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