Over the past decade, Robert Smith has done everything he could to delay releasing a new Cure album. The band embarked on multiple world tours, worked on collaborations with artists like The Twilight Sad, Gorillaz, and Chvrches, challenged Ticketmaster’s practices, and even took on mundane tasks like redecorating. These activities seemed like deliberate efforts to avoid completing what would become their latest masterpiece, Songs Of A Lost World, released this month. With that said, Paul McCartney also kicked off his tour in Columbia recently as well.
One notable project during this time was The Cure’s contribution to The Art Of McCartney, a massive tribute album to Paul McCartney, released ten years ago this month. The band surprised fans by covering the upbeat Beatles classic “Hello Goodbye,” with McCartney’s son James playing keyboards.
At the time, The Cure released a statement expressing their excitement: “It’s an honor to be part of a tribute to one of the most influential and greatest singer-songwriters ever, and a key member of The Beatles, the most important band in history. Wow!”
Smith has long been a fan of The Beatles. In an earlier interview with Rolling Stone, he shared that they were one of the first bands he ever loved, alongside the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, whose music was often played at home during his childhood.
This wasn’t Smith’s first venture into Beatles covers. In 1983, while filling in as a guitarist for Siouxsie And The Banshees, he performed on their version of “Dear Prudence,” even appearing on Top Of The Pops. His appreciation for The Beatles hasn’t faded over time—he was recently spotted wearing a Magical Mystery Tour T-shirt during a Cure concert in Atlanta.
