Robert Smith
Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter.
There have been very few virtuosos in the history of the group, but there have been a lot of really nice people. The Cure backstage is a notoriously fun-filled zone. (JAM TV)
I've experienced such extremes both in the band and in my personal life, feelings that last for just a few seconds at a time, that it's like a drug. After a while, when they're not there you notice the absence of it and nothing seems real anymore and nothings quite sharp enough or focused enough. (Spin magazine 1989)
You know, the Internets made us more aware of what people think about us. (3RRR radio 2000)
We never became a mainstream band. It's kind of like we've bridged two worlds, or fallen between two stools, between alternative and mainstream. To a lot of mainstream programmers, The Cure is still a bit too weird. To an alternative programmer, sometimes we're a bit too mainstream. Sometimes we've benefited from that and sometimes we've kind of suffered. I actually enjoy that kind of position because I think it reflects what the band does (CMJ, December 1999)
They may not like us, but they can't get away from knowing who we are. (Spin magazine 1988)
What we do attracts to a certain type of people. I don't think age has anything to do with it: either you get into it or you don't. You can be 16 or 60 and you will like us or not depending on your sensibilities. (X-Press Magazine, Australia, September 2000)
It's really weird but my parents used to tell me I could do anything I wanted to. I used to say, 'Well, what if I want to be an astronaut and go to the moon?" and my dad used to say, 'If you really want to you can'. I used to think he was talking absolute rubbish, particularly when I was 21 and he was still saying that. But in a way it really stuck with me cos my dad ended up doing exactly what he wanted to do. To an outside point of view he's totally conformed, he's had a family and four kids but he's only ever done things that made him genuinely happy. "He jacked in his job cos it made him unhappy and he didn't want to compromise his entire life just for the sake of carrying it through. It's very admirable, that quality, and I think it's very rare in people. Most people feel so conditioned, so oppressed by everything that goes on around them that they just give in. You have to refuse to give in. (Melody Maker, March 7th 1992)
But everyone I know reaches a point where they throw out their arms and go beserk for a while; otherwise you never know what your limits are. I was just trying to find mine. (Guitar Player magazine 1992)
If the world could outlaw religion for one year you'd be surprised how much better the world would be. (Music Planet 2Nite, 2001)
I have a bag full of words, and when one of us comes up with a good piece of music, I look in the bag to see if anything there will fit. If nothing does, I sit down and try to put down on paper what the music makes me feel; very rarely will a piece of writing inspire a piece of music. (CANOE 1996)
No, come to think of it, I don't think the Cure will end, but I can make up an ending if you want me to. (Spin magazine 1989)
I've always spent more time with a smile on my face than not, but the thing is, I don't write about it. (Rolling Stone magazine 1997)
I got very frustrated when I was reading so-called classic books or films, or listening to underground music which is trying to tell you something. itīs all nonsense, and itīs disillusioning. So it would be a paradox for me to then decide Iīm going to communicate something. (Sounds, August 24, 1985)
Most of the time I'm a professional idiot. I really don't care about what other people think, which can be a bad thing. (The Hit magazine 1985)
Originally I was going to take perverse satisfaction in making a depressing album. (Spin magazine 1989)
I love the anonymity of being Mr Smith. If I book a hotel it's actually very funny. It's very nice to be a genuine Mr Smith (Q 2000)
I honestly don't class myself as a songwriter. I've got 'musician' written on my passport. That's even funnier. (The Hit magazine 1985)
There is a reason for me always shoe-gazing. I simply can't look into the eyes of several thousand people. (Toronto Sun newspaper)
Jimi Hendrix changed my life. Each generation influences the following one and as a consequence brings it back to the past. (L'Express newspaper 2000)
I wouldn't want to think people doted on us, hung on every word, or wanted to look like us. (Trouser Press 1980)