MAY

The incredible news leaked at the beginning of the month online : the Cure agreed to play their three first albums in their entirety at the Sydney's Opera House concert hall. This concept (more in the spirit of a celebration than a retrospective) was named "Reflections", and was filmed for a DVD release. Ex-members were called back for the occasion : Roger O'Donnell on keyboards (who's been quite prolific as a solo artist since 2004) and Lawrence Tolhurst on percussions and keyboards (quite successful with Levinhurst) both joining on stage for part of the show !

31st
Sydney, Opera House Concert Hall
First live performances of So What, World War, Doubt, Descent ever !!! Not only the albums were played live as closely as possible to the records, but the group even played the b-sides from those years during the encores. A real tour de force as everybody really applied themselves to give their best. Attention to detail brought the idea of using the same or equivalent guitar gear that was used live in 1979, 1980 & 1981. Impressive.

The following night was even more lively than the first despite a few minor mistakes that made the band to smile. They were probably feeling more confident about the project and how it would be received.


AUGUST

15th
Release of John Martyn's tribute album. Robert Smith covered Small Hours for the compilation. The track was certainly recorded at home the previous year. Robert also commented that he heard the song on the John Peel radio show in 1977 and felt in love with the track.


SEPTEMBER

10th
Isle of Wight, Bestival
What was felt a few months before was confirmed that night. The Cure welcomed back Roger O'Donnell on keyboards. He always brought a lot of variety to the live sound thanks to his synthesis skills. That possibly means that Porl Thompson has gone (for now ?) as a persistent rumor over the last year would have us believe. The chosen setlist for the show was close to the repertoire the band had been playing for the past few years with a rare post-1984 version of The Caterpillar (the only time they tried it was in 1991 for the MTV unplugged show). The concert was filmed and recorded.


NOVEMBER

Regarding the release of the "dark album" the band recorded along with the 4:13 Dream album back in 2007, Robert Smith confessed to the press that the group could in fact use some songs from it on their next studio work (if there is one) or release them in digital form later, as he didn't feel so motivated in getting a complete record of old songs out right now. Robert also revealed the band had been toying with the idea of recording a continuous and evolving piece of music (album length).

Due to the overwhelming demand, seven "final" performances of the Reflections show were set up in London, Los Angeles & New York. With no surprise, all the shows sold out in a few minutes online. But it was obviously worth it for any fan (new or long time). The band played a very high quality show and even managed to make many songs to sound better than ever !! Simply beyond all expectations (already high). Robert improvised Three lyrics every night (like in 1980) and the very last shows saw the band adding a few tracks to the setlist to avoid the daily routine (6 shows in 7 days in America) : In Between Days, The Caterpillar, Close To Me and they even tried Do The Hansa once, a song they never played live since 1979 !


DECEMBER

5th
Release of Bestival Live 2011, recorded at the Isle of Wight. All the profits going to the Isle of Wight Youth Trust.

Teenage Cancer Trust has partnered with Talenthouse to invite artists to create a unique vinyl sleeve inspired by a song. The Cure have selected the track 'Friday I’m In Love’ and are inviting creatives to interpret the song, however they please, via an original piece of seven inch artwork. For more information and submission : http://www.talenthouse.com/design-for-the-cure-secret-7



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