The show's producers refused to allow the band to play until the offending powder and paste was removed. Smith wouldn't compromise and after hours of argument, the executives finally relented. Another guest on the show, Diana Ross, was distinctly unimpressed, but The Cure had a Top 5 single and once again, the establishment was forced to swallow hard. The Robert Smith on TV or video isn't the real Robert Smith. We go on TV and look completely out of place and scare everyone and take the piss.
Outsiders think it's really strange, but our fans know what's going on.
It's not pantomime. It's not me. Like Depeche Mode, who drew 68,000 people to the Pasadena Rose Bowl football stadium to celebrate publicly some very private music, the Cure and its supporters are one of America's more obvious secrets, a youth culture as substantial and central to people's lives as heavy metal's or hip hop's. They are an obsession. The crowd of 18,000, thinking this to be part of the enter- tainment, cheered wildly.