But they have remained revered and respected in equal measure. Over the course of one of the industry’s longest and most bizarre careers, the band endured numerous line-up changes, acrimonious feuds and alcoholism. The Cure were always the unlikeliest of pop stars, goth-rock royalty effortlessly straddling a hip, intelligent post-punk aesthetic with kooky pop sensibilities. Thirty years on from its release, Disintegration remains their enduring masterpiece. The album was the creative zenith of The Cure’s work. Smith’s dark ruminations of lost love and despair would transform the band from cult status to mainstream adulation, with posters of them adorning the walls of teenagers’ bedrooms across Middle America. ‘I think you’d be hard-pressed to find many artists who don’t like The Cure’ĭisintegration would go on to become The Cure’s finest work, created by a band at the peak of their powers. As one NME journalist put it at the time: “How can a group this disturbing and depressing be so popular?” The very last outcome he’d envisaged was a surge in sales. Smith’s bewilderment was heightened by the knowledge that, after six years of releasing giddy, oddball pop hits, he had written Disintegration, a deeply personal album of near-relentless gloom. “Despite my best efforts, actually become everything that I didn’t want us to become: a stadium rock band.” “It was never our intention to become as big as this,” declared Smith. But The Cure, who had crossed the Atlantic by ship due to frontman Robert Smith’s and bassist Simon Gallup’s profound fear of flying, were mortified. Many bands would have been overjoyed by such a response. The first concert was at New Jersey’s Giants Stadium, with 44,000 people turning out to watch them headline a bill that included the Pixies. In August 1989, the band arrived in New York to begin the US leg of their The Prayer tour, to promote eighth album Disintegration. Creative motivation does not necessarily equate to commercial desire, a fact borne out amply by The Cure. I n the ego-strewn music industry, it’s often assumed that anyone who sets foot on a stage wants to be as successful as possible. Against all expectations, as Neil Crossley explains, it was the album that would become their crowning achievement… If Kiss Me is a crowded, teeming city to explore, listening to Disintegration is more like standing in the middle of some vast, empty space- the kind of ocean or plain where you can see the horizon in all directions.On their eighth album, Disintegration, The Cure turned their backs on the skewed brand of pop that had yielded a succession of hits, and opted instead for doom-laden introspection. They'd always been good at this kind of album, too.

'It's a single, grand, dense, continual, epic trip into core stuff the Cure did well.

Be prepared to get lost in a sea of sound and emotion. Originally released in 1989, Disintegration is the band's highest selling record to date thanks to the hit singles 'Lovesong,' 'Pictures Of You,' and 'Lullaby.' Now, you can re-experience the groundbreaking band’s masterpiece, remastered to sound better than ever! Also includes complete lyrics and previously unreleased photos. From dreamy pop to moody expressionism, the group's signature sound is adventurous, hypnotic, emotionally deep, and beautifully melodic. The Cure evolved into one of the most visionary, creatively satisfying and influential groups to come of age in the 1980s.

Disintegration vinyl