The Cure

The Cure are one of the most distinctive and iconic British bands of the twentieth century. Meeting at school in the nondescript suburb of Crawley, The Cure’s career as we know it began when a demo of ‘Killing An Arab’ came into the hands of an A&R scout at Polydor Records in 1978, signing them to his own label Fiction shortly after. The next year saw the release of their debut record Three Imaginary Boys as well as beloved singles ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ and ‘Jumping Someone Else’s Train’, opening the floodgates for decades worth of hits that spanned the realms of gloomy goth-rock and romantic, uplifting pop classics.

Though the band has seen various changes to its lineup, frontman and godfather of goth-rock Robert Smith has always been at its helm. Known for his iconic ghoulish appearance and sardonic humour, Smith has always kept busy in various music endeavours during the band’s quiet patches. Celebrating The Cure’s 40th anniversary, 2018 saw Smith curate London’s Meltdown Festival, which the legendary band performed at on the closing night. That, along with a euphoric performance at BST: British Summer Time Hyde Park sparked sudden hype that The Cure would begin touring again. This was confirmed when in September Smith revealed that the band would play ‘around 20’ festivals in summer 2019, mostly in Europe, though their first festival announcement was Rock On The Lawns in South Africa. Once the floodgates had been opened, a stampede of headline announcements followed, including the likes of EXIT Festival in Serbia, Glasgow Summer Sessions, Portugal’s NOS Alive, Colours of Ostrava in Czech Republic and Rock en Seine in Paris.

They’re also set to headline Belgium’s mammoth Rock Werchter, where they made their debut in 1984 and famously rebuffed Robert Palmer, who was waiting frustratedly side of stage to perform, with a ten-minute rendition of ‘A Forest’. Always ones to make a statement, and importantly put on a show, The Cure are amongst the elites of festival headliners.