The Cure Whitley Bay Ice Rink 1985
By 1985 The Cure had graduated to playing at Whitley Bay Ice Rink, which was a cavernous (and cold!) venue which was frequented by bigger bands during the 80s, before Newcastle Arena was built. By 1985 The Cure had hit the single chart on several occasions, including the superb “Love Cats”. I went along to this gig with my mate Dave, and we were both quite into the band at the time. I seem to remember that we both liked “Love Cats”. Support came from Hard Corps, who were a French band. 
By the time of this gig, The Cure were centred very much around Robert Smith, as band leader and the focus of the live performance. The Cure in concert had become much more of a rock / pop show, and Smith was coming into his own as a front man. Setlist: The Baby Screams, Play For Today, A Night Like This, Primary, Kyoto Song, The Blood, The Hanging Garden, Charlotte Sometimes, Inbetween Days, Let’s Go To Bed, The Walk, Push, Screw, One Hundred Years, A Forest, Sinking. First Encore: Give Me It, Boys Don’t Cry. Second Encore: You Really Got Me, I Dig You. It was over 20 years till I saw The Cure again, when Laura, David and I went to see them at Wembley Arena.
Archive for the ‘The Cure’ Category
10 Jul
The Cure Whitley Bay Ice Rink 1985
9 Jul
The Cure Newcastle City Hall 1982
The Cure Newcastle City Hall 1982
Support Zerra1
A year after seeing The Cure at the City Hall, they were back again at the same venue. The band were in their heavy goth phase, and this before they started to have serious chart success. Support came from Zerra1 who were an Irish band from the U2 mould. (Update note: I found another old Cure programme upstairs in my collection. It is probably from this tour, or another early tour, so I have added it here) 
Setlist: The Figurehead, M, In Your House, Cold, The Drowning Man, A Short Term Effect, The Hanging Garden, Siamese Twins, Other Voices, Three Imaginary Boys, Primary, One Hundred Years, Play For Today, A Forest, Pornography. Encore: 10.15 Saturday Night, Killing An Arab, All Mine.
8 Jul
The Cure Newcastle late 70s and early 80s
The Cure Newcastle late 70s and early 80s
I saw The Cure quite a few times in the early days of their career. The first time that I saw them was at the Reading Festival in 1979, when they appeared low down on the bill on the Friday night. I remember that I had read a lot about them, and I’d also had heard the single “Killing an Arab” on the radio. So I made of point of being in the arena and watching them that night. They went down prety well, and showed some promise, even at that early stage. I also saw them at a gig in Newcastle University Ballrom on a Saturday night sometime in 1980. I also saw them as support act for Siouxsie and the Banshees at Newcastle Poly. Robert Smith played two sets that night, first with The Cure and then as guitarist for The Banshees. My favourite Cure song at the time was “A Forest”, and it probably still is today. By 1981 they had graduated to playing the City Hall. 
The great Cure gig list site http://www.cure-concerts.de shows the setlist for the 1981 Newcastle gig as: The Funeral Party, M, The Drowning Man, All Cats Are Grey, Three Imaginary Boys, Primary, At Night, Fire In Cairo, Play For Today, Grinding Halt, A Forest, Faith, Jumping Someone Else’s Train, Another Journey By Train, Killing An Arab, Forever. Looking at other setlists from the same tour, indicates that the Newcastle set was comparatively short in comparison with some of the other gigs on the tour, with some shows featuring many more songs. I have a lovely little programme from those days (see scan) which is a song book, and contains the lyrics from many of their early songs. I’m not sure at which gig I bought this, but it must have been from one of their early tours. I saw The Cure twice more in the 80s, and will blog on those gigs over the next couple of days. There was then a gap of 23 years before I saw them again, at Wembley, in 2008.
Update 22 December 2021
Many thanks indeed for the lovely image of the poster for the concert which Jimmy Burns (a.k.a. Punk Hoarder) kindly sent me and has allowed me to add this to my post. It brings back great memories of a great band. I didn’t realise at the time how important the cure would become in the history of new wave, punk, goth and pop music. They really have provided millions of people with enjoyment and entertainment over the years. And their back catalogue is extensive, wide-ranging in style and lots of fun!
21 Aug
The Cure Wembley Arena
The Cure Wembley Arena 20 March 2008
Hadn’t seen the Cure for ages. Must have been 20 years; Whitley Bay Ice Rink was the last time I think. Laura had been listening to a lot of their old stuff and I’d been given the best of the Cure as a present, so we were all getting into them again. So Laura, David and I decided to buy tickets for their only UK gig in 2008 at Wembley Arena. We bought the tickets ages before the show and we were all really looking forward to seeing them.
Travelled down to London on the afternoon of the show, went for a pizza and then took the tube to Wembley. Didn’t really watch the support act; spent the time looking at the merchandise stall; Laura bought a great t-shirt with a full size face of Robert Smith, which looks great on her.
This was a long set; with the Cure playing for around 3 hours. Yet we didn’t get bored. I would say that I know less than half of the set ; still enjoyed it though. Great to hear The Forest, Three Imaginary Boys, Love Cats and Arab again. Brings back memories. David and Laura thought they were great (which they were!).
Memories of old Cure shows:
Seeing them at Reading in the late 70s, seeing them at the City Hall in the early 80s; seeing them in Newcastle University Ballrom on a Saturday night in the late 70s or early 80s.
Mainset:
plainsong
prayers for rain
a strange day
alt.end
a night like this
the end of the world
lovesong
to wish impossible things
pictures of you
lullaby
from the edge of the deep green sea
hot hot hot!!!
the only one
the walk
push
friday i’m in love
inbetween days
just like heaven
primary
a boy i never knew
shake dog shake
never enough
wrong number
one hundred years
Encore 1
at night
m
play for today
a forest
Encore 2:
the lovecats
let’s go to bed
freakshow
close to me
why can’t i be you?
Encore 3:
three imaginary boys
fire in cairo
boys don’t cry
jumping someone else’s train
grinding halt
10:15 saturday night
killing an arab
ticket for wembley
programme for wembley concert
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