9/21/2000 JJJ Australian Radio
Radio Interview With Robert Smith JJJ : How are you Robert?
RS: Very well thank you.
JJJ: Are you looking forward to coming down to Brisbane and rocking out?
RS: Yeah, Yeah, Its been quite a while since we were last in Australia. Last time was 92 so it's too long really.
JJJ: Do you realize the sort of excitement, domino effect you have when you announce you are coming?
RS: Well we did a world tour in 96 and we missed out on the Southern
Hemisphere for a lot of different reasons, none of them particularly good
and we got a lot of kind of disappointment heading our way. So this time
round when we knew we were gonna go out again we thought we would definitely
come on down to Australia. There was a petition started up a couple of months back which kind of really nudged us into making a final decision. And certainly
the last big world tour we kind of go to the same places which is kind of
stupid really. I mean Japan we haven't been there for like 13 years I don't
know why we had a really good time while we were there and the concerts were
great but we never went back. I don't really know why we missed out on
Australia last time looking back the reasons at the time seem good but with
hindsight they were pretty weak. This time round we have been very kind of
conservative and we've picked our dates and we are still dead keen to play
and everybody is really looking forward to coming down to Australia.
JJJ: What's the main difference between say playing The Cure solo shows and playing a big festival like Livid?
RS: The main difference for us is that we are playing for 3 hours when we do
our own shows. I think with the festivals we are kind of constrained by 90
minutes. We are faced, in our own minds, potentially that a good percentage
of the audience don't really want to see us, So we have to win them over.
Whether that's true or not I think its a good thing to have going on stage
at a festival. If you go on thinking that everyone loves you you are going to
be in for a shock. Certainly at some of the festivals we have done in the
past.
JJJ: Do you ever just think, OK we have done some remixes, we do some pretty
long songs, they don't know us, bugger it lets just do 1 hour, 1 song?
RS: At festivals? Well in the old days we used to do that . We thought oh
well bugger it nobody knows who we are. But it would be pretty tragic for
the Livid festival. For like people turning up and don't know who The Cure
are. Having said that the last three festivals we've done we have been a lot
less festival conscious. We've tended to bring out the hits and try and win
them over but we have been a little bit more kind of pig headed this year
cause we have actually tended to play, I mean the whole year we have been
concentrating more on the darker side of what we do so that's why the shows
are 3 hours long and its only 7 songs. But with festivals they are a few
kind of interspersed with more well known songs but we are actually playing
some more heavy stuff. Its not the pop side of The Cure really. Its also
dependent what the bill I think that's probably the key to it. And it's a
pretty good bill at Livid. There's enough interesting bands on to make the
whole event have a certain atmosphere.
JJJ: Ok there's some great bands kicking around. I wanna know Robert what
are you like as a festival goer. You guys are gonna be on say 9 - 9:30 at
night. Do you get there early, put on the shorts and the t-shirt, throw the
zinc on go around have a few hot dogs get pretty pissed you know, fall over
later stumbling drunk on stage having seen all the other bands?
RS: I'm a consummate professional how could I possibly do that?
JJJ: What I like about the festival circuit though and the thing that The
Cure has that some other acts don't have at the festival you can still kind of
identify a Cure fan.
RS: Yeah there is a very highly visible hard-core to our audience and they
are probably the ones who least like us doing festivals as well. It's not
really the best setting for that look. I think its sweet, you know it's like I
suppose generally we are coming on later in the day, after the sun's gone down,
does the sun ever set in Australia?
JJJ: One of the things that die hard Cure fans are asking us that don't live
in Queensland or Brisbane is, are you just playing Livid or are doing a
series of spin off gigs around Australia? Sort of a more full Cure
experience.
RS: Yeah I think a couple of days ago we decided, we are doing a couple of
shows now in Sydney. We are starting off in Perth and we are doing Adelaide
and Melbourne, Canberra so we are pretty much doing almost everywhere. We
are missing, I know we are missing some places. We will probably end up
doing 7 or 8 shows in the time that we are down there.
JJJ: Can I ask you on a completely different note, there's a little thing
called the Olympics going on. In Australia at the moment and we are seeing
the worlds very best, If you weren't in The Cure if you weren't a muso, and you
could be one of the worlds very best at something else. What would it be? A tennis player?
RS: Ummm... I really like the Triathlon actually I think its fantastic event.
JJJ: I didn't pick that I must admit. What would be your strongest leg the
swim the run or the bike?
RS: The bike I think, I like the swimming that's going on I think it's
really it's weird, I think because of the setting, I'm really into it, I like
the Thorpedo. I think its pretty funny.
JJJ: Well I'm sure he's a bit of a Cure fan too. We see him with the all
black sometimes with the body suit.
RS: Maybe that's what it is.
JJJ: That's what the body suit is, It isn't about speed, it's just about
being black.
RS: It's a goth statement.
JJJ: We can't wait for you to come out, it's going to be fantastic. Best of
luck at Livid and on the entire festival. Now rumours that this could have a
kind of farewell, thanks for your love kind of feel to it, any comment?
RS: Rumours have been going round and there's a feeling within the band,
there's kind of like an unstated belief that this will be the last time that
we do it, I'd say each time we do it, at some point it is going to be the
last time. I can't imagine us coming back to Australia in another 8 years,
but who knows. I've tried to encourage everyone around the band to believe
that this will be the last time we do it. Its made the performances just so
much better. Everybody's really keen to kind of go out on a high.
JJJ: Of course we can see you again in 4 years competing in Athens at the
Triathlon.
RS: It's a bit late for that.
JJJ: Thank you very much for your time, Robert Smith from the Cure.
