How does a band famous for gloom end up with some of the most joyful pop songs of the ’80s? Ask the Cure. Robert Smith’s band has spent more than four decades swinging between the two, with haunting melodies, shimmering guitars and atmospheric keyboards, and that swing is what makes them one of the most loved groups new wave ever produced.
From Crawley post-punk to Fiction Records
The Cure formed in Crawley, West Sussex, in 1978, after starting life as Easy Cure. They signed to Fiction Records, and their debut album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979), was minimal post-punk: angular guitars and introspective lyrics. “10:15 Saturday Night” was an early favorite, and “Boys Don’t Cry”, released as a single on its own before turning up on later editions of the album, became one of the defining songs of the new wave era.
The dark trilogy that invented a sound
In the early ’80s Smith steered the band somewhere darker. Seventeen Seconds (1980), Faith (1981) and Pornography (1982) are what fans call the dark trilogy: slow, atmospheric records that made the Cure pioneers of gothic rock and shaped a generation of post-punk and alternative bands.
Then Robert Smith wrote pop songs
Nobody saw it coming. The Top (1984) and The Head on the Door (1985) brought brighter melodies and wider influences, and “In Between Days” and “Close to Me” found a whole new audience without losing the emotional weight. In 1987 the ambitious double album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me gave them international hits in “Just Like Heaven”, “Why Can’t I Be You?” and “Hot Hot Hot!!!”. “Just Like Heaven” is now one of the most celebrated alternative songs ever recorded, and a cornerstone of new wave radio.
Disintegration, the one many fans call their best
Disintegration (1989) wraps lush synthesizers and long, slow arrangements around some of Smith’s most personal songs: “Lovesong”, “Pictures of You”, “Lullaby”, “Fascination Street” and “Plainsong”. Critics and fans regularly name it the Cure’s greatest record, and one of the great gothic and alternative albums of all time.
Is The Cure new wave?
Yes, and more. The Cure began in post-punk, scored new wave pop hits through the mid-’80s, and became a cornerstone of gothic and alternative rock. If you heard “Just Like Heaven” on the radio in 1987, you heard new wave. If you heard Pornography, you heard post-punk at its darkest.
The ’90s and beyond
Wish (1992) became one of their biggest sellers, with “Friday I’m in Love” and “High”. Then came Wild Mood Swings (1996), Bloodflowers (2000), The Cure (2004), 4:13 Dream (2008) and, after a 16-year wait, Songs of a Lost World (2024). Through every era, Smith has kept changing while the band still sounds like nobody else.
The Cure by the numbers
- More than 30 million records sold worldwide
- 14 studio albums
- Platinum and Gold records around the world
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019
Their music runs across new wave, post-punk, gothic rock, alternative rock, dream pop and indie, and you can hear them in the Smashing Pumpkins, Interpol, the Killers, M83 and many more.
The essential Cure songs
“Boys Don’t Cry” · “A Forest” · “Charlotte Sometimes” · “The Lovecats” · “In Between Days” · “Close to Me” · “Just Like Heaven” · “Why Can’t I Be You?” · “Lovesong” · “Pictures of You” · “Lullaby” · “Fascination Street” · “Plainsong” · “Friday I’m in Love” · “High”
The essential Cure albums
Three Imaginary Boys (1979) · Seventeen Seconds (1980) · Faith (1981) · Pornography (1982) · The Head on the Door (1985) · Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987) · Disintegration (1989) · Wish (1992) · Bloodflowers (2000) · Songs of a Lost World (2024)
New to the Cure? Start here
Begin with the singles: the Staring at the Sea collection (1986) runs from their earliest post-punk singles to “Close to Me”, and you’ll hear the band change in real time. Then play Disintegration start to finish, ideally late at night with the lights low. If you still want more, go back to Seventeen Seconds and “A Forest”. By then you’ll understand why their fans wear black and grin at the same time.
Like the Cure? Try these next
- Echo & the Bunnymen: atmospheric post-punk and “The Killing Moon”
- Siouxsie and the Banshees: the other founders of new wave’s dark side
- Joy Division: the post-punk band everyone traces back to
- New Order: what Joy Division became on the dance floor
- Depeche Mode: dark themes, unforgettable melodies
- The Smiths: Manchester’s poets of jangling guitar
- The Chameleons: cult favorites with shimmering guitars
- Talk Talk: synth-pop hitmakers turned art-rock innovators
- Peter Gabriel: atmospheric production and emotional storytelling
- Simple Minds: cinematic Scottish new wave
- Cocteau Twins: ethereal voices and dream-pop textures
- The Psychedelic Furs: “Love My Way” and “Pretty in Pink”
Hear The Cure on New Wave Radio
From “A Forest” to “Friday I’m in Love”, they’re never far from the playlist. Request your favorite, and see how they shaped what came next in New Wave vs Alternative Rock.
Official links: thecure.com · Facebook · Instagram · YouTube · Spotify
