Ongoing History Daily: How Robert Smith accidentally ended up as The Cure’s lead singer

January 17, 2025 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

The Cure is really having a moment with their new album, Songs for a Lost World, so frontman Robert Smith is back talking about the history of the band.

Back in the beginning—and this is about 1976—he had no desire to be the lead singer. He was happy playing guitar and keyboards. Robert did try singing once, but he was so drunk during this gig that he started into David Bowie’s “Suffragette City” while the band was playing “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix.

But eventually, it became very clear that no one in this new band wanted to sing. Robert ended up out front against his will.

He was mortified, which explains why his voice is so low in the mix on some of those early records.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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