The Cure dropped ‘Close To Me’ in 1985 but the track wouldn’t have seen the light of the day 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 Cure classic was almost scrapped
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. 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 also 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.
Although the title of the song initially suggests a romantic theme, Smith actually wrote the lyrics to express the feeling of impending doom he experienced during childhood nightmares and hallucinations. Specifically, there was a particular patch of wallpaper in his bedroom that would seem to “come to life” as he tried to sleep. This sense of doom and the nightmares returned during the recording of the song, as he was under significant stress and pushing himself to exhaustion while working on it.
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”.
