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
Labyrinth
The Cure Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Say it's the same stars streaming in the same night
Tell me it's the same world whirling through the same space
Tell me it's the same time tripping through the same day
So say it's the same house and nothing in the house has changed
Yeah say it's the same room and nothing in the room is strange
Oh tell me it's the same boy burning in the same bed
Tell me it's the same blood breaking in the same head
Say it's the same taste taking down the same kiss
Say it's the same you
Say it's the same you and it's always been like this
Say it's the same you
Say it's the same you and it always and forever is
Say it's the same you
Say it's the same you and it's always been like this
Say it's the same you
Say it's the same you and it always and forever is
Say it's the same you
Say it's the same you
Yeah tell me it's all the same
This is how it's always been
But if nothing has changed
Then it must mean
But the sun is cold, the sky is wrong
The stars are black, the night is gone
The world is still, the space is stopped
The time is out, the day is dropped
The house is dark, the room is scarred
The boy is stiff, the bed is hard
The blood is thick, the head is burst
The taste is dry, the kiss is thirst
And it's not the same you
It's not the same you
No it never was like this
It's not the same you
It's not the same you and it never really is
It's not the same you
It's not the same you
No it never was like this
It's not the same you
It's not the same you and it never really is
It's not the same you
It's not the same you
Oh it's not the same
This isn't how it's always been
Everything has to have changed
Or it's me
The lyrics of The Cure’s song Labyrinth are quite enigmatic, but they seem to revolve around the theme of change and the difficulty of accepting it. The song starts with a series of statements that are meant to confirm that everything is the same as it has always been: the sun, the stars, the world, the time, the house, the room, the boy, the blood, the taste, the kiss, and the “you”. However, as the song progresses, it becomes evident that things are not the same, and that the singer is struggling with a sense of dislocation and alienation. The second part of the song is a litany of negations, in which the singer contradicts everything he or she has said before: the sun is cold, the sky is wrong, the stars are black, the night is gone, the world is still, the space is stopped, the time is out, the day is dropped, the house is dark, the room is scarred, the boy is stiff, the bed is hard, the blood is thick, the head is burst, the taste is dry, the kiss is thirst. The only thing that remains is the feeling that “it’s not the same you”, and that everything has changed except for the singer himself or herself.
The overall effect of the song is quite haunting and unsettling, as it seems to suggest that the singer is trapped in a place where everything is the same but different, or where everything has changed except for his or her own sense of self. The references to a “labyrinth” in the title and elsewhere in the lyrics reinforce this sense of being lost or trapped, and suggest that the singer is struggling to find a way out of this confusing and disorienting situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Say it's the same sun spinning in the same sky
Ask me to believe that everything is identical, that nothing has changed
Say it's the same stars streaming in the same night
Ask me again to believe that everything is the same as it always was
Tell me it's the same world whirling through the same space
Convince me that everything is constant and fixed in place
Tell me it's the same time tripping through the same day
Reassure me that time is an unchanging constant
So say it's the same house and nothing in the house has changed
Imply that nothing in my life has changed or shifted
Yeah say it's the same room and nothing in the room is strange
Make me believe that I remain stagnant and unchanging
Oh tell me it's the same boy burning in the same bed
Ask me to believe that the person I once was still exists trapped within me
Tell me it's the same blood breaking in the same head
Imply that I am still the same inside, despite any external changes
Say it's the same taste taking down the same kiss
Claim that nothing has changed in my relationships or my feelings
Say it's the same you
Continuously suggest that I am the same person as before
Say it's the same you and it's always been like this
Assume that I will always be the same person, without change or growth
Say it's the same you and it always and forever is
Assume that I am unchanging and not capable of evolving
Yeah tell me it's all the same
Reiterate this belief that nothing is different or new
This is how it's always been
Imply that everything has always been constant and immutable
But if nothing has changed
Suggest that something is wrong, and that perhaps things have changed
Then it must mean
Imply that something has changed, and that things are no longer the same
But the sun is cold, the sky is wrong
Reveal that things are actually different, and that the world is not as it once was
The stars are black, the night is gone
Suggest that the darkness and mystery of my past is gone
The world is still, the space is stopped
Imply that everything has gone still, and that there is no more movement in the world
The time is out, the day is dropped
Suggest that time has run out, and that there is no more possibility for change
The house is dark, the room is scarred
Imply that something about my environment has changed, and that it is no longer the same as before
The boy is stiff, the bed is hard
Suggest that I am changed or affected by something, and that the world around me reflects this
The blood is thick, the head is burst
Suggest that I am carrying a heavy emotional burden, or that something is seriously wrong with me
The taste is dry, the kiss is thirst
Suggest that I am no longer experiencing the passionate or satisfying moments of my past
And it's not the same you
Finally admit that I am not the same person, and that things have changed within me
It's not the same you and it never really is
Acknowledging the fact that people are always changing and evolving, no matter how impossible it may seem
This isn't how it's always been
Admit that my life has changed, and that I am not the same person as before
Everything has to have changed
Reaffirming that change is inevitable, and that it is essential for growth and progress
Or it's me
Suggesting that perhaps it is within myself that the change has occurred, and that it is an internal shift
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBERT JAMES SMITH, SIMON GALLUP, ROGER O'DONNELL, PERRY BAMONTE, JASON TOOP COOPER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind