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The Cure to Tour North America for the First Time in Seven Years

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The Cure is hitting the road for a North American trek that includes three dates each at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl and New York’s Madison Square Garden. This will be the first time the band plays any North American shows since its 2019 festival appearances and its first tour in the region since 2016.

Following a slate of 2022 European concerts, the Cure’s “Shows of a Lost World” tour will kick off on May 10 in New Orleans and hit 30 stops across the U.S. and Canada with a closing show on July 1 in Miami. The Cure will be supported by Scottish post-punk band the Twilight Sad at all shows. See the full lineup below.

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The Cure

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The Cure are a band formed in 1976 hailing from Crawley, West Sussex, in the United Kingdom. Fronted by lead singer and songwriter Robert Smith, they came from the post-punk scene of the early 80’s to become one of the biggest and most influential bands in modern rock.

When a band gets to be as truly worshipped as The Cure, it can be an interesting and slightly bizarre thing to look at their early days. A little bit like seeing your favourite actor wondering whether they’re going to go with white or brown bread in a local Tesco. Or an important politician spotted zoning out on public transport, it brings them back down to earth and reminds you that they’re not all-conquering, all-powerful cosmically divine extra-dimension visitors who know the secrets of the universe, but a guy from the Sussex suburbs who formed a band to play at a school concert.

They probably looked ridiculous at their first shows, and not in the awesome way. They probably wrote some godawful songs. Some punters probably watched an early incarnation of The Cure and thought, for good reason, that they were a bunch of no-hopers. Every band has those days and if they haven’t one should be very, very suspicious of them. What makes The Cure so special is that they absolutely had those days, but knowing about them doesn’t take the sheen off them at all. They’re still a vitally important band, influential to thousands of bands the world over and that’s enough to make them legends, before the image and before the imitators.

And it all began with a school concert. In April 1973, five students from Notre Dame Middle School in Crawley formed Obelisk, the first tentative musical project of one Mr Robert Smith, who was the bands pianist. Future Cure cohorts Mick Dempsey and Lol Tolhurst backed him up on guitar and percussion, respectively, but it wasn’t until 1976 that the trio began to take making music more seriously. The band was reshuffled to feature Smith on the guitar, Dempsey on bass and Tolhurst left the now renamed Malice, but it was only to last a year until their lead guitarist left as well.

The remaining members got Tolhurst back as their drummer and renamed themselves again.This time, they would be called Easy Cure. By September 1977, Smith took over lead vocals after several unsuccessful auditions and by the start of 1978, they had dropped the Easy from their name and had recorded their first demo tape. This tape found its way to Polydor Records scout Chris Parry, who was so taken with the band that he signed them to his own label Fiction in September of that very year. In a move that nobody would get away with now, their track “Killing An Arab” was released soon after as their very first single.

It was a move that gained as much acclaim as controversy, to the extent that a re-release of the single had to be packaged with a sticker on the cover denying its supposedly racist connotations. Thankfully, the bands energetic post-punk got more attention, and their hype was considerably heightened with a session on John Peel’s legendary Radio One show. By the following year, their debut album “Three Imaginary Boys”, was released, and as part of its promotion, the band embarked on their first major support tour opening for Siouxsie And The Banshees.

This was to be a major step forward for the band, as Smith was coaxed into playing guitar for The Banshees after their original axe-man left shortly before the tour. The experience of being a Banshee profoundly changed Smith’s attitude towards the music that his band played, and when before he was most influenced by The Buzzcocks and Elvis Costello, afterwards he wanted to match the power that he felt while playing Siouxsie’s music. The result was 1980’s “Seventeen Seconds” and arguably, that was when they became The Cure that we know today.

Since then, they’ve been most known for essentially creating Goth music with the aforementioned record, its follow up “Faith”, and 1982’s bleak masterpiece “Pornography”. However, after those records they released some of the most romantic, beautiful and downright succesful pop of the 1980’s and early 90’s, with albums like “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me”, “Wish” and “The Top” showing just what Smith could do with a lovelorn lyric and a truly gorgeous melody. It’s their mastery of these two extremes that really show why The Cure are as loved as they are. They exemplify the human condition, and reflect when one is ecstatic and when one is at their lowest with equal skill and sensitivity.

There’s no-one else like them, and it’ll be a while before we see their likes again. See this band as soon as possible.

Live reviews

Reviewing a show of one of your favorite Bands who have the distinction of being in your Top 5 (if not #1) live experiences of all time can be a bit daunting.

It can go a number of ways.

1. Another Great show as hoped.

2. Sub par and a let down.

3. The Band just "mails it in" (which is the worst).

The Cure, who have been around since 1976 (Easy Cure) and haven't toured the States anyway with a new album since 2008 are currently embarking on a substantial North American tour and with no new album I was really only expecting a "Greatest Hits" type show honestly? And given their Longevity and slew of "Hits" from the heyday of MTV I guess I couldn't blame them and I would have been satisfied more than likely?

Ah, but that was not the case in Boston (6-16-16) at Agganis Arena!

The Cure came out full throttle with a high energy level for what would turn out to be a marathon show of 3 hours which included.

Not 1. Not 2. Not even 3. But 4. Yes. 4 Encore Sets!!!

Were the standards there? Of course how can they not be.

"Inbetween Days", "Just Like Heaven", "Lovesong" "Let's Go To Bed", "Boys Don't Cry" etc etc etc

And all played with a kicked up, but not hurried, sense of urgency and excitement!

Mixed in though were surprising live Gems like:

"Burn" (1st The Crow soundtrack), "M", "Kyoto Song" and the surprising "Snakepit"!!

"Fascination Street" which has one the most perfect Bass lines ever IMO was a whirlwind of insanity as Simon Gallup just pushed the Band forward.

And the songs just kept coming one after the other while the crowd basked in Robert Smith's wonderfully childlike sense of wonder and emotion in his lyrics and vocals and understated guitar work.

Most Cure fans (me included) knew every single song played which is typical of The Cure fanbase.

But when they launched into the new "It Can Never Be the Same" with it's rumbling Bass line and heart felt lyrics to Robert Smith's Mother(?) I was amazed at how well it slid into this already fantastic set and really really really hope it gets a proper release soon, if it hasn't already and I have somehow missed it?

Robert Smith is an enigma of a front man. He demands your attention but. I don't believe, has never come to grips with his fans adulations and is still obviously shy individual. And I really don't think it's an act?

Simon Gallup is without doubt the energy of this Band still! He stalks the stage and never stops moving. All the while laying down a very unique Bass foundation that compliments Roberts Jangly sparse guitar style perfectly.

Simon does not get the recognition he deserves as a force on the Bass (along with John Taylor of Duran Duran) and if you play Bass you really should take a close listen to his work with The Cure.

Jason Cooper I think has finally come out from the shadow that was Boris Williams and seems comfortable in pushing his style now more in the drumming Dept. which I believe is another reason for the energy level of the Band live.

Roger O'Donnell is sublime on the keyboards and brings that soaring majestic sound needed for anything done from DISINTEGRATION while jumping right over to the nursery rhyme key tinkling of The Cure's early 80's Synth Pop era easily.

Reeves Gabrels who is the current 2nd guitarist in the ever rotating slot is a masterful musician in his own right (David Bowie folks) and honestly I was surprised at how long He has stayed with the Band? But He steps out very tastefully when required and ads his unique flair to the sound. I will admit to missing Porl Thompson who I just think was/ is the elusive component to the Band. But if you have to have Mr. Gabrels who am I to complain?.

Honestly this review could have been round up with one word: "EPIC"

But that, would be "mailing it in".

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I first saw the Cure in 1982 in this very same venue, the effectionatelg named by U.S. Muso's as the Hammy Odeon.

Tonight some 30 years later I'm back. I feel at home especially as I'm stranding and I'm where I should be.... Down the Front

Our evening starts with And Also The Trees a reformed eighties outfit who previously supported the Cure on their 1984 tour.

The thing about Robert smith is that he is a prolific song writer and the bands back catalogue is immense which results in us experiencing a three hour plus spectacular.

And what a treat. Hits rained down and more randomly than normal. Tracks from The Top album seemed dominate. Just like Heaven, Charlotte sometimes, Hundred Years, The End and of course the gems Primary, play for today and the classic A Forest.

Of course I'd liked more from Seventeen Seconds and Faith but that would have been greedy. There were plenty of folk here tonight who weren't born when these albums were released

With so much to play we were presented with four encores and finally at 11.15 it all ended with Boys Don't Cry.

It meant so much for me to have returned to this awesome venue to see my favourite band.... The place and the band that started me on my gig going journey

Cheers Robert.... Fantastic

The Cure are a special band and should be heard in a special environment, that is why I saw them at Red Rocks in Colorado. It was a cool night and the sun was sitting low in the sky. That famous colorful Colorado sky fell down across the stage.

The fans were are pretty relaxed and were mostly 25 plus in age. Everyone seemed to be poised for a night of great music. You could hear conversations coming from every direction, everyone hoping their favorite songs will be played.

Just as it was getting dark the band took the stage. Everyone stood and applauded Robert Smith as he paced across the stage and made his way to the microphone stand. As the band members struck a few random chords then the band jumped into “Just Like Heaven”. The frenzy only grew as the bad started without pause to play “Friday I’m In Love”. Everyone was having so much fun. The music sounded better then I have ever heard it before.

Robert Smith played an amazing set list of all the hits over the years. The band played all the old songs like “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Pictures of you” with a fresh take and with a new energy. This band has been around a while and still worth seeing live!

The Cure are legends and any band that will give you a 2 1/2 hour show deserves your respect. That being said this "greatest hits" + a few back-catalogue approach is what you'd expect from the Rolling Stones not from what is still an underground act. That in and by itself wouldn't even be that bad but aside from a few songs 39, A Night Like This, 100 Years sounded bland, uninspired and as though they were just going through the motions... Great light show, technical perfection but no soul! I've seen them twice in the 90's and came out of those shows thrilled, energized and inspired. Those were magical shows where the band managed to transform reality and all (the band included, to judge by their faces) came out of it exhausted and amazed, carried off as by some shamanistic ritual to dark and dangerous lands where we learned to overcome our fears and face the world around us with new hope. This wasn't one of those shows. This was Robert Smith giving his audience 30 of his best songs and not once making a spiritual connection with either the music or the crowd...

Obviously being way too young to remember The Cure the first time around (sort of, ish, ahem, etc), this was the first time seeing this bunch of post-punk proto-goths and inevitably they didn't disappoint.

Despite most of the band heading pretty swiftly towards free-bus-pass age, the gig show kicked along at a pace, with young Mr. Smith barely pausing for breath as they band kicked on through a back catalogue spanning 30+ years.

Having spent the past few weeks attempting to brush up on my Cure knowledge (via Spotify) I can gladly add this band to an ever-growing list of "if you thought the studio version was good...", as tracks like Lullaby, Lovecats and Friday all sounded immense performed live.

Main issue of the night was technical; the lack of big screens at Wembley Arena means if you're right at the back, the band are mere specks on the stage up front. The lighting design was beautifully done though, and went some way to compensate for the lack of being able to see Robert Smith gurning earnestly into the microphone.

Two review, first for The Cure. It was a wonderful show! They were willing to perform hits along with other unknown songs and sounded great at doing it. They had a half and half crowd, some diehard fans and some who thought they were bigger fans than they actually were. With it being May in Pac NW the temperature dropped quickly freezing alot of people enough to say they had seen enough. This wasnt The band's fault for lack of inspired fans. They were everything I expected from a goth rock band from the late 70s and 80s. About the venue: I love the venue as well! We have been living in Portland for 5 years but have never made a point to catch a show in the Washington Amphitheater. Wow! We felt like we were home in the south. Nice concert under the stars and the price was a great as well, considering the crappy prices shows in Portland go for. We will be going back to Sunlight Supply in August.

Buon concerto del gruppo, rovinato dalla pessima acustica del Mediolanum Forum.

L'esecuzione è stata quasi impeccabile, l'interazione col pubblico buona (Robert Smith ha persino azzardato un "Grazie mille", unica ed acclamatissima frase che il pubblico ha capito), alcune canzoni elegantemente riarrangiate.

La qualità sonora, inizialmente pessima (purtroppo tale è rimasta per tutta l'esibizione dei Twilight Sad che aprivano il concerto), è migliorata durante l'esibizione grazie al lavoro ingrato dei fonici e al fatto che gradualmente le chitarre elettriche distorte sono state sostituite con le acustiche o con suoni più docili.

Penso che sia l'ultimo concerto che andrò a vedere al Mediolanum Forum, che è vergognosamente inadatto ad ospitare concerti rock dal punto di vista acustico (peccato, perché dal punto di vista logistico non è male). Ridateci l'arena!

What a concert!

We managed to get front row side view, only a few meters from the stage.

I'd seen them in 1985 in Madrid, 2008 in Melbourne and now in Milan. Awesome songs, still as good as always. A massive repertoire to choose from, but they performed most of their hits, plus a new one, It Can Never Be The Same. Robert as grand as always, he really enjoyed the show.

Simon at his best, he inspired me when I was 17 to play bass guitar, his usual moving around the stage with his bass at knee level!

I missed Porl, though, he has always been the colourful note at the right end of the stage!

Roger as sculptural as always in front of the keyboards and Jason performing at his best.

A magnificent show, what can I say.

I hope to see them again in a couple of years!

The Cure - Barcelona, Palau Sant Jordi. November 26th 2016

My 5th Cure concert, and probably the best I've seen. No doubt it was far better than the last one, also in Barcelona in 2008 (without Roger O'Donnell on keys)

The band is great with Reeves Gabrels and Roger. Jason Cooper sounds better than ever on drums and Simon's bass is terrific.

Missed some gems such as Plainsong, Jupiter Crash, Want, Letter to Elise, but setlist was OK, 32 songs, focusing on The Head on the Door (1985) + Disintegration (89) + Kiss Me (87).

1 great unreleased song: It Can Never Be The Same on 1st encore.

Robert's voice was fine, powerful and clean. Athmosphere was good, proactive and the pop songs encouraged fans to sing along.

Looking fw to a new tour and maybe new album?

3 (three) hours of pure pleasure. 31 songs.

They sang as if they were recording the original albuns. Perfect!

Great quality and performance.

Great respect for the fans, as I never saw.

Best was not possible, im glad I went to this concert. Thank you CURE!

In Between Days

Pictures of You

The Hungry Ghost

A Night Like This

Shake Dog Shake

The Caterpillar

From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea

One Hundred Years

Step Into the Light

Play for Today

Fascination Street

Friday I'm in Love

Just Like Heaven

Boys Don't Cry

Hot Hot Hot!!!

Let's Go to Bed

Close to Me

Why Can't I Be You?

Videos (15)

Photos (125)

Posters (224)

Find out more about The Cure tour dates & tickets 2024-2025

Want to see The Cure in concert? Find information on all of The Cure’s upcoming concerts, tour dates and ticket information for 2024-2025.

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Event starts {{ data.showing_start_time }}, “songs of a lost world tour” with the twilight sad.

Following their 2022 European concerts, The Cure are excited to announce the “Songs of a Lost World Tour” will be heading to North America in May, June and July, with The Twilight Sad opening at all shows. The 30-date run will stop at Pine Knob Music Theatre on Tuesday, June 13 at 7 p.m. Pine Knob Music Theatre is presented by Proud Partners United Wholesale Mortgage, Trinity Health and Ally.

To give fans the best chance to buy tickets at face value, the artist has requested tickets to this event be mobile only and restricted from transfer. If you purchase a ticket and can’t attend, you can list your ticket for sale at the price you paid on our Face Value Ticket Exchange . There will be no additional fees charged to Exchange users for buying or selling tickets on the Exchange.

New 2022 European Tour announced

THE CURE HAVE JUST ANNOUNCED DETAILS OF A 44 DATE EUROPEAN TOUR TAKING IN 22 COUNTRIES AT THE END OF 2022 WITH THE TWILIGHT SAD SUPPORTING ON ALL DATES.

TICKETS FOR ALL SHOWS GO ON GENERAL SALE LATER THIS WEEK AND YOU CAN FIND TICKET DEAILS AT THECURE.COM/SHOWS/

THE FULL LIST OF TOUR DATES:

06 – RIGA Arena 08 – HELSINKI Hartwall Arena 10 – STOCKHOLM Avicii Arena 12 – OSLO Spektrum 13 – GOTHENBURG Scandinavium 14 – COPENHAGEN Royal Arena 16 – HAMBURG Barclays Arena 17 – LEIPZIG Quarterback Immobilien Arena 18 – BERLIN Mercedes Benz Arena 20 – KRAKOW Tauron Arena 21 – LODZ Atlas Arena 23 – VIENNA Marx Halle 24 – PRAGUE O2 Arena 26 – BUDAPEST Arena 27 – ZAGREB Arena 29 – MUNICH Olympiahalle 31 – BOLOGNA Unipol Arena

01 – FIRENZE Mandela Forum 03 – PADOVA Kioene Arena 04 – MILAN Forum 06 – GENEVA Arena 07 – LYON Halle Tony Garnier 08 – MONTPELLIER Sud De France Arena 10 – BARCELONA Palau Sant Jordi 11 – MADRID WiZink Center 13 – TOULOUSE Zenith 14 – BORDEAUX Arkea Arena 15 – NANTES Zenith 17 – FRANKFURT Festhalle 18 – STRASBOURG Zenith 19 – BASEL St Jakobshalle 21 – STUTTGART Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle 22 – KOLN Lanxess Arena 23 – ANTWERP Sportpaleis 25 – AMSTERDAM Ziggo Dome 27 – LIEVIN Stade 28 – PARIS Accor Arena

01 – DUBLIN 3Arena 02 – BELFAST SSE Arena 04 – GLASGOW OVO Hydro 06 – LEEDS First Direct Arena 07 – BIRMINGHAM Utilita Arena 08 – CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena 11 – WEMBLEY OVO Arena 12 – WEMBLEY OVO Arena (Added due to demand) 13 – WEMBLEY OVO Arena (Added due to demand)

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The run kicks off May 10 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Published on

The Cure is set to embark on its first North American tour in seven years this summer as the Rock Hall-inducted band’s Songs of a Lost World trek has planned 30 shows stateside.

Following their 2022 European run, Robert Smith and company will kick off their 2023 North American dates on May 10 in New Orleans. After performing in the U.S. and parts of Canada–including three-night stands at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl and New York’s Madison Square Garden–the leg concludes July 1 in Miami.

According to a statement, “The Cure have agreed all ticket prices, and apart from a few Hollywood Bowl charity seats, there will be no ‘platinum’ or ‘dynamically priced’ tickets on this tour.”

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Back in December, the band shared an upgraded and extended version of their 1991 behind-the-scenes documentary, Play Out .

The two-hour film was directed by Pete Fowler and followed the band across small shows to headlining London’s Wembley Arena. It also captured their appearance on MTV Unplugged and triumph in the Best British Group category at the BRITs.

The reissue of the documentary follows the 30th-anniversary re-release of the band’s 1992 album Wish . The record includes the hit single “Friday I’m In Love” as well as the likes of “Cut,” “A Letter To Elise,” and “End.”

The new deluxe reissue of Wish was released at the end of November and contains the original album in newly remastered form, plus a second disc featuring 21 previously unreleased demos. These include four studio vocal demos from 1990 and seventeen instrumental demos from 1991, 9 of which are previously unreleased songs. A third CD also includes four tracks from the mail-order-only cassette “Lost Wishes” released in 1993, which have never appeared on CD or digitally before.

Also included in the Wish deluxe edition are the previously unreleased song “A Wendy Band” from the 1992 Manor Studio sessions, a previously unheard mix of the epic live favorite “From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea,” as well as five rare 12” mixes. Finally, closing the set is an unheard live version of “End” from Paris Bercy in October 1992.

Visit The Cure’s official website for more information.

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Robert Smith Says The Cure Will Perform Songs from New Album on Tour

February 5, 2022
Alice Teeple

“WE WILL BE PERFORMING SONGS FROM A NEW ALBUM WHEN WE NEXT PLAY… OR WE WON’T BE PLAYING AT ALL!”

The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting, and so is Robert Smith….in his trademark CAPS LOCK, no less!

The Cure have big plans for 2022, including a tour and the long-awaited new album, which according to a press release is a lengthy record clocking in at 67 minutes , around the same runtime of both Disintegration and Wish .

Smith took to social media to boldly answer a few queries about The Cure’s upcoming tour schedule, namely additions to the tour itinerary, his eagerness to play live once again, and introducing new songs from the upcoming album on the tour.

The Cure frontman announced that the band will also “play a lot of other shows in places that are not Europe,” but specific dates are still forthcoming. UK fans will be chuffed to know that in December, the band has added a third night at London’s SSE Arena at Wembley, wrapping up the European leg of the tour.

IN ANSWER: YES, WE WILL BE PLAYING A LOT OF OTHER SHOWS IN PLACES THAT ARE NOT EUROPE… BUT THERE DOESN’T SEEM MUCH POINT ANNOUNCING ANY MORE THAN THAT UNTIL WE ANNOUNCE ACTUAL DATES… WHICH WILL BE VERY SOON X — ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) February 4, 2022

After addressing those concerns about when The Cure would announce tour dates for the rest of the world, such as North America, Smith then went on to clarify that there will, in fact, be no new tour if there is no new album, declaring:

“WE WILL BE PERFORMING SONGS FROM A NEW ALBUM WHEN WE NEXT PLAY… OR WE WON’T BE PLAYING AT ALL! AND I REALLY WANT TO PLAY… SO THAT MEANS… X”

He then enthusiastically added:

“…IT MEANS MY DESIRE TO RELEASE A NEW ALBUM IS OVERWHELMING! X”

WE WILL BE PERFORMING SONGS FROM A NEW ALBUM WHEN WE NEXT PLAY… OR WE WON’T BE PLAYING AT ALL! AND I REALLY WANT TO PLAY… SO THAT MEANS… X — ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) February 4, 2022

…IT MEANS MY DESIRE TO RELEASE A NEW ALBUM IS OVERWHELMING! X — ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) February 4, 2022

Patience is a virtue, and it looks for Cure fans, it will soon pay off. Meanwhile, The Cure’s 44-date European tour begins in October of 2022.

Ticketing and info can be found here.

The Cure 2022 European Tour Dates:

06 – ARENA, Riga, Latvia
08 – HARTWALL ARENA, Helsinki, Finland
10 – AVICII ARENA, Stockholm, Sweden
12 – SPEKTRUM, Oslo, Norway
13 – SCANDINAVIUM, Gothenburg, Sweden
14 – ROYAL ARENA, Copenhagen, Denmark
16 – BARCLAYCARD ARENA, Hamburg, Germany
17 – QUARTERBACK IMMOBILIEN ARENA, Leipzig, Germany
18 – MERCEDES-BENZ ARENA, Berlin, Germany
20 – TAURON ARENA, Krakow, Poland
21 – ATLAS ARENA, Lodz, Poland
23 – MARX HALLE, Vienna, Austria
24 – O2 ARENA, Prague 9, Czech Republic
26 – ARENA, Budapest, Hungary
27 – ARENA, Zagreb, Croatia
29 – OLYMPIAHALLE, Munich, Germany
31 – UNIPOL ARENA, Bologna, Italy
01 – MANDELA FORUM, Florence, Italy
03 – KIOENE ARENA, Padova, Italy
04 – FORUM, Milan, Italy
06 – ARENA, Geneva, Switzerland
07 – HALLE TONY GARNIER, Lyon, France
08 – SUD DE FRANCE ARENA, Montpellier, France
10 – PALAU SANT JORDI, Barcelona, Spain
11 – WIZINK CENTER, Madrid, Spain
13 – ZENITH, Toulouse, France
14 – ARKEA ARENA, Bordeaux, France
15 – ZENITH, Nantes, France
17 – FESTHALLE, Frankfurt, Germany
18 – ZENITH, Strasbourg, France
19 – ST JAKOBSHALLE, Basel, Switzerland
21 – HANS-MARTIN-SCHLEYER-HALLE, Stuttggart, Germany
22 – LANXESS ARENA, Cologne, Germany
23 – SPORTPALEIS, Antwerp, Belgium
25 – ZIGGO DOME, Amsterdam, Netherlands
27 – STADE, Lievin, France
28 – ACCOR ARENA, Paris, France
01 – 3ARENA, Dublin, Ireland
02 – SSE, Belfast, Northern Ireland
04 – OVO HYDRO, Glasgow, Scotland
06 – FIRST DIRECT ARENA, Leeds, England
07 – UTILITA ARENA, Birmingham, England
08 – MOTORPOINT ARENA, Cardiff, Wales
11 – THE SSE ARENA, Wembley, London, England
12 – THE SSE ARENA, Wembley, London, England
13 – THE SSE ARENA, Wembley, London, England

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The Cure unveils 44-date European tour in 2022, but don’t expect U.S. dates before 2023

Once again teasing a new album, The Cure today announced a mammoth 44-date European arena tour for late 2022 that will take Robert Smith and Co. to 19 counties, a trek that will mark the band’s first non-festival tour in six years.

The tour opens Oct. 6 in Latvia and runs for two months, wrapping up Nov. 11 with a show at London’s Wembley Arena. The Twilight Sad will once again open all dates. See the full itinerary below.

Tickets begin going on sale later this week, with full details available on the band’s website .

But fans in North America hoping to see the band next year will have to wait until 2023. Smith took to Twitter today to that shows in the “rest of the world” are still being finalzied. “A lot of them got pushed back — they will be announced in due course — but won’t now happen until spring 2023.”

But he added: “Yes, we will be playing songs from ‘the new album’ in 2022.”

‘ROW’ SHOWS ARE BEING FINALISED – A LOT OF THEM GOT PUSHED BACK – THEY WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN DUE COURSE – BUT WON’T NOW HAPPEN UNTIL SPRING 2023… AND YES, WE WILL BE PLAYING SONGS FROM ‘THE NEW ALBUM’ IN 2022 X #waitingforgodot — ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) December 6, 2021

The band also has confirmed, via its new press photo, that bassist Simon Gallup remains in the lineup, despite his social media announcement in August that he was quitting.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, The Cure has been working on a new album in recent years, the belated follow-up to 2008’s 4.13 Dream . Smith also has been collaborating of late, singing on new singles from Gorillaz and Chvrches . He also performed live with Gorillaz twice in August.

The 2022 concerts will be the band’s first live performances since before the pandemic, when The Cure followed up its Pasadena Daydream festival in September 2019 with appearances at the Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, Texas, and a one-off stadium concert in Mexico City.

The Cure tour dates

Oct. 6: Riga Arena, Riga, Latvia Oct. 8: Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland Oct. 10: Avicii Arena, Stockholm, Sweden Oct. 12: Spektrum, Oslo, Norway Oct. 13: Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden Oct. 14: Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark Oct. 16: Barclays Arena, Hamburg, Germany Oct. 17: Quarterback Immobilien Arena, Leipzig, Germany Oct. 18: Mercedes Benz Arena, Berlin, Germany Oct. 20: Tauron Arena, Krakow, Poland Oct. 21: Atlas Arena, Lodz, Poland Oct. 23: Marx Halle, Vienna, Austria Oct. 24: O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic Oct. 26 : Arena, Budapest, Hungary Oct. 27: Arena, Zagreb, Croatia Oct. 29: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany Oct. 31: Unipol Arena, Bologna, Italy Nov. 1: Mandela Forum, Firenze, Italy Nov. 3: Kioene Arena, Padova, Italy Nov. 4: Forum, Milan, Italy Nov. 6: Arena, Geneva, Switzerland Nov. 7: Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon, France Nov. 8: Sud De France Arena, Montpellier, France Nov. 10: Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain Nov. 11: Wizink Centre, Madrid, Spain Nov. 13: Zenith, Toulouse, France Nov. 14: Arkea Arena, Bordeaux, France Nov. 15: Zenith, Nantes, France Nov. 17: Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany Nov. 18: Zenith, Strasbourg, France Nov. 19: St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland Nov. 21: Hanns-martin-schleyer-halle, Stuttgart, Germany Nov. 22: Lanxess Arena, Koln, Germany Nov. 23: Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium Nov. 25: Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands Nov. 27: Stade, Lievin, France Nov. 28: Accor Arena, Paris, France Dec. 1: 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland Dec. 2: SSE Arena, Belfast, U.K. Dec. 4: Ovo Hydro, Glasgow , U.K. Dec. 6: First Direct Arena, Leeds, U.K. Dec. 7: Utilita Arena, Birmingham, U.K. Dec. 8: Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, U.K. Dec. 11: Wembley SSE Arena, London, U.K.

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

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The Cure turns Pasadena Daydream into ‘the best day of the summer’ with scorching set
The Cure to release 6-disc ‘40 Live: Curaetion-25 + Anniversary’ audio/video box set
The absolute best of The Cure: All 225 songs ranked by Slicing Up Eyeballs’ readers

35 Comments

Come to Chicago Robert and gang!!!

Come back to Missouri!!

That’s nice and all but the last time they announced a tour in the process of releasing a new album, it got delayed for another year.

Sorry, Bob. I stopped caring about a new album supposedly coming out over a year ago so I’m not the least bit in a rush to see you next year.

I think it’s a bit different when 44 dates are booked with the intention of performing new material. This isn’t morrissey

Robert please schedule St Paul or Minneapolis, Minnesota! You are so loved!

@Cameron: what exactly do you care about now with regard to The Cure, aside from how important it is to you to let them know you don’t care?

I mean, I understand you’re lashing out, undoubtedly out of frustration, but if you really don’t care about the new album, what is it you want?

He wants free tickets and an apology for the pandemic delaying things! Pathetic!

@Cameron I’m sure Robert will be devastated to hear this news from you. It might be reason enough for him to cancel the tour completely!

PLEASE, NO FESTIVAL DATES!!!!

I see that they won’t be playing in Lisbon Portugal…thia is where we saw them play last time we did in a big arena there. Three enores played.

I see the cure are playing in Madrid

I’m going to assume maybe possibly Cameron might be referring to how back in 07-08ish, 4:13 Dream was repeatedly delayed and was supposed to be a double album, or something along those lines. I mean, I get it. It can try your patience after a while if it keeps being told it’s almost done. And in his defense Robert said it was almost done around the Hall of Fame induction which was 2019, so… yeah it’s been a couple years. But, like DW said, why air it out on here if you don’t care? It’s not going to affect the band any, and it’s just wasting energy.

I hope they play Tramps again.

Come to Boston!!!! ❤️

I know Robert Smith is reading this page, so hey Robert, please do as I say and release nothing but good music and play the venues I want and do it now now now. Thanks, Xavier

True fans never complain just happy!! Just like heaven!! Going to see you in England 12/7 and can’t wait. Saw them in Phoenix and San Diego years ago a day sort and they didn’t disappoint as the concert and music was not repetitive! Love you Rob ♥️

Everybody wants to see you guys come to Beaumont Texas we like the Cure to a small town come with LOVE

Detroit is MISSING the CURE !

What about Lisbon, Portugal??? :'(

Dear God in Heaven!!!! Please make it to the West Coast!!!! Better yet, all the way to Hawaii!!!!!!!

April 21st came and went and still no 30th anniversary remaster and reissue of “Wish”. But today, April 23rd 2022, Record Store Day, we will see tons of garbage nobody asked for (America “History” on colored vinyl, Blondie “Sunday Girl” 45RPM 7”, and another picture vinyl Cure release for viewing only). I’d love to see The Cure live in the US but at this pace, I’ll probably catch them in another 25-30 years when I’ll qualify for a front row seat on my wheelchair and hoping my diapers won’t overflow.

Dear Robert Smith will you please at the least play at the Santa Barbara bowl I live in San Luis obispo County California the central coast of California I would appreciate it you have been my idol since high school and I’m 48 now Robert you are a genius you’re lyrics are so awesome please keep the music flowing you guys are so talented with instruments I’m going to be so depressed when the cure is no longer around I hope I die before that I used to rat my hair like Robert Smith and wear makeup to high school

I can’t imagine what is wrong with so many of these “fans”? I love The Cure, and always will! I was at The Hollywood Bowl, in 2016, and at the Forum, in 1986/87. (Can remember specific date), as well as Dodger Stadium in between. I hope you will come back to LA in 2023. I wish I’d purchased tickets to Pasadena Daydreams festival.

My only note would be that while new music is so important, I ALWAYS want to hear the early music, too!!! It is, in my opinion, some of the best songs ever written & performed. So, as rumors swirl that Robert may not tour much more, I ask that you please come back to LA and play your classics at least one more time. Thank you so much for all the brilliant music & memories The Cure have given me over nearly 40 years.

My favorite band and never saw you guys in concert. My bad, I retify the situation ASAP. Denver would LOVE you guys at Ball Arena. Just sayin’ I know the US sucks right now, but your concert would a bright spot here. We need it.

My favorite band and never saw you guys in concert. My bad, I rectify the situation ASAP. Denver would LOVE you guys at Ball Arena. Just sayin’ I know the US sucks right now, but your concert would a bright spot here. We need it.

Bring The Cure to WASHINGTON DC!

Florida needs The Cure ♥️

Please play in Washington state at the Gorge!

Everyone in the world needs The Cure!! Please come to New Orleans la. Music today sucks!!!! Thanks for all the great music

The pink blanket girls need you guys to come to Maryland/ New York area. We will be wearing a pink blanket on our heads. ♥️♥️!!!!! We Love You!!!!

Saw you guys in Antwerp November 2022. I love in South Carolina but will travel to wherever I need to in US to see the Cure again.

Please come to Nashville!! I’m dying to see y’all in person. I absolutely love your music and think you are the hottest singer around. Robert, Mary is such a lucky woman. I’m sure you both feel you’ve had such an amazing life. Love to all of you, and hope to see you soon. Godspeed and blessings to you.

Hi Robert… you are my favorite man… I’ve got lots of memories of you… when I hold up my Robert doll, and catch your eye… I wish this to happen soon again… love forever, DeeDee

wars and rumors of wars….ya’ll come to bayou country for a while… pretty nice and relatively safe here.

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The Cure give us an update on their “relentless” new album – and when to expect it

Robert Smith gives us the lowdown on 'Songs Of A Lost World', another album in the works, their upcoming tour, and his relationship with bassist Simon Gallup

The Cure have spoken to NME about progress on their long-awaited new album ‘Songs Of A Lost World’, as well as what to expect from their upcoming tour.

READ MORE: On the cover – Robert Smith on 40 years of The Cure

Having long teased the band’s long-awaited “merciless” new record – after telling us that two new albums were on the way back at the last NME Awards back in 2020 – Smith revealed to NME earlier this year that one of them would be “real very soon ” and would be called ‘Songs Of A Lost World’.

Then today (Thursday May 19), after he and bandmate and songwriting partner Simon Gallup picked up the Icon Award at the Ivor Novellos , Smith again gave reassurance that the album was on the way and would be out before their upcoming winter tour.

“We will be releasing a new album,” Smith told NME . “I get fed up of saying this now! We will be playing from October and the new album will be out before then. We walked on [stage at the Ivors today] to a bit of new music, actually. Hopefully no one recorded it!”

At this point, Shakira interrupted the interview to shake hands with “her favourite band of all time”, before Gallup replied: “It is a surreal day”.

Back to ‘Songs Of A Lost World’, Smith then confirmed that “it’s almost finished”.

“Reeves [Gabrels] our guitar player has come over from America for the day just to finish a couple of solos, I’ve got to finish a couple of vocals,” he revealed. “Essentially it’s a 12 track album. It’s there, it’s kind of half-mixed and half-finished. It’s a weird thing. It’s kind of evolved over the last two years. It hasn’t always been a good thing to have been left alone with it. You pick at it, like picking at seams, and everything falls apart.

“It is a strange one. I was thinking about it when we were walking up to collect the award – it felt strange to be leaving the other three at the table,” he said. “We got an NME Award a couple of years back for Best Festival Headliner . That meant a lot because we don’t often get recognised for that side of what we do live, but this is completely different.

“For me, it’s really lovely that Simon is up there with me. It’s criminal really, because he’s been there all the time.”

As for how they work together when penning material, he said: “With Simon, we send demos back and forth. Because I write the words, I decide what songs are going to progress and which ones aren’t. Often it’s the case that with hindsight I pick the wrong songs.

“I’ve just finished doing the ‘Wish’ remaster, and there are so many of Simon’s demos that never got past the demo stage and remained instrumental – purely because I couldn’t think of any words for them. That’s really sad, because some of them were really great!

“They’re all coming out as instrumentals, and I think there are about 36 unreleased songs coming out on the package. That’s the same every time we do anything. There’s always loads of music, and a lot of it is Simon’s. I just run out of words!”

Fans will get the chance to hear new material live at The Cure’s upcoming 2022 UK and European tour.

Asked if the gigs will be their legendary usual three hours plus in length, he replied: “Not if my band has anything to do with it! It will be slightly shorter than in the past, if I’m honest. It will be about two and a quarter hours, I think. That’s short!

“There will be a smattering of new stuff as we play through. Essentially the strength of the band live is the catalogue and the songs that we’ve got so it would be pretty dumb to play an hour of new music. Although some people would prefer us to do that!”

Smith added: “The size of the venues we’re playing, you need to engage everyone in the venue. You can’t just concentrate on the handful of people down the front. If it happens it’ll be great…that’s if Europe exists by the time we start…”

Last August, Gallup announced that he had left The Cure . However, in October, he told a fan on social media that he was still a member of the band . The bassist appeared on stage with Smith at the Ivors tonight, although he did not make an acceptance speech.

Smith’s last public appearances were for the BandLab NME Awards 2022 – where he picked up the Best Song In The UK Award for his Chvrches collaboration ‘How Not To Drown’ and after performed the track together live for the first time along with a cover of The Cure’s ‘Just Like Heaven ‘ – and then again for a repeat performance of the songs with Chvrches at their Brixton Academy headline gig a week later .

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Robert Smith

The Cure Look to Limit Scalping, Platinum Prices on Upcoming Tour

By Ethan Millman

Ethan Millman

Fans and artists trying to find solutions for a more fan-friendly ticketing experience may want to look to The Cure .

After the English rock band announced their first U.S. tour in seven years earlier this week, The Cure said Friday that tickets for most of their shows wouldn’t be transferrable, part of an effort to help make sure tickets sell only for face value and that customers won’t pay exorbitant prices from scalpers.

“We want the tour to be affordable for all fans, and we have a very wide (and we think very fair) range of pricing at every show,” The Cure said in a statement on Friday. “Our ticketing partners have agreed to help us stop scalpers from getting in the way; to help minimize resale and keep prices at face value, tickets for this tour will not be transferrable. If something comes up that prevents a fan from being able to use a ticket they have purchased, they will be able to resell it on a face value ticket exchange.”

TICKET REGISTRATION OPEN NOW AT https://t.co/PkDGUv9w7c #ShowsOfALostWorld23 #TheCure #NorthAmerica pic.twitter.com/KgYQNu3S4F — The Cure (@thecure) March 10, 2023

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Other artists like Zach Bryan have also enlisted non-transferrable tickets for their tours, hoping to keep tickets in fans’ hands. “I didn’t care about selling out the tour in thirty seconds, I cared about people getting reasonably priced tickets,” Bryan, who publicly spurned Ticketmaster and is partnering with AEG and AXS for his tour, wrote. “We sold all the tickets in 3 waves to actual fans, we hired teams to limit bots, and we sacrificed a lot of personal things to give real people real seats.”

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The Cure’s Robert Smith with guitar, light streaming down behind him, on stage in Leeds.

The Cure review – the doyens of doom

First Direct Arena, Leeds A devoted multi-generational audience aren’t disappointed as Robert Smith and band double down on desolations old and new

S uccess wears an Eraserhead T-shirt and applies its makeup in the dark with a liberal hand. Many conventional metrics of accomplishment do not apply to the Cure, 44 years in the game and now at the tail-end of a 44-date European tour . Currently an independent unsigned band finalising the release of their 14th studio album, this is their first time in Leeds for a decade – or so reckons crimson-lipped, smudge-eyed singer Robert Smith , the man whose dreams, nightmares, hopelessly romantic nature and peculiarly perky take on nihilism power this British institution. Helipads, velvet ropes, Bond themes: none of these outward signs of validation hold sway in the Cure’s universe.

This is a band who seem to be having their cake and eating it with remarkably few concessions. The Cure have a finished product, their first album of new songs in 14 years to offer to a new label as-is – and a devoted multi-generational audience ready to buy it and fill arenas worldwide.

Has any musician ever felt more secure in their own art as Smith? Decades past any kind of performance anxiety, he chats amiably between his songs of deep alienation, looking exactly as he has always looked, the years adding only a faint air of Miss Havisham to his signature back-combed cobweb of hair. (Multi-instrumentalist Perry Bamonte , back in the fold again, also has an impressive salt-and-pepper candyfloss “do”.) Tonight, Smith has a cold, because someone sneezed on him in Glasgow, he says. But his instantly recognisable vocals remain strong, even under all the reverb.

Quiffed and stripped to a vest, Simon Gallup, the Cure’s other constant, still wears his bass round his ankles like Peter Hook. He climbs up on monitors, ends A Forest with a squall of noise and repeatedly offers his instrument up to the gods, the band member most responsible for showmanship.

You do wish some of this punk-era energy might rub off on the rest of the band. Smith and his revolving group of co-conspirators set up early in Leeds – 8.13 on a Tuesday night – to unfurl great swaths of their back catalogue. The set list is liberally peppered with new works destined for that forthcoming outing, Songs of a Lost World . It’s a “relentless” record Smith has been trailing since roughly 2018. There is one more in the can as well, he has said.

The pace is glacially unhurried, with most songs taking multiple bars of keyboard-and-guitar foreplay to get going. Since 2012, the Cure’s other guitarist has been Reeves Gabrels , for years a mainstay of David Bowie’s bands; sometimes, tonight, a total of three guitars (Smith, Gabrels and Bamonte) beefs out the band’s sound. Superfan Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai once told an interviewer that you needed “strong ankles” to last a Cure gig. But this is excellent fan servicing: long, mutable set lists, and tour T-shirts priced at £20.

The Cure’s regard for passing musical fashion – or what you might loosely call artistic progress – remains heroically scant too. At this juncture, no one is really expecting a Kid A -style swerve; Smith is not about to discover the harp. Rather, the six-piece double down on desolations old and new, with a pop greatest hits set in the second encore.

Smith and Simon Gallup of the Cure at the First Direct Arena, Leeds.

But first: the news that everything must die, and that we all die alone. “This is the end of every song that we sing,” Smith declares on Alone, the very first track, flagging themes of despair, constancy and isolation that will echo down the set list. A brand new song that ramps up Smith’s signature mournfulness with what sounds like a farewell to all life as we know it, Alone is accompanied by a visual of planet Earth gradually falling away into the distance.

Soon after, some signature guitar tones and organ-like chords signal a shift into a more familiar starry-eyed melancholy, and one of the Cure’s most enduring love songs, Pictures of You . The band’s fluctuating set list has room for all shades of darkness tonight, from the magisterial, lysergic disgust of Shake Dog Shake to The Last Day of Summer , in which everything appears to be terrible and getting worse – and that was back in nice, safe, normal 2000, circa the Bloodflowers LP.

One of the longstanding enigmas central to the Cure’s canon has long been how a man happily married to his childhood sweetheart for so many years could be so riven with romantic angst. (To which the answer is always: we pay these people to be creative.) One of the new tracks the Cure play tonight is And Nothing Is Forever , whose ambivalent title disguises another heartfelt devotional to – presumably – Smith’s beloved.

Lately, it really seems as though loss and finality have been squarely targeting this bard of bleakness. In recent years, Smith has been through many bereavements – both his parents, his elder brother (a key early influence on the younger Smith) and, during Covid, a brace of aunts and uncles .

I Can Never Say Goodbye is explicitly about Smith’s brother, and skewering lyrics such as “I can’t break this dreamer’s sleep however hard I try” leaves the listener in no doubt that Songs of a Lost World will pack a payload of hurt. All these leave-takings have prompted fresh reckonings with despair, from an artist who, over the years, has often wondered in interviews – and, more tangentially, in lyrics – whether he had anything left to say. He has.

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The Cure's tour has been the surprise hit of the year. This is why it captivates.

COLUMBIA, Md. – It's the sleeper hit of the year , packing venues from Los Angeles to New York, allowing fans to channel the inner goth of their youth and dazzling with a career-spanning set list of nearly 30 songs.

Before the kickoff of their tour in May in New Orleans, The Cure hadn't rounded the U.S. since 2016. But last year’s excursion through Europe allowed idiosyncratic frontman Robert Smith, 64, and the band the opportunity to burnish their live production.

Both sleek and melancholy, the two-hour 45-minute show is ticking down to its final concerts, with a July 1 finale in Miami followed by festival spot dates this fall.

At an overflowing Merriweather Post Pavilion on Sunday, the band demonstrated why their following remains fanatical.

The Cure's new music is as solid as its classics

Fans have awaited a new album – "Songs of a Lost World," which pairs with the tour's name, Shows of a Lost World – since Smith unveiled the title in March 2022.

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Despite no definitive arrival for The Cure’s first release since 2008’s “4:13 Dream,” the band has included several new tracks in all of its shows.

The main set was bookended with newbies – the Pink Floyd-like opener "Alone" and the devastating "Endsong," a bleak musing on aging ("No hopes, no dreams, no world … I don't belong here anymore") filled with guitar squiggles and crashing cymbals.

But sandwiched between the aching longing of "Lovesong" and the starry backdrop, cerulean lighting and serrated guitar riffs of "At Night" sat a definitive new Cure creation.

Smith turned his back to the adoring audience, swaying while conducting indefatigable drummer Jason Cooper, before unleashing a voice wracked with pain on "And Nothing is Forever."

Smith’s voice enveloped lyrics such as "My world has grown old, but it really doesn't matter if you say we'll be together," suggesting his heart still swells with sadness, if not darkness.

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The Cure's set list taps into deep cuts as well as hits

An early highlight came when Smith faced off with bassist Simon Gallup – the second-longest tenured member in the band – for the chugging intro to "Pictures of You."

The ballad, from The Cure's landmark 1989 album, "Disintegration," showcases all of the hallmarks of their sound – watery guitars, evocative synths and a slow burn into an explosive soundscape that unfolded beautifully on stage.

It was also one of their few hits played before the encores, which were packed with casual-fan favorites including the jubilant "Friday I'm in Love" and equally buoyant "Just Like Heaven" (both always seem at odds with The Cure's frequently gloomy thrust).

Instead, the nucleus of the show spotlighted lesser-heard gems such as "Burn," from the 1994 soundtrack to "The Crow," complemented by crimson lights ricocheting around the stage as Cooper pounded the layered beat; the metronomic groove of "At Night" and hand-clapping of "A Forest," both from the band's second album, 1980's "Seventeen Seconds"; and "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea," from 1992's "Wish," which was anchored by relentless keyboard plinks from Roger O'Donnell until the song erupted into a thrilling rumble.

Let's also tip the hat to Reeves Gabrels and Perry Bamonte for their dancing surf-guitar licks on "Push," an album track from 1985's "The Head on the Door."

Robert Smith hasn't changed

Smith remains the focal point of The Cure – and how could he not be with his trademark heap of black hair, blur of scarlet lipstick and lacquered eye makeup? His voice, a blend of sad wail and smooth croon, endures as a distinctive, undiminished sound.

But Smith also makes his appreciation for the band's audiences known. On Sunday, as he has throughout the tour, he spent the first several minutes of the show meandering to each section of the stage, quietly greeting fans with his eyes and accepting gifts tossed at him.

His gaze was one of gratitude mixed with disbelief that after all this time, the people still show.

Apparently, the sad prince of goth pop is still the king four decades on.

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THE mythical rock band composed of Robert Smith on vocals and guitar, Simon Gallup on bass, Roger O'Donnell on keyboards, Reeves Gabrels on guitar and Jason Cooper on drums is back after 5 years of absence.

Since their first concert in 1979 at the Bataclan (already organized by the founders of Alias) and today, more than 40 years of Cold Wave history is staring at us.

Don't miss the biggest French tour ever done by the cult band. Starting on November 7, 2022, they will travel all over France to finish in Paris on November 28, 2022 at the Accor Arena.

The opening act will be the Scottish band THE TWILIGHT SAD.

We take out the black gabardine, we put on the Creepers and we go to offer ourselves a good cure of youth. You can't be serious when you're 17!

Get your ticket to an unforgettable experience.

Book your parking space to get to the event in record time, and secure a select spot inside the Arena!

Restrictions

You are not allowed to bring your own food into the Accor Arena.

You are not allowed to bring your own drinks into the Accor Arena.

Suitcases and holdalls are not allowed. Backpacks are allowed but must be checked in to the cloakroom.

“Professional” camera equipment is not allowed inside the Accor Arena.

About the band

The band was formed in 1976 in Crawley, West Sussex, England. They have released 12 albums, two of which have won Grammy awards for "Best Alternative Music Album". Wish is their best known album, of which the song "Friday I'm in Love" is part of.

Consequence

The Cure Debut New Music at European Tour Kick-Off: Video + Setlist

"Alone" and "Endsong" sound like classic Cure

Editor’s Note: The Cure will tour North America in 2023 ; get tickets here .

The Cure kicked off their European tour with a concert in Latvia on Thursday night. The 25-song setlist included two new songs called “Alone” and “Endsong,” which are presumably taken from their long-awaited new album Songs of a Lost World .

“Alone,” a seven-minute “Plainsong”-adjacent number, opened the show in typical Cure fashion, with Robert Smith walking on stage without a guitar to take in the crowd during an extended instrumental intro. “This is the end of every song that we sing,” he eventually croons.

“Endsong,” meanwhile, naturally closed out the band’s main set (two encores followed). The second new offering proved equally cinematic, stretching out for 10 minutes with a militaristic drum riff over melancholy synths. From the looks of these tracks, Smith’s “relentlessly doom and gloom” description of Songs of a Lost World is accurate.

Another exciting piece of news from The Cure’s Latvia gig was the apparent return of Perry Bamonte, who has rejoined the band for the first time since his 1990 to 2005 tenure. A new era really is upon us!

Next up, The Cure will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their album Wish by reissuing the LP in a deluxe package featuring unreleased demos, live tracks, and rare songs. Check out the band’s upcoming European tour dates below.

Setlist: Alone (World Debut) Pictures of You Closedown A Night Like This Lovesong Trust (First time since 2016) Burn Fascination Street Push In Between Days Play for Today A Forest Want Shake Dog Shake 39 From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea Endsong (World Debut)

Encore: Plainsong Disintegration

Encore 2: Lullaby Close to Me The Walk Friday I’m in Love Just Like Heaven Boys Don’t Cry

The Cure 2022 Tour Dates: 10/08 — Helsinki, FI @ Hartwall Arena ( Tix ) 10/10 — Stockholm, SE @ Avicii Arena ( Tix ) 10/12 — Oslo, NO @ Spektrum ( Tix ) 10/13 — Gothenburg, SE @ Scandinavium ( Tix ) 10/14 — Copenhagen, DK @ Royal Arena ( Tix ) 10/16 — Hamburg, DE @ Barclays Arena ( Tix ) 10/17 — Leipzig, DE @ Quarterback Immobilien Arena ( Tix ) 10/18 — Berlin, DE @ Mercedes Benz Arena ( Tix ) 10/20 — Krakow, PL @ Tauron Arena ( Tix ) 10/21 — Lodz, PL @ Atlas Arena ( Tix ) 10/23 — Vienna, AT @ Marx Halle ( Tix ) 10/24 — Prague, CZ @ O2 Arena ( Tix ) 10/26 — Budapest, HU @ Arena 10/27 — Zagreb, HR @ Arena 10/29 — Munich, DE @ Olympiahalle ( Tix ) 10/31 — Bologna, IT @ Unipol Arena ( Tix ) 11/01 — Firenze, IT @ Mandela Forum ( Tix ) 11/03 — Padova, IT @ Kioene Arena ( Tix ) 11/04 — Milan, IT @ Forum ( Tix ) 11/06 — Geneva, CH @ Arena 11/07 — Lyon, FR @ Halle Tony Garnier ( Tix ) 11/08 — Montpellier, FR @ Sud De France Arena ( Tix ) 11/10 — Barcelona, ES @ Palau Sant Jordi ( Tix ) 11/11 — Madrid, ES @ Wizink Centre ( Tix ) 11/13 — Toulouse, FR @ Zenith ( Tix ) 11/14 — Bordeaux, FR @ Arkea Arena ( Tix ) 11/15 — Nantes, FR @ Zenith ( Tix ) 11/17 — Frankfurt, DE @ Festhalle ( Tix ) 11/18 — Strasbourg, FR @ Zenith ( Tix ) 11/19 — Basel, CH @ St. Jakobshalle 11/21 — Stuttgart, DE @ Hanns-martin-schleyer-halle ( Tix ) 11/22 — Koln, DE @ Lanxess Arena ( Tix ) 11/23 — Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis 11/25 — Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome 11/27 — Lievin, FR @ Stade ( Tix ) 11/28 — Paris, FR @ Accor Arena ( Tix ) 12/01 — Dublin, IE @ 3Arena ( Tix ) 12/02 — Belfast, UK @ SSE Arena ( Tix ) 12/04 — Glasgow, UK @ Ovo Hydro ( Tix ) 12/06 — Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena ( Tix ) 12/07 — Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena ( Tix ) 12/08 — Cardiff, UK @ Motorpoint Arena ( Tix ) 12/11 — London, UK @ Wembley OVO Arena ( Tix ) 12/12 — London, UK @ Wembley OVO Arena ( Tix ) 12/13 — London, UK @ Wembley OVO Arena ( Tix )

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The Cure Concert Setlists & Tour Dates

Shows of a lost world tour, the cure at road to primavera bogotá 2023.

Pictures of You
A Night Like This
The Last Day of Summer
Fascination Street
In Between Days
Just Like Heaven
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The Cure at Primavera Sound Day Asunción 2023

And Nothing Is Forever

The Cure at Primavera Sound São Paulo 2023

The cure at estadio monumental, santiago, chile, the cure at antel arena, montevideo, uruguay, the cure at primavera sound buenos aires 2023, the cure at estadio san marcos, lima, peru, the cure at corona capital 2023.

Charlotte Sometimes

The Cure at Riot Fest Chicago 2023

The cure at kaseya center, miami, fl, usa.

A Fragile Thing
Play for Today
Shake Dog Shake

Most played songs

A Forest ( 1189 )
Boys Don't Cry ( 1045 )
In Between Days ( 946 )
Just Like Heaven ( 854 )
Play for Today ( 846 )

More The Cure statistics

[unknown] 10,000 Maniacs 20 Seconds Falling Man 3 Mile Island 311 357 4GKZ 5 Seconds of Summer Abdoujaparov The Academic Adaleve Adele AFI Airs Gli Alberi Shallow Alcove Ray Alder Alice Gift Alkaline Trio The All‐American Rejects Devon Allman Band Almyth Aly & AJ Ambros Chapel Amnistia Tori Amos Anberlin And One Rick Andrade Animales de Lumière Anna and the Barbies AP Mode Apoptygma Berzerk The Appearance The Aquabats! Lail Arad Jann Arden Area-7 Die Art Artistic Differences As It Is Ash & We Are Scientists Kristofer Åström Atlas for Home Atlas Genius Atlas Lab Audio Kings of the Third World Audra August Hotel Autumn Twilight

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Artists covered

Black Sabbath David Bowie Cult Hero The Doors Gary Glitter The Sensational Alex Harvey Band The Jimi Hendrix Experience The Kinks Siouxsie and the Banshees Slade Chip Taylor Thin Lizzy Wendy Waldman Jimmy Webb

View artists covered statistics

Gigs seen live by

21,737 people have seen The Cure live.

spovedp Juan_alfaro GigiConcert22 monterob soulgrind lauraotg7 Angie_lecast Hadytangible ChechoPacho grazianogarcia Caterinna_ JM-Mendez Estearte maponto KeniaBaena kmilo8910 cristianjim SophieZo brandonloz07 ddmm97 angustia acsetlist magiasurreal AnBebop lurodcel lxxmer Juancho DanielRobayo EugenioChahin messcronical152 Juaneme Perro_Caliente JackRamone Persistencia eleazar0425 Rocker_Hooper Jac1416 cemaro1982 thecurefreak LuciaTable deltaco97 david56048 pk2406 gdospinar Amaranth77 ddelgadillor Bobby alemat arcticsounds spiritualbat

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Opinion: How L.A.’s Chinatown helped reinvent Southern California

Sign reads "New Chinatown welcomes you" on pagoda-style gate in black and white

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For almost 150 years, Los Angeles has been an idea as much as a place. Even before the growth of Hollywood, newspaper publishers and land developers sold a carefully constructed image of the region to the world. These boosters promoted Los Angeles as a suburban paradise to an audience of middle-class white families in the Midwest. Perhaps surprisingly, as both a concept and an immigrant enclave, Chinatown was crucial to developing this image and forming L.A.’s identity.

Following the completion of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe railways in the late 19th century, city leaders, boosters and land speculators began transforming this former small Spanish-Mexican village into a major metropolis. Railroads hired journalists to promote the region. The city’s population exploded from 11,000 people in 1880 to more than a million in 1930. Yet beneath this vision of what booster Charles Fletcher Lummis dubbed the “land of sunshine” lay a violent and exclusionary process that was racialized from the start.

ROWLAND HEIGHTS, CA - JULY 11: Shoppers in the indoor mall at the 1000 block of North Nogales Avenue near the 99 Ranch market on Monday, July 11, 2022 in Rowland Heights, CA. A couple was pistol-whipped and robbed in a parking lot in a parking lot in the 1000 block of North Nogales Avenue near the 99 Ranch market in broad daylight, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Authorities said the two suspects pistol-whipped the victims on their heads and robbed one of the victims of a $60,000 Rolex. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Oct. 17, 2022

Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reports portrayed Chinatown as a neighborhood of filth, violence and vice. The district lay on a street known as Calle de los Negros, which the Los Angeles Times and other papers routinely referred to in print using a more racist moniker. In 1871, an angry mob rampaged Chinatown attacking immigrants, destroying property and lynching 18 people. This event would come to be known as the Los Angeles Chinese Massacre, part of a wave of anti-Chinese actions that swept the North American West toward the end of the 19th century.

If the threat of violence wasn’t enough, by the 1920s most neighborhoods across the city were covered in restrictive covenants, language in housing deeds that prevented people of color from buying homes. Middle-class white residents, however, considered the urban core less desirable, leaving these homes available.

Alongside French, Italian and Mexican immigrants, Chinese Americans thrived in the city’s bustling multiethnic central core. Chinatown featured restaurants, curio shops, two Chinese temples and a Chinese theater; on Los Angeles Street, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn. occupied the top floor of the Garnier Building, which today stands as one of the last remaining structures of Old Chinatown. For a while, the community even supported a Chinese newspaper.

But by the early 20th century, the English-language press and regional boosters increasingly constructed L.A.’s image of suburban idyll against representations of Chinatown. Depicting Chinatown as a pariah, newspapers applied outsized scrutiny to the community’s relatively small population.

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Pauline Chau is the unofficial mayor of Chinatown and her neighborhood is fading fast. The last few years have left it without a grocery store, a hospital, and most of its commercial indoor malls, and now senior housing is in danger.

Oct. 28, 2022

The 1930 census identified about 3,000 Chinese in a city of more than a million people. During this decade, the Los Angeles Times mentioned Chinatown more than 1,100 times — compared with just 200 mentions of Little Tokyo, even though the Japanese American community was seven times larger. Coverage even surpassed that of the Mexican American community near the Plaza, nearly all of which predated the arrival of Anglo settlers. Alarmist media depictions contributed to the city’s decision to build Union Station on the site of Old Chinatown, displacing most of the immigrant community.

In the summer of 1938, two neighborhoods emerged as replacements to Old Chinatown. Known as New Chinatown and China City, they pushed back against leering representations of Chinatown by using non-threatening commercialism, surface aesthetics and racial performance to shape popular perceptions of Chinese Americans. Both districts’ commodification of racial differences shaped L.A.’s image as a complex multiethnic metropolis.

Under the leadership of Peter SooHoo, Chinese American merchants created New Chinatown — the Chinatown we still have today near downtown. SooHoo was a Los Angeles-born graduate of city schools and USC and one of the first Chinese Americans hired by the Department of Water and Power. He partnered with attorney Y.C. Hong, the first Chinese American to pass the bar in California, to form a corporation through which Chinese merchants bought land for their Chinatown. To contrast with portrayals of Old Chinatown as riddled with secret underground passages and opium dens, they designed their district as an urban mall with neon lights, wide walkable streets, a wishing well and pagoda-style roofs.

That same summer, Christine Sterling, the white philanthropist behind the pedestrian-friendly Olvera Street, built China City close by, around Hollywood myths. Backed by the publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Hollywood producers, the district included a re-creation of the House of Wang set from the MGM’s “The Good Earth,” a 1937 blockbuster set in China, and the Chinese Junk Cafe, a bar fashioned as a pirate ship run by movie performers Luke Chan and Johnson Sing.

EUREKA, CA - SEPTEMBER 02: Mary Chin says she misses her husband Ben Chin upon seeing his picture on a mural painted by artist Dave Young Kim in Eureka's Chinatown. Ben Chin was the first person of Chinese descent to live in the city since it excluded Asians in 1885 and forced them onto ships bound for San Francisco. Chin died in 2019 at age 97, but Mary and his adult children are continuing his legacy of rebuilding the Asian community there. Photographed on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 in Eureka, CA. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

This California town ran its Chinese residents out. Now the story is finally being told

In an 1885 expulsion, the city of Eureka, Calif., put its Chinese residents on two ships and kept them out for seven decades. Now, the Eureka Chinatown Project tells the story.

Nov. 12, 2022

While China City has been dismissed by some as culturally exploitative, the workers there formed a real community. To run the stalls, Sterling hired local Chinese Americans, many of whom supplemented their income working as background extras in Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s. China City, with all its artifice, offered a safe haven and camaraderie for many who felt ostracized by the merchant elite running New Chinatown. These included: Swan Yee, the son of a Pennsylvania laundryman, who ran the rickshaw stand with his brother Johnny; Camille Wing née Chan, a mixed-race Chinese American whose father was a vaudeville performer; and Tsin Nan Ling, the merchant who ran Chekiang Importers and hailed from outside the Pearl River Delta region that most Chinese immigrants called home.

China City was eventually destroyed by fire in 1948. But in the coming decades, New Chinatown continued to allow Chinese Americans to wrest control of their image away from city boosters and create their own representation. Of course, the local papers and elite continued to cast Los Angeles against the idea of a racialized urban core, increasingly by stereotyping Black and Latino communities as urban threats. The ties between Los Angeles’s suburban identity and racial exclusion proved to be stubborn.

Today, Chinatown is one of many Asian neighborhoods across Southern California. From Little Saigon in Westminster to Artesia’s Little India and the ethnoburbs of the San Gabriel Valley, Asian American neighborhoods help define the region. Within this context, it’s easy to forget the distinct role that Los Angeles Chinatown has played. Too many people dismiss Chinatown’s pagoda-style roofs, fortune cookies and wishing well as inauthentic representations of Asia and Asian Americans. Instead, we should embrace them as reminders that neither the popular image of Los Angeles nor the city itself would have developed as they are today without Chinatown.

William Gow is an assistant professor at Sacramento State, a community historian with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California and author of “ Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community .”

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EAST LOS ANGELES, CA - March 11: A pedestrian walks by the sundial plaque honoring Cesar Chavez, who was a Latino American civil rights activist, labor leader, community organizer and businessman, at the Latino Walk of Fame on Whittier Blvd. in East Los Angeles Thursday, March 11, 2021. Chavez' sundial plaque was the first on the Walk of Fame, a collection of 10 sundial plaques on Whittier Boulevard that have fallen into disrepair. Eventually, more than 200 plaques will line the boulevard that cuts through East Los Angeles, an unincorporated area of the Eastside. It was inaugurated on April 30, 1997 by the Whittier Blvd. Merchant Assoc of East Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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