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Since The Cure debuted their first single, Killing an Arab, back in 1978, the band has enjoyed total success. Even in a commercial world, their bold creative decision making paid off and led to them being increasingly celebrated.
Robert Smith led the band into a cinemascape of gothic dreams and leftfield pop throughout the 1980s. Their last classic single, Friday I’m in Love came out in 1992, drawing what would be the peak of their career to a close and leaving behind an impressive body of work.
During the 1990s, when Britpop was in full flow, The Cure was almost left in limbo, as a fondness for the country’s 1960s era, new wave and the tamer end of the punk scale had resurfaced. It became difficult for the band’s creative pursuits to be welcomed due to the clash of Blur and Oasis dominating the charts. An ongoing court case with former and founding member of the band, Lol Tolhurst, also proved to be an obstacle. So much so, that when Wild Mood Swings came out in 1996, it would be billed as a tired record despite being home to some shining pop songs.
Smith was not one to shy away from discussing his musical influences including My Bloody Valentine and the shoegaze crowd and perhaps his mid-1990s creative stumble could be in part blame to lack of suited inspiration around for him. Reflecting on this, Smith highlighted one of the leading bands of the decade in an interview with Sumo in 2000.
He said: “I think the group sound of Oasis is great, but I dislike most of their songs.” Smith confessed to Humo in 2000.
Smith added: “I saw them live and I was impressed by their sound and Liam’s voice, but all that bulls*** around, like the whole feud with Blur… I’m happy we didn’t waste time and energy with such nonsense.”
“If there is a connection between The Cure and Oasis, it’s that we’re both huge Beatles fans. The difference is that that doesn’t show in The Cure’s music. My biggest problem with Oasis is that they belong to the lads culture in England, and that is very restricting: it’s only about beer, soccer and having a big mouth,” Smith explained.
Both bands were impressive in their own right, but very, very different. The UK was craving a band that thye could use as an outlet for the political noise of the Conservatives in the 1990s and Oasis provided that. However, Britpop would die out after a few years and make way for a whole host of new indie sounds. But despite this, both bands go on to have an incredible legacy, and are still active in some right today. At Glastonbury Festival last month, Smith performed alongside headliner Olivia Rodrigo and Oasis are currently performing in their comeback tour Live’ 25 – so perhaps there is space for both.
