The Cure Unveils New Song “Another Happy Birthday” During First Night at the Hollywood Bowl

“Pour myself another glass

Turn off all the lights and sit for a while

Aching alone, waiting in the dark for you.”

In early May, The Cure made their long-awaited return to the North American stage, their first appearance stateside since 2016. An air of nostalgia marked their triumphant comeback concert in New Orleans, as the band revived a pair of tracks: “Six Different Ways,” a standout from the Head on the Door album, had only previously seen the stage during tours from 1985 to 1987; and “A Thousand Hours,” a deep cut from 1987’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, that had been untouched for over three decades. On this tour, Robert Smith has been strategically reaching into the grab bag of Cure deep cuts to keep things interesting, and enhance a little suspense at what else might be unearthed.

This theme of pleasant surprises continued into last night’s performance at the Hollywood Bowl. The band unveiled a significant milestone in their post-hiatus journey, a never-before-performed ’90s track named “Another Happy Birthday.” This piece, up until now, only existed as an instrumental demo from the Bloodflowers sessions. An instrumental demo version of this intriguing song has been subtly making rounds on YouTube for years. Robert Smith first dropped the song’s title during a 1997 conversation with Addicted to Noise. From an archived copy of the interview, Smith’s depiction of the song deviates from The Cure’s conventional mold, describing it as a break from the typical verse-chorus-verse structure, suggesting a more fluid arrangement. (Is this a hint that the song will appear on the forthcoming Songs of a Lost World?)

This melancholic track, with Roger O’Donnell’s distinct piano melody taking center stage, was notably rehearsed during the band’s UK tour in the preceding year – yet it wasn’t officially debuted until Tuesday night’s performance. Giving this long-lost track some love was not only a delightful bolt from out of the blue, but also marked a new chapter in The Cure’s journey, making each concert an exciting and unpredictable experience. Watch below:

On this tour, Robert Smith is accompanied by his long-time comrade, bassist Simon Gallup, joined by the band’s skilled ensemble of musicians, including drummer Jason Cooper, keyboardist Roger O’Donnell, and guitarist Reeves Gabrels. Adding an unexpected twist last fall, Smith delighted fans by welcoming back guitarist/keyboardist Perry Bamonte to the lineup.

The Shows of a Lost World tour continues tonight and tomorrow at the Hollywood Bowl and will wrap on July 1 in Miami. Remainder dates are below:

• May 24: Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Bowl
• May 25: Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Bowl
• May 27: San Francisco, CA — Shoreline Amphitheatre
• May 29: San Francisco, CA — Shoreline Amphitheatre
• May 31: Portland, OR — MODA Centre
• June 1: Seattle, WA — Climate Pledge Arena
• June 2: Vancouver, BC — Rogers Arena
• June 4: Salt Lake City, UT — Vivint Smart Home Arena
• June 6: Denver, CO — Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
• June 8: Minneapolis St. Paul, MN — Xcel Energy Center
• June 10: Chicago, IL — United Center
• June 11: Cleveland, OH — Blossom Music Center
• June 13: Detroit, MI — Pine Knob Music Theatre
• June 14: Toronto, ON — Budweiser Stage
• June 16: Montreal, QC — Bell Centre
• June 17: Montreal, QC — Bell Centre
• June 18: Boston, MA — Xfinity Center
• June 20: New York, NY — Madison Square Garden
• June 21: New York, NY — Madison Square Garden
• June 22: New York, NY — Madison Square Garden
• June 24: Philadelphia, PA — Wells Fargo Center
• June 25: Columbia, MD — Merriweather Post Pavilion
• June 27: Atlanta, GA — State Farm Arena
• June 28: Atlanta, GA — State Farm Arena
• June 29: Tampa, FL — Amalie Arena
• July 1: Miami, FL — Miami-Dade Arena