Following their secret/not so secret “CURÆTION 25” set at the 25th annual Meltdown Festival in London two weeks ago, The Cure, with their current lineup of Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Jason Cooper, Roger O’Donnell, and Reeves Gabrels, performed their highly anticipated 40th anniversary gig at London’s Hyde Park.
Despite fan speculation, no special guests or previous members joined the band on stage, as was the case with Meltdown. Which is just as well, as Cure frontman Robert Smith curated a dream festival lineup which featured popular acts such as The Twilight Sad, Editors, Slowdive, Interpol, Ride, and more performing for the 65,000 capacity sold out event that people traveled from all over the world to see.
The setlist, as promised, was a fist-pumping single-infused selection of Cure classics, beautifully beginning with “Plainsong” and “Pictures Of You,” the first of six songs played from 1989 masterpiece Disintegration, including the epic title track. The set also leaned heavily on material from equally massive records Kiss Me Kiss Kiss Me, Wish, and The Head on the Door, with a handful of tracks from various other albums spanning the majority of the band’s career.
The band concluded their encore with a blistering run of early tracks, beginning with “Boys Don’t Cry” and the surprise inclusion of “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” and “Grinding Halt,” both of which the band have not played live since 2011.
Lastly, “10:15 Saturday Night” was played, as Craig Parker of fansite Chain of Flowers notes, just a few minutes shy on the clock. This was followed by a performance of The Cure’s debut single “Killing An Arab,” with the controversial lyrics altered as they have been in recent years.
Listen to a periscope of the concert audio courtesy of Snuffybear:
Full set below:
Encore:
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