to the pain of addiction, yet there are doubts about whether it truly is an honourable escape.
The theme of mistrust and doubt continues throughout the song, as the singer is depicted as mistrusting the beginning of anything and only believing in the "needle of night" - the comfort of drugs - to get through life. The repetition of the lines "But you'll pay for yourself / You'll pay for yourself" serves as a powerful reminder that the consequences of addiction will ultimately catch up with the person, and they will have to pay the price for their choices.
At its core, "Heroin Face" is a melancholy reminder of the destructive power of addiction, and the way it can completely warp a person's sense of themselves and the world around them. The repetition of the phrase "heroin face" adds to this sense of despair - the idea that the drug has taken over the person's entire identity until all that's left is the physical manifestation of their addiction.
Line by Line Meaning
Spit out the shout of a warning
To warn others of impending danger
Death is an honour with doubts
Death can be seen as honorable but with uncertainty
So you live in the end
Someone lives their life as if they are already at the end
And you mistrust the start
Distrusting the beginning of something
Because you don't think it counts
Believing that something has no value or significance
But you'll pay for yourself
Facing the consequences of one's actions
You're just a heroin face
Someone addicted to heroin
You see a heroin face in the mirror
Seeing the consequences of heroin addiction on oneself
And someone is clutching your breath
Feeling suffocated or strangled by addiction
And you believe in the needle of night
Believing in the effect of heroin to escape from reality
You're only doing your best
Trying as hard as possible
By always running away
Escaping from problems or difficulties
But you'll never come back
The addiction will keep one from returning to a healthy life
You believe in the needle of night
Continuing to believe in the effects of heroin
And someone is clutching your breath
Feeling as if one's addiction is suffocating them
So you mistrust the start
Distrusting the beginning of sobriety or recovery
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LAURENCE ANDREW TOLHURST, ROBERT JAMES SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Janique Vaillot
The early days of The CURE. They were so young. It was before the fame ! With A Forest and more. They changed their style and then They became The great band we all know !
Doc Savage
And then they ran out of ideas circa 1993
skiggy007
Wow, they've certainly changed up their style since then.That song is straight up old school punk rock, but now they are classified as post-punk.
DeadlyCreatures
Love the raw sound of this classic song!
Adilson TOLDOS
jamais resistirá uma banda melhor que essa
Darkstardeb
This is wonderful!! I LOVE it
Modsleix 6
Man I haven't heard this since high school on a used and abused tape of "Curiosity". Awesome...
DJ Cat Ma
That cassette now runs from $60 plus dollars, used, on Amazon. I still have mine! I heart it so much, but afraid to play it too much now.
Аясніё Моояэ
Wish there was footage of them playing this! Would love to see it.
Jay Shinez
I’m just starting to dig into some of the older stuff in these guys catalog & damn they were ahead of their times!