A new interview with Robert Smith has been published in the London magazine Time Out. Among the topics: curating Meltdown, playing solo shows, and The Cure's upcoming 40th anniversary Curaethon gig at Hyde Park. The full interview is available to read here. Some highlights from the interview are posted below.
Smith was asked for his thoughts on being described as a "goth" or a "goth band" - something that Smith insists he never took seriously:
"We got stuck with it at a certain time when goths first started. I was playing guitar with Siouxsie And The Banshees, so I had to play the part. Goth was like pantomime to me. I never really took the whole culture thing seriously.
It’s just a theatrical thing. It’s part of the ritual of going on stage. Also there is the prosaic reason: I have ill-defined features and naturally pale skin. I mean, not at the moment, because I unfortunately fell asleep in the sun yesterday – very un-goth.
As a subculture, I think it’s full of wonderful people. But I have never liked what’s classified as goth music."
He also discussed playing music at this stage in life:
"If I had ever been intent on being the number one band in the world and was still relentlessly banging my head against that particular wall, I would hopefully be dead – and if not, I would just be a moron. The process was what I enjoyed: to be an artist, if I want to be poncy about it. Everything The Cure’s ever done is purely selfish. I’ve only got one life, and I should really be doing stuff that brings me satisfaction. Anyway, one day my hair will all fall out and I won’t look gothic any more. So just wait for that."
Read the full entertaining interview with Robert Smith here.
This Friday June 15th in celebration of the Meltdown Festival kickoff, Robert Smith will be discussing the curation process on BBC Music 6. The show streams live starting at 2pm ET here.
Published June 11th, 2018