Between holding other artists accountable for their ticket prices to outlining a retirement plan, Robert Smith is as endearing now as he was when The Cure first began.
But when asked whether the band would exist without him, he gave an honest and blunt answer. “It wouldn’t exist without me,” he once told Damien Love. Dig a little deeper and the comment is understandable. Smith has been the one constant member of The Cure, a band which has maintained its quality across several decades despite massive changes to their line-up. In-fighting, lawsuits, and a nearly 20-year wait for new material has all paid off though as Smith prepares the group for one final push before he retires in 2029.
Though there’s a little more time before Smith bows out from his on-stage duties, the veteran performer did once suggest if it weren’t for him, The Cure wouldn’t be the household name it is today. The band has enjoyed a successful European tour this year, playing shows in Cardiff, Manchester, and Madrid.
While there are no publicly available notices for the band’s plans for 2027, Smith did once say the band wouldn’t be where it is today without him. It’s hard to disagree, too. Although he noted the importance he had in holding the band together, Smith stopped short of calling himself the sole reason it worked. The constant line-up changes may have been headache-inducing at the time, but it’s what makes The Cure such a special band.
He told Love back in 1996: “Well, it wouldn’t exist without me. That’s just a fact. But, at the same time: I’m not the Cure. I’ve always worked in a band set-up, because that’s how I feel most comfortable. And depending on who’s in the band at different times, it affects what the music sounds like. If the dynamic’s different, if the relationship’s different, it affects how the band performs.
“And also, the other people in the group do bring ideas along with them, they don’t just kind of sit there – in the old days, I used to tell everyone what to do and what to play, but since about 1987, everyone’s had much more of an input, which is good. I was getting fed up of having to do it all on my own, anyway. Everyone kind of gets involved in different levels in different areas.”
The one constant for The Cure then is a “trust” in where Smith wants to take the band. He has hinted at a few projects coming up for the band, but their most recent studio album, Songs of a Lost World, still feels like an ambitious and bold mix for the band.
Smith continued: “But, essentially, the others trust my judgment. If they give me a bunch of demos and I say, ‘No, I don’t like this, and I don’t like this,’ they don’t ask me why, they don’t ask me to explain myself. They realise that what The Cure is, is kind of based on my instincts and my feelings, and in that sense it is me…but they’re not a ‘backing band.’ Particularly when we’re playing, I do feel like part of a band, not like the leader of a band.”
It may be why Smith is yet to play a solo show. He performed The Lovecats as part of a Christmas-themed Eventim Apollo show hosted by Brian Cox and Robin Ince, but has not played a full show without The Cure. That is unlikely to change as The Cure and Smith look set to retire in 2029.
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
