The Cure breaks through in 1985 with The Head On The Door

The Cure 1985 (fltr: Porl Thompson, Boris Williams, Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst)

Introduction

In 1985 The Cure released an album I enjoyed. After Seventeen Seconds and Faith I had lost track of the band, but now they were back into my world. The story of the Cure’s first big hit..

Doom versus pop

I first noticed The Cure upon hearing A Forest and, even more so, the album Seventeen Seconds, which is still one of my favorite albums of all time. The follow-up, Faith, was the record I truly played to death. That album was my jam. I loved (and still do love) the darkness, doom, hopelessness and overall heavy themes.

However, the next album Pornography (1982) was no match for me. To me, the magic had evaporated. The album’s sound disagreed with me (still does), but worse: the songs didn’t speak to me. The non album singles Let’s Go To Bed and The Lovecats (1983) were nice releases (collected on the 1983 compilation Japanese Whispers). The next release, album The Top (1984), was better, I particularly liked Shake Dog Shake and the single The Caterpillar, even though it was far removed from being my favorite Cure music, but it did show that Robert Smith and co. were not afraid to try different things.

The Cure – Let’s Go To Bed / The Lovecats / The Caterpillar (1983/1984 singles)

Next to being the leader of The Cure, Smith also started playing guitar in Siouxsie And The Banshees by the end of 1982. He went out on tour (resulting in the fabulous live album Nocturne), the single Dear Prudence and the studio album Hyæna, which was released in June 1984. Also, Banshees drummer Budgie and Smith founded The Glow in 1983, releasing their first and only album (Blue Sunshine) that same year. The combination of all these activities was too much for Smith. In May 1984 he sent a letter with a doctor’s advice that stated he was unable to carry on this way and that he handed in his resignation from the Banshees.

Late 1984 the first Cure live album Concert – The Cure Live was released, an album that surmised my issues with the band at that time. The band’s subtlety had evaporated. At that time the band had been expanded into a 5 piece, with the drums and bass relegated to temporary musicians. Lol Tolhurst, original drummer, had taken up keyboards since The Top, original bass player Simon Gallup had left the band after a row midway through 1982, while the band was still on the Pornography tour. Late 1984/early 1985 the new Cure was assembled. Drummer Boris Williams entered the fold, guitarist Porl Thompson was officially a member, and the issues between Smith and Gallup were resolved: re-enter Gallup. Smith was happy and grateful. In the August 17, 1985, issue of Melody Maker Smith stated “It’s a group again.”

During the demos of The Head on the Door, I knew that this was the band. The album’s got a real fantastic freshness to it, and it was a really pleasant environment.

Robert Smith, thecure.com

The band seemed to be reborn. The demos Smith recorded ended up being combinations of the happy pop songs of late and the early 1980s doom.

The Cure – The Head On The Door

The Head On The Door

On August 30, 1985, The Head On The Door was released as The Cure’s sixth studio album. It was the first album Robert Smith had written all the songs by himself for. Early 1985 Smith retreated to his London apartment with drum computers, synthesizers and acoustic (!) guitars and worked on demos, lots of demos. Smith was on a roll.

By Smith’s own account Siouxsie And The Banshees’ Kaleidoscope and Human League’s Dare inspired him to experiment with other styles and moods. And, the change of style from the “gloom trilogy” of Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography, had pleased Smith very much.

I just felt totally liberated. With ‘Lovecats’, I suggested that we were going to do something that’s kind of like a Disney take on jazz, based on The Aristocats. Suddenly, everything we did started to sell.

Robert Smith interview, Rolling Stone, 2000

Smith didn’t let go of that state of mind. Pop, flamenco (!), Eastern influences, rock, but also Faith influences all came together on a versatile album, one that put The Cure firmly on the map.

Even though The Head On The Door was a pop album, it didn’t mean the lyrics necessarily reflected that. The opening song and first single In Between Days (also referred to as Inbetween Days) is deceptively poppy, but possesses a New Order feel (it rather strongly resembles Dreams Never End) and lyrics which aren’t exactly festive in nature.

Yesterday, I got so old
I felt like I could die
Yesterday, I got so old
It made me want to cry

© Robert Smith, 1985

In the liner notes to the 2006 re-release of The Head On The Door Smith says:

It [The Head On The Door album] does have a dark side. Sinking, The Baby Screams, A Night Like This… these are not lyrically happy songs, and Close To Me is pretty much wishing I wasn’t born with a groovy bass line! I was trying to create a sort of attractive tension by marrying slightly bitter words to really sweet tunes.

© 2006 The Head On The Door reissue liner notes

The Cure – Fiction Promo 1985

Kyoto Song uses Japanese influences, The Blood acoustic flamenco and the piano motif of Six Different Ways obviously “borrows” from Swimming Horses, stemming from the Siouxsie And The Banshees album Hyæna.

Push starts the way the superb Rags on the Waterboys album A Pagan Place ended, with guitars and pounding drums.

The claustrophobic Close To Me is a fine example of what The Head On The Door and the new Cure route have to offer. Musically beautiful, intimate singing, and a groundbreaking video in which the band is filmed in a small cupboard. Classic stuff.

I’ve waited hours for this, I’ve made myself so sick
I wish I’d stayed asleep today
I never thought this day would end
I never thought tonight could ever be this close to me

Just try to see in the dark, just try to make it work
To feel the fear before you’re here
I make the shapes come much too close
I pull my eyes out, hold my breath and wait until I shake

But if I had your faith
Then I could make it safe and clean
Oh, if only I was sure
That my head on the door was a dream

© Robert Smith, 1985

The lyrics of this song produced the album title. The image of the “head on the door” stems from nightmares Smith had when he was a child.

This was a childhood image. A recurring nightmare of a disembodied head leering at me from the top of my bedroom door… It unsettled me, and invariably gave me a sense of impending doom. I thought it somehow fit the slightly skewed pop record we were making!

© 2006 The Head On The Door reissue liner notes

The Cure – The Head On The Door – Ad

Next, The Cure enters familiar territory. The heaviness and doom enter the musical palette again. A Night Like This and particularly Sinking are vintage Cure and, not coincidentally, my personal favorites on this album. Sinking recalls days of yore.

I am slowing down
As the years go by
I am sinking

So I trick myself
Like everybody else

The secrets I hide
That twist me inside
And make me weaker

So I trick myself
Like everybody else
So I trick myself
Like everybody else

I crouch in fear and wait
I’ll never feel again
If only I could, if only I could
If only I could remember
Anything at all

© Robert Smith, 1985

Record Mirror 08/24/1985

N.B.
The release date being August 30, 1985, is substantiated by an announcement in English music magazine Record Mirror dated 08/24/1985, where that date is mentioned. This date is also mentioned in the reissue liner notes. The Cure’s official website states the release date is August 13, 1985, which is incorrect.

Album cover

The album cover contains a manipulated photo of Robert Smith’s younger sister Janet. The font used to represent the album title and the band name is designed by Andy Vella. He used a cotton bud, bleach and photo paper.

The Cure – The Head On The Door – Ad (NL)

Review

The album’s release re-introduced me to The Cure. Even though I don’t really like songs like The Blood, The Baby Screams and Screw, the rest of the album reaches exceptional levels. Some of the songs are part of my favorite Cure songs of all time.

The renewed impetus Smith tapped into was sincere, which translated very well into the entire album. Smith sounds driven, has something to say and is obviously (and audibly) in a ‘happy place’. At least, as far as happy goes for Smith. The album leaves the impression Smith is rather preoccupied with getting old(er). A little early, as Smith was just 25 years old when he wrote and demoed the songs for the album.

To gain a sense of how the album developed from scratch, I highly recommend the 2006 remastered rerelease. The second cd contains 15 demos, which are all worthy of their time and are indispensable for tracking the album’s development. Highly recommended!

Not everything is equally good, but when it is, it’s phenomenal. The Head On The Door portrays The Cure at their tipping point on the way to huge success. The album is volatile, varied and produced a number of Cure classics.

The Cure – The Head On The Door – Singles

Singles

Two singles were culled from the The Head On The Door album.

• In Between Days
  (released on July 19, 1985)
• Close To Me
  (released on September 13, 1985)

Songs

All songs written by Robert Smith.

• In Between Days
• Kyoto Song
• The Blood
• Six Different Ways
• Push
• The Baby Screams
• Close To Me
• A Night Like This
• Screw
• Sinking

The Cure – The Head On The Door – 2006 reissue booklet

Musicians

• Robert Smith – vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Lol Tolhurst – keyboards
• Porl Thompson – guitar, keyboards
• Simon Gallup – bass
• Boris Williams – drums, percussion
• Ron Howe – saxophone on A Night Like This

The Cure Live Pinkpop 05/19/1986

The Cure at Pinkpop 1986

Following the release of The Head On The Door The Cure went out on tour. In 1986 the agenda was filled with festivals, including the Dutch Pinkpop festival. At the time Pinkpop was in real trouble and the May 19, 1986, edition was the last straw for Pinkpop. In The Netherlands, The Cure are held accountable for saving the festival. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but the fact is the festival sold out for the first time in many years. Undoubtedly The Cure played a part in that. Their booking was the result of a new strategy for the festival, and that edition has gone down in the history books as one of the best editions ever.

I was there and witnessed The Cure close the festival in an impressive way. The setlist had a beautiful build-up, the lightshow was impressive. The band played at a time the sun went down at the end of a beautiful sunny day. The heavy riffs, the melancholy Smith vocals, Gallup’s moving basslines, it was all equally great that night. The band closed their set with my personal favorite, the title song to Faith. A night to remember!

The Cure – The Head On The Door – Poster

After The Head On The Door

The dye had been cast. The Cure would only get more popular and successful. In 1987 the double album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was released, on which The Cure embarked on a pure pop path. A highly successful album that showed the band in a cunning sunny light. Disintegration, by many heralded as the band’s magnum opus, arrived in 1989 and shot the band to the absolute top, especially in the US. It more or less signaled a return to the doom. The album was a huge success and is widely regarded as the ultimate Cure album, which is incorrect, that title is reserved for Seventeen Seconds or Faith.

In closing

What’s your take on The Head On The Door? Let me know!

Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: The Cure breaks through in 1985 with The Head On The Door. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.