35 Years Ago: THE CURE end the Pornography tour in Belgium and almost split for good

Daily Noise - / 2017

35 Years Ago: THE CURE end the Pornography tour in Belgium and almost split for good

The show was quite flat and, during the encore, Biddles came on and started singing 'Smith's a wanker, Tolhurst's a wanker, only Simon's worth anything in this band'. I was drumming, so I stopped, threw the drumsticks at the back of his head and told him to fuck off. Everyone looked at each other... and that was it.

This recording is the encore from the last night of THE CURE's Pornography tour 1982. 11 June, Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium.

It's improvised, bitter chaos with Gary Biddles (CURE roadie who later formed PRESENCE and FOOLS DANCE with other CURE members) taking the mic and Smith on drums. Gary died in 2013.

We were friends from way back. So they were gonna go on tour - they were gonna start the 'Seventeen Seconds' tour. I think they took me to the pub to talk about it. So I sold all my records to get some money, and then I followed them on tour. I slept on the floor, all that.. I went to Europe with them. I think I was somewhere around 17, I wasn't working. And then as soon as they started tour in Europe during the 'Picture' tour, their roadie - Click, had to go, and back then they only had one roadie. I was already there, so I became the new roadie. I worked with them from the Faith album up to The Top, which is where I did some promotional television work with them. Somewhere around this time, Fools Dance was formed and I chose to go with Simon.
- Gary Biddles / The Cure interview, BlogCritics

Before the concert, Lol and I sat in the dressing room, miserable because we knew it was the end. The show was quite flat and, during the encore, Biddles came on and started singing 'Smith's a wanker, Tolhurst's a wanker, only Simon's worth anything in this band'. I was drumming, so I stopped, threw the drumsticks at the back of his head and told him to fuck off. Everyone looked at each other... and that was it.
- Robert Smith / The Cure interview, Ten Imaginary Years

Zerra 1 were on stage too. Lol was playing bass, I was playing guitar and, to start with, it was great: but then it got stupid so i stopped and, gradually so did the others.
Simon Gallup / The Cure interview, Ten Imaginary Years

I slept right through the journey back the next day and then I said goodbye to Simon. I didn't see him again for 18 months...
- Robert Smith / The Cure interview, Ten Imaginary Years