The Cure‘s Robert Smith is decidedly unimpressed with a recent Guardian review of one of the band’s recent London shows and he has made sure the world knows it. Twice the frontman has taken to his Facebook page to repudiate the reviewer’s claim that “the band have read the review and liked it”.
The reviewer in question, the Guardian’s Caroline Sullivan, wrote that she found the band’s recent performance at the Teenager Cancer Trust Benefit show too long, unimpressive, and even “numbing”. When challenged by a disgruntled Cure fan in the comments section, she responded that she had it “on good authority” that the band approved of her review. It was this that sent Smith’s head spinning.
“’I have it on good authority that the band have read the review and liked it.’ Caroline Sullivan… WHAAAT?!!,” he began, following that up with a near-all caps rant. “TO BE CLEAR – AND ON THE BEST AUTHORITY – THE BAND HAVE INDEED READ THE REVIEW – BUT DID NOT LIKE IT!”
“THE REVIEW WAS – TO PUT IT POLITELY – LAZY NONSENSE… swampy… numbing… yet to work out how to build up a show… GULP!!!,” wrote Smith, referencing some of the choice adjectives Sullivan used in her review, which focussed primarily on the length of The Cure’s set.
“WE HAD TWO FANTASTIC NIGHTS, PLAYING TO GREAT CROWDS FOR A WONDERFUL CHARITY… THE GUARDIAN ‘REVIEW’ WAS SAD BITTER JUNK,” concluded Smith. However, the bitter feud did not end there, with Sullivan posting a follow-up story, headlined, Why the Cure’s Marathon Gigs Might Not Be the Best Way to Play. It ended with the line, “OK, Robert. Buy you a drink?”
This attempt at an olive branch only seemed to further enrage the frontman, who took to Facebook and Twitter again, with another all-caps missive. “LAZY NONSENSICAL CONTENT ASIDE; WE WERE DRIVEN TO REACT TO CAROLINE SULLIVAN’S ‘REVIEW’ BY THE BLATANT DISHONESTY OF HER ACCOMPANYING COMMENT,” he explained.
“‘I have it on good authority that the band have read the review and liked it.’ IT WAS SIMPLY TOO MUCH TO IGNORE,” he continued. Smith wrote that having “exposed the lie” that the band had approved of her review, he was hoping for some kind of acknowledgement or apology even from the Guardian writer.
“BUT AS COMMENT BY COMMENT SHE DIGS HER EVASIVE HOLE A LITTLE DEEPER, IT WOULD SEEM WE HOPED FOR TOO MUCH,” he wrote, loudly. “A SHAME. WE ALWAYS THOUGHT THE GUARDIAN AND ITS JOURNALISTS VALUED TRUTH?” In regards to her drink offer, Smith again was not impressed.
“ummm… WE WOULD PREFER YOU JUST REVIEWED WITH A TAD MORE UNDERSTANDING AND HONESTY.” Read the two tirades in full below. We expect to hear a lot more from Smith in the coming months as he revealed this week that there are three Cure albums are in the works.
