FEBRUARY

13th
Oxford, Randolph Hotel, Press Conference
About fifty journalists from all over the world attended the event and could listen to the new album (whose mixes weren't definitive). Then the whole group answered to questions they were asked for two hours. Perry declared that the atmosphere in the band was really good and that they were looking forward to going on tour.

The rest of the month was spent doing numerous radio, TV, press interviews at the Manor studios.


MARCH

16th
High single release. The video was a real nightmare to film for Robert (sensitive to heights/being strapped to a kite for hours...). The colors and the set were inspired by surrealist artists like De Chirico and Ernst.

19th
The Cure decided to test the new songs live in small venues (1500 to 2000 people capacity) in their home country. The tickets for this UK tour went on sale and they were sold out in a few hours (except for Dundee in Scotland).


APRIL

The band rehearsed for the upcoming tour. The repertoire was the following : Boys Don't Cry, Three Imaginary Boys, In Your House, A Forest, M, Primary, Forever, Charlotte Sometimes, The Figurehead, A Strange Day, Let's Go To Bed, The Walk, In Between Days, Close To Me, A Night Like This, Why Can't I Be You ?, Just Like Heaven, Pictures Of You, Lullaby, Fascination Street, Never Enough, Open, High, Apart, From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea, Wendy Time, Doing The Unstuck, Friday I'm In Love, Trust, To Wish Impossible Things, Cut, End.

An Electronic Press Kit was sent to the media (all numbered and personalised with journalists names) for the new album.

21st
Wish album release and it entered the charts at #1 in the UK ! The UK tour also debuted in Bradford the same night and that was Robert Smith's birthday as well. So of course, the audience sang "Happy Birthday" to him several times. A Forest closed the concert with a very extended version including extra lyrics (this year's trademark). The band and their entourage went to an Indian restaurant to celebrate afterwards.

The first shows sounded a bit under-rehearsed, and technical problems sometimes occured as well. But that didn't altered the good mood on stage. In Newcastle, Robert was very amused by a mistake made by Simon and Boris : one started to play Let's To Go Bed and the other The Walk !

The following nights saw the group adding other songs to the set (Wendy Time, Why Can't I Be You ?, Charlotte Sometimes) and they also tried To Wish Impossible Things and Forever in Nottingham. The show in Cambridge was shortened as unfortunately the Cure's singer was sick.


MAY

3rd
London, Kilburn National
The last English concert was broadcast live on the radio (XFM) and it was filmed as well. M was dedicated to "the people who have been following us around in the bus for every night". The funny moment of the night was the first verse of Three Imaginary Boys : Robert completely forgot the words so he only sang the first line.

Friday I'm In Love single was released around that time. The joyful video was the faster one ever done by the Cure (shot in three hours while writing the song itself only took fifteen minutes !).

13th
Robert Smith, Simon Gallup and Perry Bamonte arrived to New York on the QEII boat. The rest of the band actually took a plane and were already there. Hardly any time to settle down : a press conference was held in a Manhattan bar soon after putting a foot in America. The Cure's longest and most successful tour in the US (44 dates) would start on the following day !

The US repertoire was close to the one in the UK but a few more tracks would be played : Lovesong, Faith, A Letter To Elise... Wendy Time on the other hand was quickly dropped from the set. The band probably prefered the early version of the song (1991).

Typical setlist : Open, High, Pictures Of You, Lullaby, Just Like Heaven, Fascination Street, A Night Like This, Apart, (Doing The Unstuck), The Walk, Let's Go To Bed, Friday I'm In Love, In Between Days, From The Edge of The Deep Green Sea, Never Enough, Cut, End + encores songs (Why Can't I Be You ?, Close To Me, Lovesong, Three Imaginary Boys, Primary, Boys Don't Cry, In Your House, M, The Figurehead, A Strange Day, A Forest).

Once the tour reached Florida, the group celebrated Simon Gallup's birthday at the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando. Also the band's wives and relatives arrived from England on that day. Then things became more and more surreal like playing the Texas Stadium or participating by phone to Loveline (KROQ radio), a program that offered medical, relationship (and sexual obviously) advices to listeners (mostly teenagers). Simon admitted afterwards : "I thought someone had put drugs in my drink. Most odd."

About their huge popularity in the country, Robert Smith confessed : "Me and Simon are travelling in the bus all the time, because we don't fly. And we're pulling off from the freeway and eating in very strange small towns... And people know who we are. Old ladies behind the counters, people in K-Mart, it's really strange."

Two concerts from this tour (Auburn Hills, Detroit) were also filmed by eight cameras for a future retail video (and live album). The group and particulary Robert, being frustrated, every time old live clips from The Cure in Orange were used on TV reports. The Cure were a completely different band and wanted to show it.



GO TO 1992 PART 2