The best pop songs of the 1980s, according to Robert Smith
Of all the predictions you could probably come up with at this precise moment in time, there’s one that seems to have especially good odds: that Robert Smith‘s voice will still sound as crisp when he’s 70. Granted, that’s only a few years off, and he still sounds as youthful as ever, but the point is, this is a talent that never fades, not even at the hands of time.
At Glastonbury, when Olivia Rodrigo called on “the best songwriter to come out of England” before delving into a gorgeous duet of ‘Friday, I’m In Love’ with Smith, there was a shared sense of awe. Obviously, there were a lot of people who wished for another guest or had no idea who Smith even was (one person online anxiously anticipated Robbie Williams instead), but those who know, know, and feel it deep in their bones, knowing that, beyond it all, there’s little better than the one band who changed the game forever.
Because that’s exactly what they did, and continue to do, even now, as Smith claims that the end is nigh. But is it ever, really? A band like The Cure could never die out, even as we enter the final phase and the twitching of the curtain as introduced by Songs of a Lost World, a storm of beginnings and endings that feel forever on the precipice yet stagnated in time, with Smith’s unwavering voice leading the way with ageless fervour.
But as we find ourselves forever attached to everything that was ever great about The Cure, his influences float around his aura like orbs, giving a glimpse into the mind behind the magic and everything that inspired him to make such deep soul-searching music. Because that’s what it is, too: it’s not one thing or something that can be attached to something distinctive. It’s a mixture of everything he’s ever known and loved, whirling around in the beauty of life’s ambiguities.
Once, Smith named his favourite songs from the 1980s for Sirius XM, and while many are ones that say a lot about his artistry and approach to music, it’s arguably the pop numbers that explain his vision the most, especially when it comes to the commercial side of the band, Smith’s melodic charm, and ability to maintain familiar structures without seeming imitative of other tunes or like he isn’t sure of his own direction.
Most of the favourites he disclosed are also the kinds that you might place against his own music, pop in execution with elements of other things, which also shows just how much he enjoyed music that didn’t want to be boxed in as anything specific, even if it masqueraded as something specific. Like Kate Bush’s ‘Cloudbusting’ – we probably wouldn’t call this a pop song in a singular sense, but the mainstream appeal was there, as was the artistic intent to bring about something entirely original in the space that didn’t follow trends.
The same could be said for Bananarama’s ‘It Ain’t What You Do It’s the Way That You Do It’, a 1982 Top of the Pops staple, and Prince’s ‘Starfish and Coffee’, a quintessential Prince tune as eccentric as the lips it falls from. There are a few synth wave tunes in there, too, like Depeche Mode’s classic ‘Personal Jesus’ and Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’, and The Pretenders’ ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ falls a little further into the rock camp, but the bouncy, rhythmic appeal of many of these also highlights Smith’s love for songs that get you moving, even when the subject matter itself is fairly dark or a little more wayward in theme.
Robert Smith’s favourite 1980s pop songs:
- ABC – ‘The Look of Love’
- Bananarama and Fun Boy Three – ‘It Ain’t What You Do It’s the Way That You Do It’
- Kate Bush – ‘Cloudbusting’
- Depeche Mode – ‘Personal Jesus’
- The Human League – ‘Human’
- Chaka Khan – ‘I Feel For You’
- Mel and Kim – ‘Respectable’
- The Pretenders – ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’
- Prince – ‘Starfish and Coffee’
- Soft Cell – ‘Tainted Love’
