The Cure Went Pop Instead of Goth for Their First US Top 40 Hit

You sometimes have to knock on the door a few times before you can make your way inside the house. The Cure came close on several occasions to their first US hit before finally getting one over the top.

Videos by American Songwriter

They did so with a song that played up their pop strengths over their darker tendencies. And it set the tone for a long stretch of American hits for this one-of-a-kind British band.

A Varied Approach

Many consider them one of the quintessential bands of the 80s. In actuality, The Cure released their first album in 1979. Three Imaginary Boys made little to no impact here in the United States. Later that year, there was a little rumble in American dance clubs for the single “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”.

By the time they released their second album, Seventeen Seconds, in 1980, they were starting to find chart success in the UK. Led by lead singer and chief songwriter Robert Smith, the band mixed post-punk intensity with pop smarts and the occasional Goth dirge.

It proved an effective mix in Great Britain. But they were relegated to college radio in America. As the band progressed, Smith saw the wisdom in including a particularly catchy, uptempo pop song with each release to get people interested in the moodier stuff on the records. Once he started going that route, it was just a matter of time before something hit in the US.

Getting Closer

The Cure started to hone in on the US Top 40 in 1985 with “In Between Days”, lead single off their album The Head On The Door. That song made it to No. 99, the first time they cracked the Top 100.

Two years later, Smith encouraged his band members to come to the album-making process with material of their own. As a result, they had a plethora of songs from which to choose. Rather than cutting out tracks that were clearly ready for prime time, they decided that their 1987 release, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, would be a double album.

“Why Can’t I Be You?”, the playful, horn-filled first single, once again threatened the US Top 40 before stalling out at No. 54. Luckily, the album was so vast that there were plenty of other songs with hit potential. “Just Like Heaven” came up next in the batting order.

“Heaven” Sent

Smith had dedicated a good portion of each month leading up to the making of the album to writing music for it. “Just Like Heaven” originated from one of these sessions. When he brought it to The Cure, drummer Boris Williams juiced up the pace. Meanwhile, Smith made the decision to gradually bring each instrumental part into the song.

At the time he was writing the song, Smith was dating the woman who would become his wife. As a result, “Just Like Heaven” whooshes along with the heady thrills of a new romance. This band, known previously for their darker side, had released one of the most effervescent songs of the era.

And it worked, barely. “Just Like A Heaven” topped out at No. 40 in the US. The Cure had finally knocked down that door, with plenty more hits in the future to follow them through it.

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images