#IShootRockStars
Today @TheCure play the Isle of Wight Festival.
This photo with @andyvelladesign was taken in 2016 during an impromptu photoshoot on the ferry back from the Island. At some point, Robert ended up steering the boat... but that's a whole other story.
Robert Smith. Met de moed der wanhoop houden de laatste geverfde en getoupeerde haren stand. De ogen zwart, de lippen rood. Maar het plectrum mist nooit en zijn uiterst herkenbare, soms huilerige zang staat fier overeind. The Cure, een mooi einde aan een hete dag.
Today we remember lan Curtis, whose voice, words, and presence continue to echo through generations since his passing on May 18, 1980 - forever missed, forever heard.
📷 (c) Anton Corbijn
The Cure have achieved a career milestone after winning the first two Grammys of their storied career for their 2025 album Songs of a Lost World. https://t.co/eiuzXjIDmO
Trent Reznor credits David Bowie with guiding him through some of his darkest moments.
"I think in terms of chronology, it was the Scary Monsters album that I became aware of Bowie's music. None of my friends were super-big Bowie fans. But there was something about Scary Monsters. I think it was the Columbia Record Club. I didn't mail the card back, so the record showed up. I had to spend $8.98 on the album. And in those days, you listened to what you got. I had 20 albums. I'm gonna listen to it whether I like it or not. But it really struck a nerve with whoever I was at that time, and this cold, alien ... it really resonated. Then I started moving forwards and backwards in his catalog at that time. And then over the next few years, I had the pleasure of going through Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust and Station to Station. He just really started to become the best archetype for someone who has a fantastic voice and was kind of an actor pretending to be a rock star, in a way, which seemed to give him the ability to reinvent himself in ways that just felt like it would take a lot of courage to have had success at something and then throw it away and try something new.
"As Nine Inch Nails was birthed, I found myself in the role of starting to accumulate an audience and feeling the weird pressures of someone who didn't have any money. I was worried about how to pay the $30 gas bill and eating peanut butter for a week. And then suddenly, because I made an album I really liked, I could pay the gas bill. My life was so much better now. Now, it's time to write a new album. I'd like to try this new stuff, but it'd be nice being able to pay the gas bill. It creeps its way in in various ways. So, I would turn back to the idea of Bowie and think for a minute: 'F**k, that's what being an artist is.' So, there was that kind of influence from a distance, a fan level, aside from the music emotionally connecting with me.
"Then, to jump ahead a few years and get a phone call from Bowie saying, 'I've made a strange, new album with Eno that kind of reflects the Berlin era...' Anytime someone would mention him and ask me questions, I would talk about Low and how much he influenced The Downward Spiral, and maybe it crossed his awareness to where he said, 'You're the only band I want to play with us. Would you be up for opening for us on an amphitheater tour?' F**k, yes. I had just got done saying I couldn't tour for another ... We had just toured for two and a half years, and I was imploding. I needed to get off the road. Then, 'Hey, would you like to go?' Yes, when are we leaving? 'How about in a month?' Okay, I'm right there.
"But then to get to be around him for the extent of that tour and actually see him in person and be terrified and intimidated. And then find an actual human being behind it that did impossibly live up to whatever you projected on him. What really left the biggest impression on me was there I was in a bad state of addiction and kind of going down the toilet. And he was on the other end to have come out of it. And there were the few kind of big brother / fatherly times where he'd call me aside and kind of get on my shit: You need to get your shit together. It doesn't have to end up down there. He didn't say this, but look at where he was. He was happy. He was still taking chances.
"Nine Inch Nails were at peak popularity at that time. And Bowie wasn't. Before the tour, he told me: 'We're going to go on a tour where we're not going to play any hits. We're only going to play this record. Nobody wants to hear that. But I need to do it.' And I thought, 'Well, I'm witnessing what I projected this guy to be. I'm watching him do it.' But would I have the courage to do that? Is that courage? It really left a mark on me.
"Anyway, I still think about that dude all the time, and I still listen to him constantly. And I'm grateful that our lives intersected, and I'm grateful for, whether he knew it or not, how much he helped me in those dark times before I chose to get my shit together. And I can hear his voice. He penetrated through the layers of bullshit that I'd built around myself. I'm grateful for that."
📸: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Olivia Rodrigo revealed what music has been inspiring her lately in a new interview with Kathleen Hanna.
"I did Glastonbury with Robert Smith of The Cure. After that, I've been diving deeper into The Cure's discography, as well as some of their contemporaries like New Order and Joy Division."
📸: Samir Hussein / Getty Images
Manic Street Preachers will return to the @RoyalAlbertHall on Thursday 26th March 2026 as part of this year’s @TeenageCancer Trust concert series, curated by The Cure’s Robert Smith.
James Dean Bradfield says: “We were lucky enough to play one of Robert Smith’s Meltdown shows in 2018, and now we’re honoured to have been asked by the great man to join the 2026 Teenage Cancer Trust shows he’s overseeing which raise money for such a great cause. It’s our first time playing TCT as a band, a return to one of our favourite London venues and we’ve got a couple of surprises up our sleeves for the night. So, no excuses. See you there.”
Special guests The Joy Formidable will open the night.
Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday 12th December.
Placebo are honoured to have been asked by The Cure’s Robert Smith to perform in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust 2026 at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 28th March, to help raise funds in support of young people with cancer.
Tickets 09.12.2025: https://t.co/GyWjsq2xUj
The Cure will perform at the 2026 edition of Rock En Seine – marking their first show of next year and suggesting that a new album could be on the way.
Source: NME https://t.co/dNfjmshkqr
Olivia Rodrigo has released the two Cure songs she covered with Robert Smith at Glastonbury while teasing a new live album of her headlining set.
Source: Rolling Stone https://t.co/8sjZS4uhSr
Some of the biggest live-music moments this summer have happened when pop stars bring out their legendary heroes for a surprise onstage collaboration
Source: Rolling Stone https://t.co/bMdHG1KVwB
Born with two rare genetic disorders, extraordinary Nathan, now aged 13, has overcome incredible medical challenges throughout his life. Despite being non-verbal and facing significant physical challenges, Nathan is known for his incredible spirit, bringing joy & love to his 1/3
Thank you for listening to The Cure & welcoming our new album. Thanks too, to the hosts for last week’s performances, BBC radio & TV spots, and global livestream. You can still watch (free!) the 3-hr album release show filmed live at the Troxy; it’s here: https://t.co/0aKGQ7KRyP