five of the best: The Cure

Image: The Cure

The Cure's headline set at Bestival in 2011 has gone down in legend with the band's devoted legion of fans. A mammoth three hour performance, it saw the goth giants revisit their huge back catalogue of hits with a 12 song encore just one of the many highlights of a show which was later released as a live album. 

Hardly surprising then that Robert Smith and company have been invited back to headline the 2016 edition of the festival which takes place from 8th to 11th September on the Isle of Wight. The group have always been innovators both on record and with their hugely memorable videos, so we've picked five of the best to showcase that depth.

boys don't cry (1979)

The Cure's second single is one of their finest pop moments, as Smith groans his way through a miserable tale of unrequited love. Still a favourite at indie discos across the world, the song was later featured in the film the Wedding Singer and was also used as the title of the 1999 movie starring Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny. Being miserable about a girl never sounded so good. 

'A Forest' (1979)

The band's first top 40 hit in the UK, 'A Forest' also saw The Cure nail their reputation as trench-coated leaders of gothic rock. With its doom-laden bassline and horror film-influenced lyrics, Smith sounds utterly terrified as he wanders "lost in the forest, all alone," with the inspiration for the song apparently having its roots in a recurring childhood nightmare of the singer's.

just like heaven (1987)

After years of ploughing through the dark world of goth, The Cure underwent something of a pop renaissance in the mid-eighties as they became one of the biggest alternative rock bands in the world with hits like 'Inbetween Days' and 'Close To Me'. The zenith of this phase was the gorgeous and giddy 'Just Like Heaven' which saw a lovesick Smith "spinning on that dizzy edge". See also Dinosaur Jr's equally lovely grunged-up cover from 1989.

lullaby (1989)  

Amazingly 'Lullaby' is The Cure's biggest hit in the UK and also their only top five single which isn't a bad effort for a song about being eaten alive by a giant spider. Disintegration saw the band return to the gloom of their trademark goth rock sound as Smith, despite battling with LSD use and depression, made one of The Cure's finest albums. The video even won them a Brit Award. 

friday i'm in love (1992)

Ask the average man on the street to name a song by The Cure and they'll probably nominate this or 'Love Cats'. But despite the song's daytime radio ubiquity it remains one of their finest pop moments and one which lit up the holidays of many a teenager during the summer of 1992. Wish was probably The Cure's last really great album too.  

The Cure will will be joined at Bestival by the likes of Hot Chip, Bastille, Animal Collective, Ghostpoet and the Human League.

Click here for the full line up 

Like this? Read our Five of the Best: David Bowie 

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