More about: The Cure
The band will be supporting the icons on their entire world tour
Most fans simply have to make do with adoring their favourite bands from afar, but in this instance, The Twilight Sad may be one of the luckiest bands on the planet. Not only did The Cure's Robert Smith record a spine-chilling cover of 'There's A Girl In The Corner', but he personally handpicked them to support them on the entire of their world arena tour.
There's no such thing as a 'typical' setlist by The Cure - all you can expect is for the show be loaded with classics and fan favourites, for it to change every night and for it to span at least a few hours. They remain one of the greatest bands of all time.
With this in mind, naturally the Gigwise favourites The Twilight Sad found it really rather difficult to choose just 10 of their all time most essential songs by the band, but we thank frontman James Graham and guitarist Andy MacFarlane for giving it their best shot.
"Trying to pick your top 10 songs by The Cure is impossible, but here are 10 from our long list of favourite ones," said Andy. Good luck...
ANDY MACFARLANE:
‘At Night’
"This is one of those songs I wish I had written for The Twilight Sad. Even though it was released four years before I was born, it sounds like it could have been written and recorded yesterday. It's been sounding amazing when they have been playing it on this tour."
‘A Night Like This’
"When we were touring No One Can Ever Know (known as 'the disastour'), I would listen to The Head On The Door a lot, especially this song. Even though it reminds me of a shite time, I still think it's such a great song."
‘Disintegration’
"The chords and melodies in this song are so well-written and arranged, I've tried to rip it off many times but not came close to doing anything half as good."
‘All I Want’
"I used to always soundcheck with this song."
‘Fire In Cairo’
"They've written so many catchy pop songs, and this is a good example of that. It's a good one to put on down the pub."
JAMES GRAHAM:
‘Pictures Of You’
"This isn't just one of my favourite Cure songs, it's one of my favourite songs of all time. It has everything I'd want to capture in one song. I listen to it on my good days and it makes me feel even better. I listen to it on my bad days and it makes me think of people in my life I've lost or miss, which is ultimately a good thing as I like to remember them. Also, good things usually come out of my bad days. Getting to listen to it live every night so far on tour has been very special."
‘Lullaby’
"Disintegration was the first record I bought by The Cure. I was five when it was released and I didn't hear it until I was in high school. The first time I listened to it I felt like I knew all the songs already. What can I say about this song that hasn't been said before....nothing...it is brilliant."
‘Primary’
"As I said, Disintegration was the first record I bought by The Cure (Andy always winds me up and says it was The Greatest Hits). After that I worked my way back and bought the earlier albums. I've been listening to Faith a lot recently. This choice was either between ‘All Cats Are Grey’ or ‘Primary’. The reason I picked ‘Primary’ was that they played it the other night and it was perfect."
‘The Hanging Garden’
"A month before we came out on tour I listened to Pornography at least three times a week. It reminds of the time we were writing our second record, it wasn't my favourite time of my life and listening to Pornography helped which sounds strange as it’s considered The Cure's darkest album but I'm weird like that. Looking back, I think our second record (Forget The Night Ahead) is our darkest sounding record...which now makes sense."
‘A Forest’
"We come from a couple of small villages in Scotland called Kilsyth and Banton. When we were around 17 or 18, we started to go into Glasgow for nights out and we discovered indie discos. Before that we'd go to someone’s house or up the hills to drink and listen our favourite bands. I remember being in an indie disco for the first time and seeing people dancing and loving the songs that we would listen to at home. Nobody our age where we're from really listened to the same kind of music as us, so it was amazing to see people react to the music we loved in this way. ‘A Forest’ was a song I remember seeing people losing their minds to."
The Cure's full upcoming UK tour dates are below. Support on all dates comes from the incredible Gigwise favourites, The Twilight Sad. Tickets are on sale now and are available here.
The Cure will play:
Tue November 29 2016 - MANCHESTER Arena
Thu December 01 2016 - LONDON SSE Arena, Wembley
Fri December 02 2016 - LONDON SSE Arena, Wembley
Sat December 03 2016 - LONDON SSE Arena, Wembley
12. 'Lovecats' - It's a timeless classic, highly evocative of 80's Britain and a staple on any decent indie disco dancefloor. it also has a great Dexys Midnight Runners feel to it. but with that brilliant dark Cure delicious twist.
11. 'Friday I'm In Love' - Surely the ultimate weekend song, 'Friday I'm In Love' puts a tear in your eye and a spring in your step from the moment the jangly guitar riff first kicks in. It's hardly The Cure's most complex lyrical output, but perfectly suited to the song's sheer, almost childlike joy.
10. 'Boys Don't Cry' - With an opening riff so brilliantly recognisable that The Libertines spent an entire career trying to recreate it, 'Boys Don't Cry' drips with irony - an irony no-one could pull off with the same panache as the theatrically androgynous Robert Smith.
9. 'In Between Days': An electrifying drum roll to kick off one of The Cure's most uplifting cuts. Released in 1985, Smith and co channeled the same morose lyricism and poppy instrumental combo that was all the rage at that time. The lyrics don't boast complexity but are teeming with an unmistakable sincerity.
8. '10.15 On A Saturday Night' - This is taken from their debut album which was released in 1979 and it was a b-side to 'Killing An Arab'. It's quite simply one of the greatest post-punk tracks ever, and it's no wonder The Cure keep playing it 37 years later.
7. 'Pictures Of You' - Assured enough of its own brilliance to justify a two and a half minute guitar intro, 'Pictures Of You' is the most tangible example of The Cure's ability to embrace both euphoria and melancholia in a single breath.
6. 'Lullaby' - This charted at No.5 when it came out in 1989, and it showed the band still had big ambitions. Huge string sections accompany Robert Smith's vocals to sublime effect. A true pop-noir horror story gem.
5. 'Just Like Heave'n: One of the most iconic riffs in The Cure discography, 'Just Like Heaven' is an almost flawless pop song. It has heart and chops, it's so good, in fact, it inspired a thousand great covers and just as many terrible knock-offs that could never do the track justice - looking at you Katie Melua.
4. 'Plainsong': Taken from the classic Disintegration, this is pretty much the perfect opener to any album or gig - crystallizing that oh-so-Cure sense of graceful but aching longing to an elegiac but majestic soundtrack: "Sometimes you make me feel like I am living at the edge of the world".
3. 'Killing An Arab': The title has become somewhat controversial over time with the current climate in world affairs, resulting in the band often writing it on set lists as 'Killing Another' these days, but it is in fact inspired by a scene in Albert Camus' 'The Stranger'. The band's debut single was a short-sharp blast of post-punk energy, full of vim and vigour - setting the template for countless copycats for a generation to come.
2. 'Close To Me': The Cure at their most playful and infectious. Can you name a better pop song? Didn't think so.
1. 'Lovesong': Using a palette of forlorn lyrics and achingly romantic but melancholy sounds that is entirely exclusive to The Cure, 'Lovesong' is proof alone that they are the masters of taking hopeless devotion and searing heartache and turning into such an utterly essential listen.
More about: The Cure
Photo: Press/WENN
