Robert Smith recalls how The Cure would get the police called on them during early days

2 January 2025, 15:14 | Updated: 2 January 2025, 15:16

The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World Track by Track | X-Posure Album Playback

By Jenny Mensah

The Cure frontman has recalled how the band would give themselves 45 minutes playing in his parents' garage before complaints from the neighbours would roll in.

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Robert Smith has revealed how he would get the police knocking at his family home in the band's early days.

The Cure frontman told Radio X's John Kennedy how his parents allowed them to practice together in the garage of their Crawley home, but the young band only had a certain amount of time before the neighbours would begin to complain.

"...They used to let us rehearse in the garage," Smith recalled during the X-Posure track by track album playback of Songs From A Lost World last year. "And then there was a little extension on the side of the house, which we migrated to. We could never rehearse more than 45 minutes at a time because the neighbours would always call the police.

"As soon as the drum started, we'd have a clock and we'd know that [...] from anytime from 45 minutes onwards, there was going to be a knock on the front door and my mum would answer. She'd say yes? And there'd be like two police sitting there like, 'We've had complaints!' It was always on a Tuesday night."

Watch the full interview above.

The Cure's Robert Smith. Picture: Rick Kern/WireImage/Getty

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The Alone singer also credited his brother for allowing him to believe he could pursue music full time.

"My brother gave me the idea that I could do whatever I wanted," revealed Smith. "It's like, you know, my dad was also very supportive, but far more traditional, you know,. He wanted me to finish my education and then be in a band, if that's what I still wanted to do. And I used to, you know, initially try to get him to see that that isn't how the world works. You can't come out the other end of university and then decide to be in a band. You do it, you know, or you don't do it."

The 65-year-old musician, who wrote I Can Never Say Goodbye on the album about his brother's passing continued: "And my brother took my side and I think it was him actually cajoling my dad, because I think otherwise that would have been a problem, because they let me stay at home whilst I got it out of my system... But I never got it out of my system. I think that maybe, with hindsight, my dad thought that the sooner we fail, the sooner he gets me back to the idea of a formal education."

Radio X's John Kennedy speaks to The Cure's Robert Smith. Picture: Radio X

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The expansive conversation also saw Robert Smith discuss plans for the huge amount of material he has left over, including a "companion album" to Songs Of A Lost World, which could be released by "next summer" as well as the topic of longevity and the secret to preserving his vocals throughout the years.

"I'm fortunate to have the genes that I have, because I have really not paid great attention to longevity in my own personal life," the musician admitted.

"Up until about the age of 50. I mean, I was astonished that I got to 50 and then I started to think I'd probably like to get to 60. And so I started to moderate a bit. And then you turn 60. Really every year is a bit of a bonus for me. So I suppose as a consequence of that, my voice has held up probably a lot longer than I thought."

Although he thinks he's been quite lucky, Smith revealed that quitting smoking at 40 was one of the most important decisions he made for his health and longevity as a frontman.

He added: "I gave up smoking. It was the most important thing I did, really. I turned 40 and I thought, I'm never smoking again. And I haven't. And I think that's really pretty much along with a few other things, that's the thing that's allowed me to continue doing what I do. But having said that, there are people who I know who are singers who do look after themselves, but then their voices go. It's just one of those things."

Though Smith accepts his voice will eventually "go" one day, the Boys Don't Cry singer recalled a crucial piece of advice his father gave him, which has stood him in good stead until today.

"My voice will go at some point," added the icon. "But I said recently my dad would sing every day into his 90s. So he would say to me, just like, keep singing. He'd always say that to me. Just keep singing until people tell you to stop."