The Cure’s lead singer, Robert Smith, is well-known for his warm and understanding personality. But he’s also got a list of bands that, in his words, he “really, really don’t like”.
Smith’s not shy about letting people know he doesn’t like certain bands like Queen, Def Leppard, and Morrissey.
He even once said his arguments with Morrissey were “make-believe”, even though the “How Soon Is Now” singer often criticized him.
Smith admires musicians like David Bowie, The Stranglers, Mogwai, and Placebo, but not everyone in the music world gets his approval. Yet, he often shares his negative views with a dash of humor.
Here are the five bands Robert Smith doesn’t like, featuring some of his most straightforward comments.
Queen
As The Cure’s music began to explore new territories, Smith was influenced by emotionally honest artists such as Nick Drake.
That’s why it’s not shocking that the flashy, fun pop of Queen doesn’t work for him.
He bluntly said, “I totally didn’t like Queen and everything about them.”
The Darkness
Given that Smith doesn’t like Queen, it makes sense he wouldn’t be a fan of The Darkness.
When asked if he would perform with the Lowestoft rock group at the Reading & Leeds Festival, Smith compared them to Queen and said, “It’s odd to recycle an idea for a second time. So no, I don’t like The Darkness one bit.”
Smith isn’t just unhappy with their lack of original music. He also finds their flashy style unappealing and called them a “funny band.”
Morrissey
Smith recently said his disagreements with Morrissey were simply “made up”:
“I’ve seen how quickly these disagreements can grow because people love drama.”
However, this is quite different from what he once said: “If Morrissey says don’t eat meat, then I’ll eat meat. That’s how much I don’t like Morrissey.” Things got even worse when Morrissey called Smith a “complainer”. Smith then said, “Morrissey is so gloomy that if he doesn’t [hurt himself] soon, I probably will.”
Def Leppard
Smith proudly supports the idea that The Cure will only become popular if people start liking their kind of music.
Their 1992 album, ‘Wish’, almost did that. But then, Def Leppard took the number one spot in the US, a fact that made Smith very unhappy.
“I wanted our album to be the best in America. I don’t like Def Leppard. I didn’t like them before, but now I dislike them even more.”
Duran Duran
Duran Duran was all about the glamour and fun of the 80s, but Smith wished their music had more depth. He recently said:
“Mostly, it was Duran Duran Duran, which is sad because they liked us and came to our concerts. But they were everything we didn’t like: all the 80s glam, the shopping frenzy; that crazy world we were up against.”
