In February 2009, The Cure were the recipients of the ‘Godlike Geniuses’ Award at the annual awards dished out by the NME. As part of the celebrations, there were gigs at the O2 Arena in London, while the 25 February edition of the publication gave away a free CD.
Editors, The Futureheads, British Sea Power, Art Brut, The Dandy Warhols and Lostprophets are among the artists featured on a free album of The Cure covers to be given away with the NME on February 25, to coincide with the NME Awards.
Speaking on a spoken word introduction that features on the CD, Robert Smith said, “When I started out with The Cure we didn’t have many songs. We often ended rehearsals playing other people’s stuff. We tried pop, rock, psychedelia, rockabilly, reggae and punk favourites. Banging our way through them was a lot of fun. It was also very instructive.”
NME editor Conor McNicholas added: “When we started asking bands and artists if they wanted to take part in the CD, people couldn’t say ‘Yes’ quick enough. It proves not only how influential The Cure are, but also how strong their songs are, as they easily stood up to be reinterpreted.”
Given the later controversy surrounding Ian Watkins, the lead singer of Lost Prophets (recently murdered while serving a very long prison sentence for multiple sex offences, including the sexual assault of young children and infants), you’ll hopefully accept the logic for not including the band’s contribution to the CD.
mp3: The Cure – Introduction
mp3: Mystery Jets & Esser – In Between Days
mp3: Marmaduke Duke – Friday I’m In Love
mp3: Dinosaur Jr. – Just Like Heaven
mp3: The Big Pink – Love Song
mp3: Editors – Lullaby
mp3: British Sea Power – A Forest
mp3: The Dandy Warhols – Primary
mp3: The Get Up Kids – Close To Me
mp3: The Futureheads – The Lovecats
mp3: Art Brut – Catch
mp3: Metronomy – Fascination Street
mp3: Alkaline Trio – Cut Here
mp3: Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly – In Between Days
The CD can be had for £2.99 plus P&P over at Discogs.
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