What are The Cure's biggest songs?

29 September 2024, 09:00

With the news that the respected British band are about to release their first new album in 16 years, Songs Of A Lost World, Radio X takes a look at Robert Smith's biggest songs to date in terms of streams and views...

• Formed: Crawley, UK, 1978
• Current members: Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Reeves Gabrels, Roger O'Donnell, Jason Cooper.
• First single: Killing An Arab/10.15 Saturday Night (December 1978)
• Album discography: Three Imaginary Boys (May 1979); Seventeen Seconds (April 1980); Faith (April 1981); Pornography (May 1982); The Top (May 1984); The Head On The Door (August 1985); Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (May 1987); Disintegration (May 1989); Wish (April 1992); Wild Mood Swings (May 1996); Bloodflowers (February 2000); The Cure (June 2004); 4:13 Dream (October 2008); Songs Of A Lost World (November 2024).

1. The Cure - Friday I'm In Love: release date 15th May 1992

   The Cure's most popular track by a whisker, this is what songwriter and frontman Robert Smith called "just a very naive, happy type pop song". The second single from the band's only Number 1 album to date, Wish, Friday I'm In Love peaked at Number 6 in the UK charts and was been certified double Platinum by the BPI in October 2023. On Spotify it's had over 763 million streams and on YouTube has had over 124 million views.

   

   The Cure - Friday I'm In Love

2. The Cure - Boys Don't Cry: release date 29th June 1979

   Incredibly, this bittersweet love song was a flop on its original release in the wake of the band's debut album Three Imaginary Boys. However, it soon became a live favourite - it closed the band's 2019 Glastonbury headline set - and when reissued with a new Robert Smith vocal in April 1986, the track made Number 22.

   In the digital age, the original 1979 version has had better luck: certified Platinum in March 2023 by the BPI, Boys Don't Cry has been streamed over 756 million times, while YouTube views (of the video to the 1986 version) are now over 124 million.

   

   The Cure - Boys Don't Cry

3. The Cure - Just Like Heaven: release date 5th October 1987

   One of The Cure's greatest pop moments, depicting a romantic liaison on a cliff overlooking the sea, Just Like Heaven was released as the third single from the album Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, which may go towards explaining why the song only peaked at Number 29 in the UK charts.

   The song's reputation has only grown in subsequent years: it was used as the theme tune to the French music TV series Les Enfants du Rock and was given Platinum status in the UK in September 2023. On Spotify, Just Like Heaven has been streamed over 499 million times and watched on YouTube over 128 million times.

   

   The Cure - Just Like Heaven

4. The Cure - Close To Me: release date 13th September 1985

   A song about claustrophia and frustration, this song was originally included on the hit album The Head On The Door in August 1985. A remixed version, complete with horn section, was later issued as the follow-up single to In Between Days, making Number 24 in the UK charts and finally achieving a Platinum sales award from the BPI in February 2024.

   Close To Me has had over 350 million streams on Spotify and there have been over 40 million views of Tim Pope's superb video for the song, which features the band trapped in a wardrobe that falls from the top of the famous cliff Beachy Head.

   

   The Cure - Close To Me

5. The Cure - Lovesong: release date 21st August 1989

   Written as a wedding present for Smith's new wife Mary, Lovesong was the second single in the UK to be taken from the landmark album Disintegration. It became the band's biggest hit in the USA, only being kept off the top of the Billboard Hot 100 by Janet Jackson's Miss You Much.

   “I was actually a bit upset that it stopped at No 2,” Smith later said. “I never got to see what I would really have done with a No 1 single!” Peaking at Number 18 in the UK, the single was certified Silver by the BPI in January 2023; it's had over 289 million Spotify streams and over 78 million YouTube video views.

   

   The Cure - Lovesong

6. The Cure - Lullaby: release date 10th April 1989

   The Cure's highest charting single in the UK to date, peaking at Number 5, this was the lead track from the acclaimed Disintegration album. Accompanied by a memorably spooky video by director Tim Pope (which went on to win a BRIT Award), the song was certified Silver by the BPI in June 2021. With over 184 million Spotify plays, the video has also had over 85 million views.

   

   The Cure - Lullaby

7. The Cure - In Between Days: release date 19th July 1985

   This short but sweet guitar-propelled tune led off the Head On The Door album and ushered in a phase that saw The Cure emerge as one of the most consistently successful British bands in the world. The song earned Gold status in March 2024 and has had over 189 million Spotify streams, plus over 48 million YouTube views of its dizzying video.

   

   The Cure - In Between Days

8. The Cure - Pictures Of You: release date 19th March 1990

   Inspired by a fire at The Cure's recording studio which almost claimed Robert Smith's wallet full of personal photos, this live favourite was issued as the third and final British single from the Disintegration album. Issued in a number of different formats, Pictures Of You made number 24 in the charts and was certified Silver by the BPI in June 2023. The single was an edit of the album track and has enjoyed over 119 million Spotify streams and over 104 million YouTube video views.

   

   The Cure - Pictures Of You

9. The Cure - A Forest: release date 3rd April 1980

   An eerie piece of post-punk that showcased The Cure's change of direction for their Seventeen Seconds album, this was the band's first chart hit, even though it only made a lowly Number 31 in the UK. A Forest went on to become a key part of The Cure's live show (with some versions lasting up to an epic 15 minutes) and the song finally gained a Silver disc in December 2022. In the digital age, the track has had over 137 million Spotify streams and over 33 million YouTube video views.

   

   The Cure - A Forest

10. The Cure - The Lovecats: release date 21st October 1983

    The last of The Cure's "Fantasy Trilogy" of singles - after Let's Go To Bed and The Walk - The Love Cats became one of the band's biggest hits. Recorded in Paris in the summer of 1983, this jazz pastiche was inspired by the Disney film The Aristocats and took its title from the book The Vivisector by the Australian author Patrick White.

    The single peaked at Number 7 in 1983, making The Love Cats The Cure's first Top 10 hit - it even appeared on the very first Now That's What I Call Music compilation. Earning a BPI Silver Award in October 2019, the song has had over 97 million Spotify streams and there have been over 20 million views of its quirky, low budget video.

    

    The Cure - The Lovecats