The Cure

The Cure, the British band led by Robert Smith, is one of the pillars of 1980s rock, a pioneer of a cold wave that became cult, from “Boys Don’t Cry” to “Friday I’m in Love”. Montreux welcomed them in 1987, at the Golden Rose Festival.

The Cure in Montreux

14 May 1987: at the Golden Rose

On 14 May 1987, The Cure took the stage of the Golden Rose Festival, at the Casino de Montreux, the televised gathering that each spring brought the great names of pop and rock to the lakeside. The band was then in full ferment: its double album “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me” came out that month.

Backcombed hair, lipstick and hazy guitars: Robert Smith and his bandmates brought Montreux a colour all their own, a world away from the jazz of the origins, yet fully in the spirit of a festival open to every living music.

Rock according to Robert Smith

Formed in Crawley in 1978, The Cure has crossed four decades without losing any of its aura, alternating abysses (“Pornography”, “Disintegration”) and luminous hits (“Just Like Heaven”, “Friday I’m in Love”). Robert Smith, an instantly recognisable silhouette, has remained its one constant.

Their appearance at the Golden Rose is a reminder that, before being a jazz-only festival, Montreux was, thanks to the Rose d’Or, a European capital of music television, where every wave of pop came to show itself.