Watch Siouxsie and The Banshees perform with Robert Smith in 1979
Robert Smith without eyeliner is like Picasso without paint. Yet in this clip from ‘Something Else’ in 1979, The Cure leader can be seen free of his usual staple of smudged black kohl, looking relatively baby-faced as he performs alongside Siouxsie And The Banshees.
Siouxsie Sioux, a long-time member of the Sex Pistol-worshipping Bromley contingent, had a well-defined look by 1979. That was when The Cure had only just released their debut album, Three Imaginary Boys, and Robert Smith hadn’t yet discovered hairspray. A stalwart of the alternative punk scene, Siouxsie sports the iconic deep red lip and dramatic black eyeshadow that would come to be associated with Smith once The Cure established themselves as mainstays of all things musically macabre.
In a previous conversation with Time Out, Smith said that playing with Siouxsie saw him stuck with the goth label, one he’s always fiercely resisted. He claimed he “had to play the part” when he was onstage with the Banshees, adding that the birds-nest hair and make-up that came later was simply “a theatrical thing. It’s part of the ritual of going on stage”.
In the footage, Smith and Siouxsie perform ‘Love in a Void’ and ‘Regal Zone’ from Join Hands, the second studio album from Siouxsie and The Banshees. The 1979 offering from the goth rock icons interestingly doesn’t feature Robert Smith or Budgie (the drummer in blue playing slightly manically in the video).
It’s fitting that these singles were performed on BBC 2 show Something Else, which was arguably a punk show in itself. Broadcast from 1978 to 1982, the show was unorthodox in that it featured young presenters with regional accents galore and focused solely on up-and-coming new bands.
In the show’s short history, it captured The Clash performing live in their only televised performance for the BBC – as well as the last television performance of Joy Division. Capturing Robert Smith sans smudged lipstick has got to be up there as one of its most iconic moments.
Watch the performance below.
