Five concrete facts about The Cure that many fans skip: a near teaching career, a studio ban over orange juice, a Eurovision tease, a wrong-key riff, and a plush raccoon from Manchester.
1Robert Smith nearly trained as an English teacher, then balked at public speaking
Before The Cure became a full-time job, Smith looked at teaching as a serious option. He received a grant to continue his studies, but the daily classroom routine felt worse than any gig. He dropped the plan. A few years later he was singing to thousands without the same dread of a blackboard and a register.
2The band was briefly banned from a studio after raiding another act’s orange juice
The Pornography sessions in 1982 were tense and late. At one point the group took supplies from another band’s room, including a crate of orange juice. The engineer pushed back; a temporary ban followed. The record still landed as one of their darkest and most cited albums of the early Eighties.
3A producer once floated them as a UK Eurovision entry
In the 1980s a producer put The Cure forward as a possible UK Eurovision act, selling it as a post-punk publicity stunt. The idea briefly circulated at the BBC. It died when decision-makers judged the music too downbeat for the contest format.
4The “A Forest” hook started as a keyboard played in the wrong key
In rehearsal, the then-keyboardist played the part off-key. Smith preferred that take to the planned line and rebuilt the arrangement around the dissonant figure. The finished single became a staple of their live set and of early Eighties alternative radio.
5Smith kept a fan-made plush raccoon from a 1981 Manchester show
During a Manchester date in 1981, a fan threw a handmade raccoon onto the stage. Smith kept it, packed it in tour luggage for years, and, according to people close to him, still keeps the worn toy on his nightstand.
