What was the first song by The Cure to top the charts?
When The Cure released Three Imaginary Boys in 1979, the rock world was on the cusp of a revolution. With one sway into the more stadium-level explosion, Robert Smith made it his mission to make sure the genre never lost its authenticity, even if it meant reaching into the depths of his soul and recovering lost childhood memories with a brush of unfiltered darkness.
As Smith brought the inside out, adorning their music with a visceral sweep of everything that lies beneath the surface, a new sonic landscape emerged that was both melancholic and beautiful, with themes that hinged on the multifaceted nature of life, love, and loss, without dismissing the complexities inner turmoil and what it meant to never truly find peace.
By Pornography and Disintegration, The Cure had solidified their place among the rockstars with smeared lipstick and darkened eyes, an aesthetic that spoke more to the authentic macabre of Smith’s hollowed heart than to any sort of pretension. Many of his peers made fun of this look, dismissing his craft as unworthy of its label, but this only pushed him further into vulnerable soundscapes, proving that his defiance was almost never about simply existing against the grain but rather about speaking his truth.
In hindsight, it’s difficult to imagine the band ever encountering charting success. However, the earlier albums struggled to enter this level of mainstream not because they lacked commercialism but because of the competitiveness of entering such a game at the mount of the post-punk and new wave movements. For instance, their first ever top 40 single to hit the chart was ‘A Forest’ with a slow rise despite the increased pace with which the were gaining prominence.
How many number ones does The Cure have?
Although The Cure have accrued immense global success with a handful of singles entering the top ten, including ‘The Lovecats’, ‘Lullaby’, ‘High’, and ‘Friday I’m In Love’, they have actually yet to score the coveted top spot in the UK charts. That said, they have achieved two number one albums, including 1992’s Wish, and the latest masterpiece, Songs of a Lost World.
While many would likely argue that other albums are more worthy of such a position, like the aforementioned Pornography and their opus Disintegration, the success of the latest record proves not only the ongoing appetite for The Cure material but their position in the current nostalgia race. As the music industry surges towards more legacy acts and reunions than ever before, The Cure remains poised to lead the charge.
On top of this, they returned with a freshness that is almost impossible to uphold for bands who have been around for as long as they have. Instead of creating music that seemed a half-baked version of the band they once were, Songs of a Lost World appeared as though nothing has changed, proving Smith’s unwavering dedication to creating music that sounds and feels like a true reflection of who he has always been as an artist.
