New CD is the Cure for the common fan

December 7, 1997

BY JAE-HA KIM STAFF REPORTER

Gloom rock. Goth rock. Whatever. The Cure has heard it all. But ask the group's founder, vocalist-songwriter
Robert Smith, to describe his English band and he'll simply say, ``It's just rock 'n' roll.''

And he likes it. As the founding member of the 18-year-old group, Smith has become a hero to fans impressed by
his wry way with words and keen ear for melody.

Then there's his look--all smudged lipstick, raccoon eyes and unruly shocks of black hair--which is often imitated
by fans of both genders at the group's shows.

The Cure will headline Q101's Twisted 4 show Thursday at the United Center. Expect them to play many of their
hits (``Just Like Heaven,'' ``Why Can't I Be You,'' ``Friday I'm in Love''), which can be found on their latest album,
``Galore.'' A compilation of the Cure's singles from 1987 to the present, ``Galore'' also includes the band's popular
new hit ``Wrong Number.''

Phoning from his home in Brighton, England, Smith got the right number on the first try. Nursing a slight cold, he
chatted congenially.

Q. Is there less pressure headlining a multi-bill lineup?

A. Quite the opposite, actually. The festival shows we've done over the years are the most high-pressure ones for
us as a band. I've never felt a sense of competition when we're out on our own, because we realize we're selling the
ticket for people who want to come and see the Cure play, and we're doing something the audience is going to
enjoy, because why would they be there otherwise? With a festival audience we go out thinking that maybe 50
percent of the audience isn't there to see us. So they're generally the shows we try hardest at, particuarly if it's a
particularly good bill--and there are some good bands in Chicago.

Q. Do you like the abbreviated sets?

A. We have a maximum time allocated to us of 1 1/2 hours, and we only really get going after an hour. So what
we've done in the past is start playing in the dressing room for half an hour, and by the time we're going on stage,
we're already in the groove.

Q. What is the X factor that makes the band tick?

A. From my perspective, it's because we still enjoy doing it. How we've managed to stay around and sell records
and stuff is that the music's good. If we didn't have the music, people wouldn't stick around.

Q. It hasn't been as simple keeping a steady lineup.

A. That's true. I think that anyone who's been in the group would say they've trusted my instincts and my vision.
There's never been too much conflict in the group because it's essentially been for me to express what I want to
express, and when I don't feel like doing that anymore, the group stops. But there's no compunction for any of the
others to stay and wait for me. They kind of go along with what I want to do or they don't. And when they don't,
they leave. I'm actually on very good terms with all but two of the ex-members, which have been about seven or
eight now.

Q. What are the chances of your going solo?

A. I wouldn't want to do it on my own. The Cure is perceived by the audience as being driven by me, but it's
actually maintained by others. I've always liked the idea of a group context, because I can come up with ideas for
things and whatever the lineup is interprets that. There's a community feel and I like playing with other people.

Q. When you got married, you said you wouldn't have any children. Have you changed your mind?

A. No, my wife and I have stuck to our decision. I think the life I lead and how selfish I am excludes the possibility
of me being a father.

Q. Does the thought of turning 40 in two years make your skin crawl?

A. [Laughing.] No. When I turned 30, that mentally meant a great deal to me. But after that, I haven't thought
about getting old. I'm not young in pop terms, but in life terms I'm still relatively young. I can still remember
making the video for ``Why Can't I Be You'' 10 years ago and I derive the same enjoyment from what I do as I
did then.

Q. You said that ``Galore'' was meant to be an album for people who weren't necessarily Cure fans. Is this the
album that people who like ``Just Like Heaven'' will listen to on the airplane?

A. I know I've been quoted as saying that, and I thought about it after I opened my mouth, which is generally the
case with me. You've just alluded to something that I'd forgotten. When I'm going away to America, I'll fill two
12-CD containers and I generally tend to fill at least one of these containers with greatest hits CDs, even if I have
all the artist's albums at home. So I don't think ``Galore'' excludes fans. But it can't be ignored that ``Standing on a
Beach''--our first singles collection--has been our most successful album. So just by thinking rationally, it has to
have been bought by people who didn't buy the other albums.

Q. After I wrote a favorable bit about your live version of ``Just Like Heaven,'' I received letters from angry
readers who said that ``real Cure fans don't like commercial songs like that.'' Do you get that?

A. [Laughing.] ``Just Like Heaven'' is the only song of all the songs we've recorded since 1987 that's featured in
every single set we've played. So I must like it! There is a slightly elitist minority among Cure fans who feel that
only they get it, and that if you don't get into the band 100 percent then you can't possibly like us at all. I don't
subscribe to that.

Q. ``Galore'' includes one new single--``Wrong Number.'' What's your reaction to people who say you've jumped
on the techno bandwagon?

A. That would be a fair assumption for people who haven't heard anything else we'd done in the past. But we did
``Mixed Up'' [in 1990], which was drawing on remixes that were kind of techno. But we've had dance stuff done
since 1982, and it was only really Depeche Mode and New Order from that same period who were doing dance.
Just about all I listen to is either classical or dance music in my private life.
We've never been perceived as very fashionable or contemporary or cool, which is fine with me because it means
we can kind of do stuff and disregard what we're supposed to be doing. But it does have a drawback. Whenever
we're doing something that happens to fall in with what other people are doing, it seems like we're capitalizing on
their success. If there was a bandwagon to jump on, it left a long time ago.