Who are The Cure, when did they first headline Glastonbury and are they still touring?
THE CURE, fronted by Robert Smith, became the poster boys for emerging gothic rock when they first made their debut in the 1970s.
And the legendary band closed Glastonbury festival 2019 when they took to the Pyramid Stage on June 30. We take a look back at their history and what critics thought of their performance.
Who are The Cure?
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley in 1976.
The group have had several line-up changes, with vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member.
The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s with their debut album Three Imaginary Boys (1979).
This, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of the post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up in the wake of the UK's punk rock revolution.
During the early 1980s, the band's increasingly dark music became the backdrop for the emerging gothic rock era.
They had four UK top 10 singles - The Love Cats, Lullaby, High and Friday I'm in Love.
Their album Wish hit the No1 spot in 1992.
What were the reviews for The Cure's set at Glastonbury?
The Cure's explosive set received rave reviews from fans and critics alike.
The Independent gave the band's performance a perfect five stars, describing it as "exquisite" and commenting that the set served as "a strange and mesmerising spectacle that reminds us, before we head back to reality, that the world’s greatest glories will always belong to the weirdos."
While The Guardian gave their performance four out of five stars and the publication's
Alexis Petridis said: "Listening to them play, you’re struck by the fact that they pulled off the trick of traversing a huge musical distance.
"From the taut post-punk of A Forest to the diseased-sounding psychedelia of Shake Dog Shake to the selection of more-or-less pure pop tracks that forms the set’s final 30 minutes .
"While always sounding exactly like the Cure."
And The List described the finishing set as a "stunning headline performance" that "wowed the crowds."
What did The Cure play at Glastonbury in 1986?
The band headlined Glastonbury on Sunday, June 30, closing the weekend long fun at the festival.
In 2018 The Cure celebrated 40 years at British Summer Time in Hyde Park.
And fans suspected that the setlist from that gig would give insight into what they'd play at Glasto - but they performed a completely different set.
The band played these songs in this order:
- Shake Dog Shake
- Play For Today
- Kyoto Song
- Primary
- Charlotte Sometimes
- A Strange Day
- In Between Days
- The Walk
- A Night Like This
- One Hundred Years
- Push
- A Forest
- Sinking
- Encore 1: Close To Me/ Let’s Go To Bed
- Encore 2: Give Me It / Boys Don’t Cry
- Encore 3: Faith / Pornography
When did The Cure first headline Glastonbury?
Following the success of their 1985 album The Head On The Door and its singles Close To Me and In Between Days, the following year saw The Cure’s first headline appearance at the famous festival.
Next time they headlined was in 1990.
But the last time they were at the big event was in 1995.
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Are The Cure touring?
The Cure are just performing at European festivals in 2019.
The closest to home is Glastonbury and then the Glasgow Summer Sessions on August 16, 2019.
You can find out more on their website.