october 1997
curenews 18
hello
well... it's been a long wait, but finally i'm back with curenews 18. this issue has been put together as quickly as possible to bring you up to date with what's been happening, along with news about future 'cure' things...
first of all i must apologise for the lack of pictures in this issue; i have decided not to include any 'out of date' photo sessions from last year... hopefully by the time of the next issue i should have lots of new pictures to include along with any news i may have...
so what's been happening...
following last year's 'swing tour' the cure took a well earned rest. then the band began the new year 'upgrading' the official internet website www.thecure.com, spending long hours changing its original look... it was relaunched on robert's birthday (21 april) with critical acclaim! if you haven't had a look around the site yet, it's well worth it... the band even drop in for a chat from time to time! many features within the 'house' include 'new plans', 'the conservatory' where fans can meet each other, 'the kitchen' with wonderful yummy(?) things to cook, and 'up the stairs' each band member has their own room which they decorate themselves! there are also competitions, exclusives and stories from the band, and many other rooms to explore... i have included the recent 'cure plans' section from the website in this issue for those of you who haven't had the chance to check out the cure site, which also posts current and future news.
over the last few months fans looking in also had the chance to purchase a limited edition (5000 only) numbered cd entitled 'five swing live'. (details below) and take a vote on the design of a forthcoming 'mouse mat' again available exclusively through the website...
by the time you receive this issue of curenews, back issues will also be available within the 'cure house site' for all to read and look over, past publications since 1987 making way for all future curenews issues to be included on the internet as well...
five swing live songs recorded at birmingham, sheffield and manchester, swing tour 1996.
cd - fixcd.com - want / club america / mint car / trap / treasure
in early summer the cure were invited to headline two californian radio festivals on the 13 / 14 june... the first stop was just outside san francisco at the 'mountain view, shoreline amphitheatre' san francisco for 'the beach ball - live 105 bfd4 radio'. other acts included 'blur', 'wallflowers', 'echo & the bunnymen', 'erasure' and many more. the second show took place at 'irvine meadows amphitheatre' 'kroq radio weenie roast' orange county, california. other bands also on the bill were 'oasis', 'chemical brothers', 'blur', 'offspring', 'radiohead', 'echo & the bunnymen' and many more. for further information on the trip, roger has written an excellent diary on the website... i was unable to attend the shows but chris took a last minute flight to catch the concerts and told me he had a great but very tiring time...
songs played at these concerts were as follows:
june 13 - mountain view, shoreline amphitheatre, ca. usa
want, club america, fascination street, lullaby, high, just like heaven, treasure, in between days, never enough, prayers for rain, edge of the deep green sea, shiver and shake, disintegration, love song, friday i'm in love, boys don't cry, why can't i be you, a forest, 10.15 saturday night, killing an arab.
june 14 - irvine meadows amphitheatre, ca. usa
want, club america, fascination street, lullaby, high, just like heaven, treasure, in between days, never enough, prayers for rain, edge of the deep green sea, shiver and shake, disintegration, love song, friday i'm in love, boys don't cry, a forest, 10.15 saturday night, killing an arab.
on their return from the californian concerts the cure went into 'park gate studios', east sussex at the end of july to demo new songs and then record a brand new track entitled 'wrong number' at whitfield street studios, london. the song features david bowie's guitarist 'reeves gabrels' and sound engineer 'mark plati'. also in attendance were guest backing vocalists 'andrea & angela'... a number of mixes were produced by 'robert smith, 'mark saunders', 'adrian sherwood', 'transparent sound' 'omid nourizadeh' and 'mark plati'... the new song will feature on the cure's forthcoming singles compilation entitled 'galore' - the singles 1987-1997.
the single will be released in the europe and a bit later in the uk, followed by the worldwide release of 'galore'...
details of the u.k single are as follows:-
12" vinyl - ficsx54
wrong number (single mix) / wrong number (dub analogue exchange mix)
wrong number (engaged mix) / wrong number (p2p mix)
wrong number (digital exchange mix)
cd single - ficd54
wrong number (single mix) / wrong number (analogue exchange mix)
wrong number (p2p mix) / wrong number (crossed line mix)
wrong number (isdn mix)
cassette single - ficc54
wrong number (single mix) / wrong number (analogue exchange mix)
wrong number (isdn mix) / wrong number (crossed line mix)
wrong number (p2p mix)
album details:-
galore - the singles 1987-1997
why can't i be you / catch / just like heaven / hot hot hot / lullaby / fascination street / lovesong / pictures of you / never enough / close to me (closer mix) / high / friday i'm in love / a letter to elise / the13th / mint car / strange attraction / gone! / wrong number.
(u.k details) - vinyl lp - fixlp30 / cd - fixcd30 / mc - fixcd30
the video for 'wrong number' which will also be part of the 'galore' video single collection 1987-97, was filmed on 11 and 12 september at 'castle studios' in south london, directed by long time cure collaborator 'tim pope'. lots of footage was filmed over the two day shoot which included 'robert' getting married in an american wedding scene, a zombie scene which included a number of real snakes (including a 12 foot python!) - tim pope also put the band through further pain by creating a rather dirty, dusty disused house effect which ended up with robert and the band looking like extras from michael jackson's 'thriller' video!
on the 1 september 'xfm 104.9' london's only alternative radio station went on air; keen to take part in the launch the cure decided to hijack the station's airwaves the friday before. what took place was a mammoth 5 1/2 hour show in which robert, roger, jason and perry dj'd and played their favourite songs and premiered 2 versions of the new single 'wrong number'. simon was unable to attend the party as he had fallen off his bike and injured himself; he is fine now!
finally, the cure have contributed the only songs on the soundtrack of the new 'mike leigh' film 'career girls' which are:- 'the lovecats', 'the walk', 'the caterpillar', 'the upstairs room', 'just one kiss', 'let's go to bed'.
please send your questions to the band, photos, trivia, cure experiences or anything else of interest to me so that i am able to continue this service. you can also e-mail me at thecure@thecure.com i will also make sure that any letters or gifts that you send get passed onto the band...
thanks to everyone who helped me with this issue: nick, ita and also a thanks to daryl, brian, everyone else at fiction records, andy vella, the cure and anyone else i have missed out who has shown an interest... i will be back very soon with more news
love
chris