1/30/1988 Unknown Source
Only The End Of The Beginning The Cure- Ten Imaginary Years Lydie Barbarian, Steve Sutherland and Robert Smith (Zomba)
One look, the back cover suggests, is not enough. And for once they're right. Ten Imaginary Years is a rare pleasure, a pop (rock? Take your choice) biography which tells you everything you could want to know about its subject without ever disappearing up its own anal retention.
The Cure are a band trebly blessed. They have one of the best singers in contemporary music, some of the best songs and almost all the best lies. Ten Imaginary Years starts at the beginning (a very fine place to start) and details the distinct evolution of this most individual of pop groups until the release of their latest album, 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me', in May of last year. A point which is summed up as Not The End.
A quick look at the credits will tell you how much inside info you're going to find here. Robert Smith and The Cure's careers have been almost polka-dotted with incident and interest, and this book reflects pretty much everything, from the long-running Siouxsie And The Banshees shenanigans to the river of alcohol excesses.
The one thing The Cure have never been is run-of-the-mill. They deserved a biog at least one step above the usual humourless ten minute comic cut. And they've got it.
