Last night The Cure performed two world exclusive live sessions for BBC Radio 2 In Concert and BBC Radio 6 Music. The Cure’s Radio 2 In Concert was broadcast in Jo Whiley’s show on Radio 2 and BBC Sounds tonight.
Check out this exclusive conversation with Robert Smith:
“That’s a close audience… It's been a long long time since I've played to a front row where I can reach out and tickle their noses.”
“I am actually pretty short sighted and the reason why I don't really wear glasses in normal life is because I've just grown used to seeing an amorphous sort of sea of people. If I could see individual faces I think I’d freeze actually, it would be very hard.”
Discussing the tracks on The Cure’s new album and whether performing such personal songs is hard:
“Yeah a couple of them are… I don't know hard… they drag me back into a mindset and emotional state which I don't mind actually because it kind of reminds me how to feel [...] The emotional songs still reconnect me with like… When we do it too much, I do find myself becoming a little bit maudlin. I realise sometimes that’s probably enough, we’ve been touring for long enough, I get very kind of self-obsessed with some stuff so [...] everything becomes very raw again.
But on the upside is that I'm actually out there on stage being able to sing and so it really does help me, certainly in 2022 when we started doing these songs and I felt really… there's nothing better than going out there… there’s nothing better than singing, if I’m honest. I mean it's somehow better in front of people if I’m singing well, but just singing anywhere, I love singing. I sing to my sheep.”
Discussing his sheep and teaching them tricks:
“I've got the only nocturnal sheep in Britain, seriously I've trained them to… I'm trying to train them because apparently you can't train sheep but I’m determined. I've trained one of my sheep to shake hands, seriously! No honestly at night, I will probably post at some point before the end of the year [...] another viral moment for me! I can't get ‘em to talk but they do listen though, they're very good listeners.”
On living at nighttime and listening to the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show:
“I do live at night. I mean, my reason for being in a band was primarily so I didn't have to get up for work, it really is. I didn't think I’d ever be able to endure a boss and I didn't ever think I’d be able to get anywhere on time in the morning… I couldn't at school. It was like no, my mum’s voice just everyday ringing up the stairs “You've got five minutes till that bus!” One day I don't have to do this. So it's weird because the others all get up, they're all daytime people and I honestly, I go to bed at like… I do listen to the Breakfast Show and I do watch the sun come out, and then I go to bed. I wasn't joking, that's actually how I live. [...] it bothers me round about January, I start to get really miserable, oh if you think I'm miserable, God January! I don't see daylight over the whole of January, so sometimes that gets to me… I don't know, I just like being out at night.”
