The Cure on MTV Unplugged

On January 24th, 1991, The Cure appeared on MTV Unplugged. The performance was filmed at London’s Limehouse TV Studios on a candlelit studio stage covered in pillows. Along with frontman Robert Smith, the lineup included Pearl (Porl) Thompson, Simon Gallup, Boris Williams, and Perry Bamonte.

Watch a selection of the stripped-down and rearranged songs that were included in the original broadcast below, ending the fantastic kazoo rendition of “The Walk”:

Save for a performance at a secret show billed as 5 Imaginary Boys, a week before, The Cure gave “A Letter to Elise” gave its official public unveiling during this performance, which contained very different lyrics from the later version to be released as the third and final single on the band’s 1992 studio album Wish. The song was inspired by Letters to Felice by Kafka, a collection of letters to his fiance Felice Bauer written from 1912 to 1917.

Setlist:

1. Lullaby
2. Just Like Heaven
3. Let’s Go to Bed
4. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
5. The Caterpillar
6. In Your House
7. The Walk
8. A Letter to Elise
9. The Blood
10. Time Has Told Me
    (Nick Drake cover)
11. M
12. Boys Don’t Cry