Robert Smith recalled his Spinal Tap moment at the first show by the Cure.
He’d been the keyboardist in various lineups before the band found their name and direction, and never had any intention of becoming a lead singer – although he did try the idea out in 1977.
“For whatever reason, when I sing, people connect with it,” Smith told the U.K.’s Absolute Radio in a recent interview (video below). “I have no idea why, and I don’t think any singer does. I was horrified when I ended up as the singer.”
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He continued: “At school, I never did anything on stage. … I sang one song at our first show, just to see what it felt like – and I sang the wrong song.”
While his bandmates broke into a Jimi Hendrix classic, Smith delivered a David Bowie track instead. “I played and sang ‘Suffragette City’ and everyone else was doing ‘Foxy Lady.’ And I was so drunk, I didn’t even know. I thought, ‘That was good!’ And everyone’s like, ‘You played the wrong song!’”
Why Robert Smith’s Voice Was Low in the Cure’s Mix
Later in 1977 Smith became the Cure’s frontman, but he recalled: “I never felt like I was cut out to be a singer. … I kind of grew into it because I fell out with everyone else that occupied that position until I became the de facto singer. That’s why, the early albums, the early mixes, I’m really low down in the mix.”
He added: “When I started singing, I didn’t think anyone would like what I sounded like. I didn’t, and so I thought no one else was going to. And so I thought, ‘This is going to be a really short career unless we find someone who can sing.’
“So I sang the first album, and then discovered that people liked what I was doing.”
