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
Possession
The Cure Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Grows inside of my trepidation
Buries his claws in my dislocation
I whisper your name to lose control
I take a step and over my shoulder
His roll-white eyes shine wilder and bolder
His snow-white thighs press closer and colder
Murmur in me to let him go
Fills me up with my intoxication
Sinks his teeth in my deviation
Suffering me to lose control
Hold my mouth, taste his breath
Hissing, breathing are the same
Snakes its sound inside my head
Sickening me to let him go
I take a step and over my shoulder
His pain-white eyes shine wilder and bolder
His stain-white thighs press closer and colder
Murdering me to let him go
I try to resist the gruesome kiss
I twist to deny the blood-hot bliss
But I always feel myself becoming him
And the last thing I remember
It isn't me, it isn't me, it isn't me
But then it never is...
The lyrics of The Cure's song Possession paint a vivid picture of a person being consumed by a darker and more primal version of themselves. The "other one" referred to in the song represents this alternate personality that grows stronger and more dominating the more the singer hesitates and feels unsure. This personality is described as having "roll-white eyes" and "snow-white thighs" that press closer and colder, conveying a sense of dread and fear. The singer tries to resist this darker self and the "gruesome kiss" that comes with it, but eventually succumbs, losing control and becoming one with the other.
The lyrics suggest a struggle between the singer's conscious self and their primal instincts, a theme that is common in The Cure's music. The language used throughout the song is rich with metaphors and imagery, evoking a sense of unease and discomfort. The repetition of the phrase "it isn't me" at the end of the song suggests a sense of disassociation from the darker aspects of the singer's personality or possibly the sense of inevitability, that they can never escape this darker self.
Line by Line Meaning
The other one feeds on my hesitation
An inner force inside the singer's mind gains strength from their indecisiveness and fear of taking action
Grows inside of my trepidation
This force gradually increases as the singer becomes more hesitant and uncertain
Buries his claws in my dislocation
The force metaphorically sinks its claws into the singer's confused and disoriented mental state
I whisper your name to lose control
In an attempt to break free from this force, the artist tries to focus on someone or something outside of themselves, but it only serves to make them feel more helpless
I take a step and over my shoulder
The artist tries to move forward, but they feel a dark presence following them
His roll-white eyes shine wilder and bolder
The force becomes more powerful and threatening as the singer tries to escape it
His snow-white thighs press closer and colder
The force closes in on the singer, making them feel numb and helpless
Murmur in me to let him go
The artist hears a voice urging them to give in to the force and let it take control
The other one thrives on my desperation
The force gains even more strength from the artist's growing sense of desperation and hopelessness
Fills me up with my intoxication
The force makes the artist feel delirious and out of control
Sinks his teeth in my deviation
The force latches onto the singer's sense of being different or separate from others
Suffering me to lose control
The force wants the artist to succumb to its power and give up control
Hold my mouth, taste his breath
The singer feels like they are suffocating and being forced to breathe in the force's toxic energy
Hissing, breathing are the same
The singer feels like they are in the presence of something both threatening and enticing
Snakes its sound inside my head
The force's influence becomes more and more pervasive, invading the singer's thoughts and feelings
Sickening me to let him go
The artist feels physically ill at the thought of giving in to the force's control
I take a step and over my shoulder
The artist tries to escape the force again, but it continues to pursue them
His pain-white eyes shine wilder and bolder
The force is even more menacing and dangerous than before
His stain-white thighs press closer and colder
The force seems to have a physical presence, and it makes the singer feel even more trapped and powerless
Murdering me to let him go
The force is so strong that it feels like it is killing the artist's sense of self, forcing them to give in
I try to resist the gruesome kiss
The artist tries to refuse the force's embrace and its influence on their thoughts and actions
I twist to deny the blood-hot bliss
Despite the artist's resistance, there is something undeniably seductive and pleasurable about the force's influence
But I always feel myself becoming him
Ultimately, the force is too strong to resist, and the singer gives in completely, losing themselves to its power
And the last thing I remember
The artist's sense of self is completely lost, and their memories of their previous life and identity begin to fade
It isn't me, it isn't me, it isn't me
The singer feels like they are no longer themselves, but are instead a pawn of the force that has taken control of them
But then it never is...
The singer reflects on how they have lost themselves before, and have always struggled to regain their sense of identity and control
Contributed by Mila K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.