The Cure classic that was almost scrapped: “It was average”
Could you imagine a world without The Cure’s greatest hit? Well, an existence without their 1985 track ‘Close To Me’ could have been a reality, as Robert Smith very nearly scrapped the material under the belief that it was nothing more than “average” during the recording process for their sixth album, The Head On The Door.
The track was released as the second single from the album and reached a peak position of 24 on the UK Official Singles Chart, though it went on to become certified Platinum by the BPI. Still, their most iconic song, ‘Close To Me’, remains cherished inter-generationally for its signature breathy tones, clap-along rhythm, and looping bass riff.
Its accompanying music video was inspired by a dream Smith had, in which he was locked in a closet that fell off a cliff and into the sea. Directed by Tim Pope, the video was shot at Beachy Head in East Sussex. Smith told Q Magazine – since documented by Songfacts – that it similarly had a “big impact” on viewers. “I suggested to Tim doing it in a wardrobe on top of a cliff because of the uncomfortable feeling and I think that cemented it in the Cure canon,” he said.
Though its title first suggests that the song may be about something rather romantic, Smith actually penned its lyrics about a sense of impending doom he used to get when suffering nightmares and hallucinations as a child. In particular, there was a specific patch of wallpaper in his bedroom which would “come to life” as he tried to sleep. The same sense of doom and nightmares even came back to him on the making of the record, as he was under stress and was running himself into the ground working.
Before these lyrics came into place, the song had a much more upbeat tone lyrically, and it just wasn’t sitting right with Smith. So much so that it was not at first chosen as a track that would make the final cut for the record: “It’s weird because of all the songs we’ve written, ‘Close To Me’ doesn’t spring to mind as one of our best songs.”
“It was a slightly surreal moment on the record, and it wasn’t even a definite album track during the recording. It was only when I did the vocal and got really extreme on the production, making it really claustrophobic sounding, that it came to life,” he recalled. “Up till that point, it was average.”
“The Head on the Door was also shaped, perhaps most prominently, by MTV’s advent,” Far Out wrote. “As the network began to dominate the airwaves and determine the charts, the need to make music that would appeal to the core audience was evermore present.
“With this record, The Cure became chart-toppers and had escaped the past’s gloomy sounds to explore a shuffling and joyful pop sound that captivated an audience. ‘In Between Days’ and ‘Close To Me’ are the perfect examples of that theory coming to fruition”.
