JANUARY

The band returned to Morgan Studios to finish the album.They recorded most songs of their repertoire including the Foxy Lady cover (with Mike Dempsey on vocals). Chris Parry also convinced Robert to get a better guitar than the Woolworth Top 20, so he invested in a Fender Jazzmaster instead (making songs like Three Imaginary Boys to sound better for that type of production).


FEBRUARY

Killing An Arab 7" re-issued on Fiction Records (FICS 001). Around the same time, the band was asked to go to London to meet the director for the 10:15 Saturday Night video. Later, they discovered the mime they had done (thinking that was a rehearsal) would be the actual video.


MARCH

Most of the month was spent touring across the UK. The (by then) unreleased song Play With Me was used as a soundcheck in Cheltenham (March, 10th). Killing An Arab appeared on Polydor's "20 Of Another Kind" compilation. Strangely, the LP proposed an alternative version (different vocals take and mix) not available elsewhere. Probably some mistake with the master tapes.

11th
London, Marquee Club


MAY

05th
Three Imaginary Boys album's release. Press reviews were generally good but NME's Paul Morley completely demolished the band : "The Cure are trying to tell us something. They're trying to tell us they don't exist."

06th
John Peel Session
The band recorded Desperate Journalist In Ongoing Meaningful Review Situation, Grinding Halt, Subway Song, Plastic Passion, Accuracy. The first track consisted in Grinding Halt with different lyrics (mocking Morley's prose and also refering to Ian Penman who reviewed Grinding Halt promo only 12" by mistake).

17th
The band started a 30-date tour in the UK to promote the album. The live repertoire included the same 15 songs they have been playing since the beginning of the year, playing 10:15 twice (the second version being much faster for punks to pogo). A weird fact was that Robert wouldn't sing a whole verse on Accuracy.


JUNE

1st
Carshalton, Open Air Festival
The Cure was part of a "Mod Revival" bill. Later, this would inspire Robert Smith the idea and lyrics for Jumping Someone Else's Train. Fire In Cairo was dedicated "to God" that night (probably a bit of the usual irony) while Meathook was for Porl Thompson (certainly in rememberance of the Easy Cure days). That last song would be put aside from now on.

26th
Second single, Boys Don't Cry/Plastic Passion released on Fiction Records. Unfortunately, not the hit the band expected.


JULY

1st
London, Lyceum

29th
First foreign concert at an open air festival in Sterrebos (Holland). The band played in the afternoon under the rain. An evening gig was immediately set up in Groningen.


AUGUST

3rd
Robert met Steve Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees at a Throbbing Gristle concert in London. Steve invited the Cure to perform with his band. The Three Imaginary Boys album sold 12,000 copies in the UK so far.

17th
Bilzen, Festival

24th
Reading, Festival
That was the first major festival the band played at. And even if they were in the middle of the bill, that served them being heard by journalists from other countries who made the trip as well. The Police and Motorhead headlined the night. The band gave a pretty good performance despite a few people throwing rocks at them (probably Mortorhead fans). Robert Smith ironically dedicated Boys Don't Cry to the "metal man in the audience" as a revenge and joke. Killing An Arab included a longer guitar solo.

29th
Bournemouth, Stateside Theatre
"Special guests" for Siouxsie and the Banshees' Join Hands tour. Play For Today premiered that night : a slow and basic version that got shortened later. They also did Object to please somebody from the audience who was requesting the song.


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