Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/05/09/the-cures-first-ever-televis.html
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Awesome, thanks for posting. Hard to believe this was in 79! These seem like alternate lyrics, maybe the original version? When they played this in Werchter in 81 (from songfacts):
"This song is behind a famous incident. At the 1981 Werchter Festival in Belgium, The Cure were on before Robert Palmer and were just finishing their set. Robert Palmer, apparently getting a little pushy, tried to have his road crew hurry The Cure off the stage. Robert Smith responded by sassily informing the crowd that they couldn’t play anymore, then played an extra-long 9-minute version of “A Forest.” Bass player Simon Gallup put a stamp on the performance by shouting “F–k Robert Palmer” to a cheering crowd"
There’s a great bootleg of it out there somewhere too. Don’t know if this is a usual thing for them but when I saw them play in the nineties they played an extended version of “a forest” where it switched to Lovecats and then back again. Thanks for posting my favorite band!
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This puts some interesting context around the (only) time I saw The Cure (maybe 1992-ish). They closed their encore with “A Forest” and Simon stayed at the end for about 5 minutes just playing the bass part before kicking on a delay pedal and walking off.
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Come closer and see
See into the trees
Find the girl
If you can
Come closer and see
See into the dark
Just follow your eyes
Just follow your eyes
I hear her voice
Calling my name
The sound is deep
In the dark
I hear her voice
And start to run
Into the trees
Into the trees
Into the trees
Suddenly I stop
But I know it’s too late
I’m lost in a forest
All alone
The girl was never there
It’s always the same
I’m running towards nothing
Again and again and again and again
Songwriters
SMITH, ROBERT JAMES / GALLUP, SIMON / HARTLEY, MATTHIEU A. / TOLHURST, LAURENCE ANDREW
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Always nice to be reminded of one of the main reasons to say “fuck the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”
Still one of my lifetime favorites, even if I kind of lost track of their later career (though I never actually disliked anything latter-day if someone put it on at a party or something).
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Indeed! How the Cure is not in there is beyond me. Such an excellent band.
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And the B52’s. I mean WTF!
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So glad I got to see them live even it was a big venue. We had friends sneak us into the reserved seating area so I got a good view. Also probably the loudest show I have ever been to.
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And Joy Division? I had heard a rumor that Bad Brains got in this year, but maybe they were nominated and didn’t get voted in.
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Honestly, the loudest show I’ve ever been to was either KMFDM or the Swans. I did see the Cure in the late 90s, and it was in an amphitheater and I was kind of far back, so it wasn’t too loud.
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I was somewhere between 15 and 20 rows back from the stage. The sound was so clear you didn’t notice it till you realized you couldn’t hear your friend shouting directly in your ear.
ETA I imagine GWAR was louder but I was smart enough to bring earplugs to that show.
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How young they are! Almost schoolboys.
That was ace, thank you so much for posting!
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Bad Brains did not get in. I wouldn’t hold your breath for Joy Division. The RRHOF kinda likes punk (Ramones and Clash are in), but I don’t think they get post punk at all. New Order might get in, but I don’t expect JD to make it (as much as I prefer them) until they have a category for “iconic album covers/t-shirts”, at which point they get in on the basis of Unknown Pleasures.
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My first live show was The Cure Head on the Door tour in '85. I was a year away from driving so my parents drove me and my eyeliner there and back. Such a great night.
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I think that my ears are still ringing from one of those!
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I have seen Gwar once, way back in the day at Dragon*Con… Can confirm, VERY loud!
Just in general, when I DO get out to a show, I always wear earplugs now. It’s a must, no matter how loud the band.
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Yes, I know. They are a body meant to sanctify rock history as the industry sees it, not as the rest of us might.
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So THAT’S what Robert Smith looks like under the hair and mascara! He’s just a regular bloke after all…
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I have a copy of that Werchter Festival show somewhere, I’ll have to pull it out…
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