2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

80 • UNCUT • JULY 2019

year!We’ddoneanawfullotoftouringbytheendof

1980,sowedidn’tgetanyopportunitytobeathomeand

write– notevenonthelittleorganorharmoniuminthe

hallway.SoforFaithwethoughtwe’dbooka studio,see

whathappens.Thatbecamea drawn-outprocess;we

endeduphoppingrounddifferentstudiosinLondon.

Faithwassodisparateinsomeways,butthenthetitle

trackpulledit alltogetherforme.I remembermakingthat

andthinking,‘Wow.’Lyrically,I wassohappy with how it

turnedout,it’ssucha strongstatement.

Lifeimitatesart,andartimitateslife,andourliveshad

becomequiteintense.Wewereontheroada lot,several

peoplehaddiedthatwereclosetous,likeRobert’s

grandmaandmymum,sowehada lotofmaterial,

emotionally,tostartthingsoff.Matthieulefthalfway

throughtheSeventeenSecondstour,sowewerebackto

a three-piece.A lotoftheearlyCurestuffis likea diary,

whathappenedinourlivesis thereintherecords.So

lookingback,there’slittlesurprisethatFaithcameout

thewayit did.Werewedepressed?I thinkmostpeople

growingupinthattimehadtobedepressed!It wasstill

post-war.Thesupermarketsonlyhadeggs,breadand

cheese– it waslikeEasternEurope.Therewasthethree-

dayweek.WewereinHollandwhenIanCurtisdied– it was

surrealhearingabouthisdeathina placewhereeverything

was a little more open, a little brighter, a little freer.

T

HEthingaboutacidis,if yourememberwhenyou

startedusingit,youprobablydidn’tstartusingit.

Weallhadourownexperiences,butit wasprobably

morehelpfulforRobertthanit everwasforme.I remember

thefirstPornographysessions.SometimesRobertwouldbe

ina verystrangeplaceinthestudio,soI’dtellourengineer

andco-producerPhilThornalley,“Maybewewon’trecord

today,we’llgohomeandseeyouina dayortwo...”The

thingthatblowsmymindwasthatPhilwasstone-cold

sobermostofthetime.Withusinthestudio,hemusthave

thoughthe’denteredDante’sInferno,becausethethreeof

us...it wasquiteinsane.ChrisParrydidn’tcome down the

studiomuchforthatalbum,I cantellyou.

Pornography was the most extreme-sounding album

W

ITHSeventeenSeconds, wewereexcited

tobeabletodosomethingthatfelt

artisticallycorrect.Hedgesdecided

thathe’dmiceverydrumsoit haditsownspace,

thenwe’dfillthespacewithelectronics.It was

revolutionary.Welikeddoingit – it mademesound

great!Atthatpoint,if you’daskedRobertif he’d

prefertoplaya wholeselectionofchordsorone

chordfor 15 minutes,he’dhavesaidonechordfor 15

minutes.Thatwashowhefeltaboutthings– the

simplicityofeverything,keepingit veryminimalist.

WehadencounteredWireabouta yearbeforehand.

Iwasverystruckbytheirpresentation,theway

everythingwasveryblackandwhite,verystark.We

thought,‘OK,we’renotquitethesame, but we have

somethingsimilargoingon.’

WemadeourdebutonTopOfThePopswith“A

Forest”.We’djustbeentoAmericaforthefirsttime,

andweweredrivingaroundBostononRobert’s21st

birthday,thenightbeforeweweregoingtocome

home.Thetyreneededchangingat4am,sowegot

outofthecartodoit,butRobert’sthumbgotstuck

betweenthehubcapandthetyre...Atthattimein

themorning,hewasn’tfeelinganypain– buthefelt

it thenextdayontheplaneasweflewback.If you

lookcloselyatthatfirstTOTP, youcanseethishuge

bandagegoingupanddownRobert’sfretboard!

Theshowmighthavebeenaninstitutionwhenwe

weregrowingup,butit wasa bitofa letdownwhen

wesawhowit worked.Theylockyouina roomwith

about 20 peopleandmakeyougothroughthesong

a milliontimes.Thetroublewithbeingina band,

especiallya bandlikeTheCure,is thatif youput

youngmen,whoareusuallya littleextreme,in

extremesituations,theyreact.Youaskthemto

sitdownandbowtotheBBCfor 10 hoursbefore

they’reletouttoperform,it’sgoingtobedifficult–

especiallywithdrink.It’snotsurprisingit gotworse.

IbelieveTheCurehavestartedmakinga new

albumnow,it’sbeenmorethan 10 yearssince4:13

Dream. But back then we were doing an album a

Three:in Amsterdam,

October17,1980,a

fewweeksaftera

backstagebust-up

downunderandthe

departureofkeys

player Matthieu Hartley

RoB VERHoRST/REDFERNS