The Cure
Just days after addressing critics who expect lengthy shows from artists, a charitable Jack White is giving back to his fans with a new live EP and an affordable ticket deal for students.
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Taking to social media on Monday (Feb. 10), White revealed that students will be able to purchase $20 tickets at all upcoming dates on his ongoing No Name Tour.
“A limited number of student tickets will be available to purchase in-person only at each venue’s box office on show day,” White explained. “These tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis with a valid student ID (1 ticket per student ID).” More information about this ticketing approach is available on the website for each venue on the tour.
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White, who is himself a noted critic of high ticket prices, is following in the footsteps of other bands who have taken a similar approach to capping the cost of tickets in the past. While DIY post-hardcore outfit Fugazi were famous for their $5 entry fee, recent years have seen the likes of The Cure attempting to make their gigs affordable too.
In 2024, frontman Robert Smith claimed ticket sellers were “driven by greed”, and capped the price of some tickets to just $20. In some cases, however, the fees were more expensive than the tickets themselves.
Alongside White’s recent generosity, the veteran musician also unveiled his No Name Live EP on Wednesday (Feb. 12). The five-song release includes a handful of live recordings of cuts from his 2024 record No Name, including “That’s How I’m Feeling”, “Archbishop Harold Holmes”, “Morning at Midnight”, and “Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking).”
These recordings were taken from U.S. performances in Denver, Atlanta, New Haven, and Dallas, respectively, with an additional appearance of “Old Scratch Blues” recorded during his trip down to Hobart in Australia.
Splendour in the Grass, one of Australia’s most prominent music festivals, will not be going ahead in 2025.
The decision to not return following the unceremonious cancelation of its 2024 event was confirmed by promoters Live Nation in a statement given to Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
“The festivals team has our full support to bring Splendour in the Grass back when they feel it’s right,” the statement reads. “In the meantime, we’re working on exciting new projects to support artists and the industry, while meeting the demands of music fans and look forward to sharing more in the coming months.”
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On the Splendour social channels, a separate, more casual message was simultaneously conveyed to its followers, apologizing for their silence and explaining they had “finally” taken the opportunity to have a “holiday”.
“The rest of the festival team have still been busy cooking up some awesome new things for music lovers in Australia, but Splendour needs a little more time to recharge and we won’t be back this year,” the statement read. “Think of it as a breather so we can come back even bigger and better when the time is right. Lots of other huge events on the horizon so keep an ear to the ground in the coming months – we can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on!”
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Established in 2001 and held each year in Byron Bay, a picturesque beach town on the most easterly tip of Australia, Splendour is a destination event, the most popular mid-winter camping fest in the country. Names such as The Cure, Sonic Youth, Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, and Tyler, the Creator have all headlined the festival across its lifetime.
In 2024, the festival was canceled just weeks after it announced Kylie Minogue, Future, and Arcade Fire as headliners. “We know there were many fans excited for this year’s line-up and all the great artists planning to join us, but due to unexpected events we’ll be taking the year off,” a statement from organizers read at the time.
Three months later, the festival’s co-founder Jessica Ducrou, announced that she was exiting her role as co-CEO of Australia’s Secret Sounds Group, the producer of Splendour and a slew of live music brands.
Earlier in 2023, Secret Sounds’ other long-running festival, Falls Festival, announced it too would be taking some time off, though no updates have been provided since.
It’s been a very long time since The Cure were considered prolific, but frontman Robert Smith appears to be making up for lost time.
Fresh from the release of their first album in 16 years, Songs of a Lost World, The Cure followed up with the announcement of a new live album just last week. Fittingly titled Songs of a Live World, the record captures the release-day concert of their latest album, which saw the band performing the record in full alongside a career-spanning set.
Now in a teaser clip of Smith’s upcoming interview with Absolute Radio’s Danielle Perry, the veteran musician can be heard detailing upcoming records from The Cure.
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“There is another album which is pretty much ready to go. It’s sort of its companion piece,” Smith began. “And then there’s a third one which is completely different. It’s really kind of random stuff, it’s like late-night studio stuff. But some of it is really, really good actually, it’s just very, very different.”
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“This Songs of a Lost World album is a really emotional piece of work and the companion piece, it’s not quite as dark but it explores other subjects a little bit more. The third one is very odd, actually. I haven’t finished the words to that one because my headspace has been much more focused on performing these songs.
“I don’t really want it to end because it’s been so good,” he concluded. “The reaction to the new music has been so, so great. It’s been really lovely to feel people giving us all the love.”
The release of The Cure‘s Songs of a Lost World has been a massively successful undertaking for the band. In addition to giving the band their first U.K. No. 1 since 1992’s Wish, the record also made a return to the top of U.S. charts as well.
It became the band’s first No. 1 on the 33-year-old Top Album Sales chart and the act’s highest-charting effort on the Billboard 200 (No. 4) since 1992. It also managed to hit No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Vinyl Albums and Indie Store Album Sales.
After a 16 year wait for a new album, The Cure are getting a little prolific.
The veteran post punk outfit have today (Dec. 1) announced the release of a new live album, recorded during their recent London performance.
Fittingly-titled Songs of a Live World: Troxy London MMXXIV and recorded at the titular venue on Nov. 1, the album captures “a very special night” which served as the launch of their first album in 16 years, Songs of a Lost World.
The show itself was livestreamed to YouTube, with the band performing the entire eight-song album in full on the day of its release. Additionally, the set also featured 23 more songs from their illustrious career, including a five-song suite of tracks from their second record, 1980’s Seventeen Seconds.
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While the full show will remain available to stream on YouTube, the Robert Smith-mixed audio will be releleased on vinyl, CD, and cassette in early 2025. Pre-orders for the record have been made available now, with all profits to be donated to U.K. charity War Child.
The release of The Cure‘s Songs of a Lost World has been a massively successful one for the veteran group. In addition to giving the band their first U.K. No. 1 since 1992’s Wish, the record also made a return to the top of U.S. charts as well.
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It became the band’s first No. 1 on the 33-year-old Top Album Sales chart and the act’s highest-charting effort on the Billboard 200 (No. 4) since 1992. It also bows at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Vinyl Albums and Indie Store Album Sales.
The album’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across five vinyl variants (which sold a combined 23,000 copies; the band’s best week on vinyl since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991), a standard CD, a CD/blu-ray audio package, two cassettes, a standard digital download and a deluxe digital download with five bonus live tracks (exclusive to the band’s webstore).
Roger O’Donnell, the longtime keyboardist for The Cure, has revealed that he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma in Sept. 2023.
The musician shared his experience on X, formerly known as Twitter, as part of Blood Cancer Awareness Month, urging followers to prioritize their health and get tested early.
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“In September last year I was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. I had ignored the symptoms for a few months but finally went, and after surgery, the result of the biopsy was devastating,” O’Donnell wrote.
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After nearly a year of treatment, including surgery, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy, he shared that his health has improved. “I’m fine, and the prognosis is amazing.”
“He added, “”The mad axe murderer knocked on the door and we didn’t answer.”
He added: “Cancer can be beaten but if you are diagnosed early enough you stand a way better chance, so all I have to say is go get tested, if you have the faintest thought you may have symptoms go and get checked out.
“Lastly if you know someone who is ill or suffering talk to them, every single word helps, believe me I know.”
September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month so it’s a good opportunity to have a dialogue about these diseases. In September last year I was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. I had ignored the symptoms for a few months but finally went… pic.twitter.com/8Xftcd5nPL— Roger O’Donnell (@RogerODonnellX) September 1, 2024
O’Donnell emphasized the importance of early detection, advising, “Cancer CAN be beaten but if you are diagnosed early enough you stand a way better chance, so all I have to say is go GET TESTED, if you have the faintest thought you may have symptoms go and get checked out.”
The Cure recently wrapped up their Shows of a Lost World Tour in Sept. 2023, and fans won’t have to wait long for more from the band.
In October, they’ll release Novembre: Live in France 2022, a double A-side 12″ featuring live versions of new tracks “And Nothing Is Forever” and “I Can Never Say Goodbye.” The limited-edition vinyl, pressed on eco-friendly materials, will support Brian Eno’s Earth Percent climate charity, marking the band’s first official release of new music in 16 years.
The Cure’s influence on alternative rock is undeniable, with their 2019 album, 40 Live: Curaetion-25 + Anniversary, peaking at No. 30 on the Billboard 200.
Their earlier work, Disintegration, remains one of their most celebrated albums, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard 200 in 1989. Their 2004 self-titled album, The Cure, also climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard 200, while “Lovesong” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989, making it their highest-charting single in the U.S. The band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
Robert Smith continued to blast Ticketmaster on Thursday night (March 30), taking to Twitter to warn fans of a scam in which scalpers offer to sell account login details.
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“BEWARE ANOTHER SCALPER SCAM: OFFERING TO SELL/SEND ACCOUNT LOGIN DETAILS TO GET AROUND TM TRANSFER LIMITATIONS… ANY/ALL TICKETS OBTAINED IN THIS WAY WILL BE CANCELED, AND ORIGINAL FEES PAID ON THOSE TICKETS WILL NOT BE REFUNDED,” he wrote, adding that the fees from those tickets will be donated to human rights organization Amnesty International. The Cure frontman, however, did not share plans to regulate and spot the scammers.
1 OF 2BEWARE ANOTHER SCALPER SCAM: OFFERING TO SELL/SEND ACCOUNT LOGIN DETAILS TO GET AROUND TM TRANSFER LIMITATIONS… ANY/ALL TICKETS OBTAINED IN THIS WAY WILL BE CANCELED, AND ORIGINAL FEES PAID ON THOSE TICKETS WILL NOT BE REFUNDED… #ShowsOfALostWorld23— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 31, 2023
2 OF 2…ORIGINAL FEES PAID ON THOSE TICKETS WILL BE DONATED TO @amnesty AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, AND THE TICKETS THEMSELVES WILL BE RESOLD TO FANS #ShowsOfALostWorld23— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 31, 2023
As the band gears up for its first trek in seven years, The Lost World North American Tour, The Cure had hoped to keep seat-buying fair and simple for their fans by opting out of dynamic pricing and shielding against scalpers with non-transferable tickets. But when the sale opened mid-March, customers were disappointed to find that the Ticketmaster had tacked on sky-high fees to tickets that totaled more than the price of the actual tickets themselves.
At the time, Smith went on a similarly all-caps Twitter rant, writing that he was “AS SICKENED AS YOU ALL ARE BY TODAY’S TICKETMASTER ‘FEES’ DEBACLE” before promising to investigate what went wrong. Soon after, he took to social media again to announce that Ticketmaster would be offering refunds and lower fees.
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