Bubbling Under: The Cure- "The Lovecats"

A look at Japanese Whispers era Cure. With Special Guest Stars Siouxsie & The Banshees.

Welcome to Bubbling Under. Each week I cover a musical artist who charted outside Billboard’s Hot 100. This week: The Cure

Out of all the releases The Cure has put out over the years, Japanese Whispers is one of my favourites. My brother was a huge fan of them, and Japanese Whispers-era Cure forms some of my earliest musical memories. When I saw “The Love Cats” on the list I use for Bubbling Under, I knew it was time for a Cure piece.

Part One: “Let’s Go To Bed”

By 1982, The Cure had released their fourth studio album, Pornography. Regarded as a classic, it became their highest charting album up to that point in the UK, peaking at #8. However, the stark material caused Smith to need a break, and the band switched to a more pop-oriented sound for three singles released between 1982/1983. These three singles, alongside a few B-sides, later comprised a compilation album titled Japanese Whispers.

Released in November 1982, “Let’s Go To Bed” was an upbeat-sounding dance track, a different sound from that of their previous single “The Hanging Garden”.

“Let’s Go To Bed” stalled at #44 in the UK. It was, however a Top 20 hit in Australia and New Zealand. More importantly, “Let’s Go To Bed” was their first single to be released across the pond. While the single somehow managed to peak at #109, according to 45cat, it was only ever released as a promo.

“Let’s Go To Bed” also gave The Cure a change in fanbase. As Smith said in a 2004 Rolling Stone interview:

“Suddenly, "Let’s Go to Bed" was turning into a big hit, on the West Coast particularly, and we had a young, predominantly female, teenage audience. It went from intense, menacing, psychotic goths to people with perfect white teeth. It was a very weird transition, but I enjoyed it. I thought it was really funny. We followed it up with "The Walk" and "Love Cats," and I just felt totally liberated”.

Part Two: The Walk

Out of the three singles from the Japanese Whispers era, their next single, “The Walk” has always been my favourite. It was their first Top 20 hit in the UK when it peaked at #12. Built around a catchy synth hook, it’s another example of what the band was doing best at this time: dark lyrics surrounded by a catchy beat.

At the time “The Walk” was recorded, The Cure had been reduced to the duo of Robert Smith and Lol Turhurst. The pair enlisted producer Steve Nye based on the work he’d done with popular New Romantics Japan on their Tin Drum album. The combination resulted in a more polished single without doing a lot to alter their sound.

If you listen to “The Art Of Parties” by Japan, it’s pretty close to what The Cure was trying to do:

In the US, a slated Sire issue of “The Walk” was given a catalogue number and slated for a July 1983 release on Sire before it was pulled.

Part Three: The Glove/ Siouxsie & The Banshees

Around this time, Robert Smith was involved in a couple of side projects. He had rejoined Siouxsie and the Banshees as a permanent member after previously playing with them on a 1979 tour. Smith and Banshees member Steve Severin had become close friends and had formed a group alongside vocalist Jeanette Landray, who had previously been part of the Top Of The Pops dance troupe Zoo. The Glove released one album, 1983’s Blue Sunshine, as well as two singles, “Like An Animal” and “Punish Me With Kisses”.

Smith played on one album with Siouxsie and the Banshees, 1984’s Hyæna. Their biggest UK hit, a cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence”, was a non-album single that preceded the album. This might not be a popular opinion, but it’s my favourite version of “Dear Prudence”.

Two singles were pulled from Hyæna during 1984. The first was “Swimming Horses”. The second was “Dazzle”. Both were minor UK Top 40 hits at #28 and #33, respectively.

Part Four: “The Lovecats”

Released towards the end of 1983, “The Lovecats” was inspired by the work of Australian novelist Patrick White, namely his 1970 novel The Vivisector.

According to an interview with French magazine Rock and Folk, Smith wasn’t a fan of the song. He was quoted as saying

"'The Love Cats' is far from being my favorite song: composed drunk, video filmed drunk, promotion made drunk. It was a joke."

Ouch. I think it’s a classic, but to each their own.

“The Love Cats” was the band’s first Top Ten in the UK when it went all the way to #7. Sire put it out as a single, and it Bubbled Under in early 1984. It seems to be a popular single of theirs despite Smith’s opinions. Personally, I’d rather hear it constantly on the radio rather than “Friday I’m In Love”.

Around the time “The Lovecats” reached the Bubbling Under charts, Japanese Whispers became The Cure’s first album release to chart on the albums chart when it peaked at #181. Their next North American single, “In Between Days” just barely scraped into the Hot 100 in 1985, and the band was on it’s way. I feel like that’s a story for some other time, though.

Next Week: Sunday: Gary Myrick (Paid, I’ll be linking to some classic posts in Notes for free subscribers), Wednesday: Haircut One Hundred