MAY

13th
The band then embarked for an European tour (16 dates) ending at the end of the month. All the shows were now based on the same set-list with the addition of Lovecats twice (in Paris -mandatory- and for the final concert in Utrecht). They also tried Cold once, but Robert Smith wasn't happy of how it sounded live. Overall the concerts were good even if Robert started to show some signs of a breakdown, singing about depersonalization on Forever.

After the concert in Berlin, Robert returned to England, straight to a doctor where he was diagnosed a severe blood poisoning and exhaustion. Robert Smith then informed the Banshees he couldn't do the tour that was planned with them a bit later, marking the end of their collaboration. But against all medical advices he came back to finish the Cure tour. Originally two nights were planned in Utrecht (May 29th & 30th). It seems they were both postponed to May 31st (afternoon & evening) due to an equipment truck getting involved in a traffic accident. A show in Den Bosch was then added at the last minute for May 30th.


AUGUST

25th
Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom
After a three-month break, the band played live again for the UK TV's show "Rock Around the Clock". The audience went completely mad, maybe due to the cameras that were filming. One fan even got on stage during Primary and yelled in Robert Smith's microphone something like "Hey, I love you" ! Maybe a bet... But the band was in a good spirit. One Hundred Years was dedicated to Mary.

30th
Amsterdam, Jaap Eden Hal
A few shows were set up (mostly festival appearances). But Robert was very drunk on this first night resulting in a quite bizarre concert : lot of lyrics on Primary and Play For Today were sung in a different way, The Top included improvised lyrics. Sinatra's Young At Heart lines also appeared on Forever.


SEPTEMBER

01st
Alsdorf, Rock Im Park Festival
The band was on the top of the bill which included Talk Talk and The Chameleons. Robert opened the show by saying "Welcome to the sinking ship". Play For Today and The Top both included some improvised lyrics again.


OCTOBER

Short tour in Oceania with a few different songs to avoid the repetition : In Your House, Cold, Secrets... A weird planning obliged them to play two shows the same day in Brisbane, before going 1200 miles away to mime Shake Dog Shake on TV, and then returning to the Queensland's area for more shows ! The band rehearsed Let's Go To Bed for the second night in Melbourne. Robert warned the audience there : "It's the first time we intend to do it on stage, it'll probably go horrible".

In Japan, Robert Smith was surprised by the audience who would scream during the songs and would stop between the tracks. He also got sick there and his voice was a bit altered. But Japan would also mark the end of Andy Anderson in the Cure. He was sent back to London and the band arrived in North America without a drummer ! Luckily, Phil Thornalley knew Vince Ely there who accepted to take the job for a couple of weeks (from Oct. 22th to Nov. 04th).

The first shows with Vince were a bit odd and short (but they only had a few hours to rehearse). Some wrong endings, mistakes... To add to the discomfort, a girl got on stage in Seattle during Secrets declaring her love to Robert Smith. A few songs were added to the setlist as the tour went on but as Vince had other commitments, Phil called Boris Williams (from the Thompson Twins) who adapted himself very well to finish this North America tour (debuting Nov 7th in Minneapolis)... So well, he became a full member of the band !


NOVEMBER

End of the US tour. Forever included some lines from what would be used on the lyrics for Screw the following year : film on your eyes, screw up my face, taste in your mouth... Boston saw the rare performing of the Lovecats and Robert got arrested before getting to the Ontario Theatre in Washington DC resulting in the band starting this show much later than planned. So, after four exhausting weeks, it's no wonder they left New York City (the last concert) without celebrating the end of the tour !

Concert (long awaited live album) was released in Europe and a few other countries at the time. The picture sleeve was designed by Robert, under the discreet pseudonym of Toberr, using a video still from a live TV broadcast (Glasgow 25th Aug 84) and it was meant to look like a bootleg record. The cassette versions offered a collection of unreleased demos and live recordings as bonus.


DECEMBER

Robert Smith spent the month home demo'ing new songs with a multi-track recorder, using Yamaha DX-7 and Ensoniq Mirage synthetizers along with guitar and bass. The tunes of In Between Days, Push, Inwood, Innsbruck and Just Like Heaven (!) date back from this era. He would also make tapes with "ridiculous ideas for horn parts".


GO TO 1985 PART 1