Artists can react in different ways when they receive recognition and wealth. While many people actively pursue this, believing that performing on the biggest stages and having their faces displayed on billboards is their destiny, Robert Smith of The Cure is not one of those people.
Even though Smith was a part of one of the most famous bands ever and sold out arenas for many years, he has always kept a low profile and has chosen a quiet life. The frontman of The Cure basically has two sides to himself. He is a quiet man who lives in a rural area of England, but he also performs for large audiences in order to support himself.
The Cure, in contrast to many of their peers, didn’t suddenly become well-known. Rather, their ascent to fame was slow and steady. The first album in their repertoire to genuinely leave a cultural mark was Pornography (1982), which established Robert Smith as the goth king and elevated him to the status of a subculture icon.
An artist has two options after they get to this point. There are two possible approaches: either fulfill fan expectations to the point of parody, which is risky. Smith’s decision is to defy fan expectations to the point of near alienation.
The lighthearted pop song “Let’s Go To Bed” was born out of his retreat to the Lake District following the creation of the darkly tinged album Pornography. Reluctantly, the band released it even though it never made an appearance on an album. Much to Smith’s dismay, it became a minor hit in America.
It may seem absurd for a band to be against one of their songs becoming popular. However, Robert Smith was a little embarrassed by the song and hoped that it wouldn’t be taken seriously. He felt relieved when fans rebelled against the song “Let’s Go To Bed.”
After the release, Smith spoke with the American magazine Artist Magazine about the strange tale behind a hit song and disclosed how, had it been more popular, it could have permanently altered The Cure’s legacy. “We did it initially as a Christmas single, not as The Cure, but anonymously,” the singer revealed. I was never interested in it after it was recorded. Perry, of course, did not. He claimed it as a pop hit, asserting that it wasn’t stupid enough to write such a song and have it become successful. Chris Perry and Polydor were both certain it would hit the Top 20 in Europe. They said I could do anything I wanted if it wasn’t.
Smith was willing to take a big chance on the song failing, even though it was a risky move. “I thought it was a good opportunity, so I allowed to release it,” the frontman of Cure said. “It went in at #56 and went out again and we were laughing hysterically—we won.”
“But then it became a minor hit over here. Which is really a comment on the American singles-buying public,” he continued, half-jokingly. We received a lot of hate mail from former Cure fans for permitting its release. So, it was a good thing that everyone else despised it.
Luckily, “Let’s Go To Bed” remained a forgettable footnote in their discography rather than becoming an iconic hit. Still, it’s a glimpse behind the scenes at the band that The Cure might have been in a different reality that thankfully never materialised.
