Let’s remember the epic shows where The Cure and Placebo played together in 2004

There is a special place in the history of music for those bands that we could call ‘the most influential of all time’ and there, The Cure must certainly have a place. Just imagine how many musical projects have grown under the mantle of Robert Smith’s voice, and that’s not counting the musical style that has made the label of the house for so many years. Crazy wherever you see him -or listen to him, rather-.

What’s more, let’s also think about how many artists have cited the English group as an influence. There are lots of them and of all that we can list, Placebo It must be one of the most significant groupings in every way. That is why it is epic to see both bands on stage. Can you imagine it?

Well, the truth is that this has happened before and just thinking about it is exciting. Let’s take the nostalgic dive and remember those times Placebo and The Cure got together in 2004 for some shows.

The Cure and Placebo’s First Approach

It may sound a bit risky, but there are bands that – to put it in some way – wouldn’t exist without The Cure. Or well, at least not as we know them. And the influence not only encompasses the musical; also the aesthetic, the ideological, the emotional … it is a universe that we could define as influence.

Anyway, if we have something very clear, it is that the link between the band led by Robert Smith and the one led by Brian Molko, overcame the barrier of time and idol-fan issues. Because when Placebo began its trajectory back in the mid-90s, critics did not take long to compare them with the legendary Smith band or with other idols of the style of Siouxie and the Banshees. But they were not devastating or destructive criticisms; They were comparisons with legendary bands because you felt the essence of that post-punk that Molko and company would adopt to add a more aggressive sound, which would be your seal.

Then, What was the first rapprochement between The Cure and Placebo? Well, it was not as such a meeting between the two bands, although it was an epic meeting. It all happened at David Bowie’s birthday celebration in 1997 at Madison Square Garden, that legendary show where the Starman invited Lou Reed, people from Sonic Youth, the Pixies, Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins and of course, both Robert Smith and Brian Molko.

Surely you already know the mythical backstage photo with all those musical luminaries posing together – if you will allow me, one of the most iconic and underrated images in rock history. Broadly speaking, we do not know how much Smith and Molko would have talked…. but that there was an approach, it is most likely and the proof is in what they would cook during the first years of the new millennium.

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And the bands got together

If you are lovers of two thousand music, you will already know it. And if not, we clarify them: Placebo It was at the peak of its career between 2000 and 2004 as one of the most outstanding British bands of the moment. Possibly next to The Libertines, led the resurgence of the British scene after Britpop lost its luster in the late 1990s.

And if you had to confirm it, you just have to remember that figures like the one already mentioned David Bowie and Johnny Marr from The Smiths They backed Molko and company. In that sense, one could say that having those two banners of British music on your side is enough to consider you a great band… and they are right. But if that needed to be confirmed, there were the jumps to the stage of The Cure with Placebo and vice versa.

The Cure and Brian Molko. Photo: Getty.

By the mid-2000s, PlaceboAs we said, it was already one of the biggest bands in the world. His self-titled debut album, Without You I’m Nothing, Black Market Music Y Sleeping with Ghosts are four record jewels that did not waver in their releases and on the contrary, they made Robert Smith himself see in the group a project that he had to follow yes or yes.

And it happened, but it wasn’t just praise between one band and another. By 2004, a friendship full of collaborations was cemented on stage. A new meeting between both parties, but now directly, occurred in that same year during October when both bands were invited to play in the 20th anniversary show of the French Channel Plus (when rock was still extremely profitable for the mass media. ). Placebo played “Special K” and true to their custom, their performance was 10.

Then, The Cure came up, who invited Molko and company to play “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep”, original of the disc Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me 1987. Listening to Brian share the verses with Robert, it is interesting to understand the influence that the latter had on the lead singer of Placebo.

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One more show between Placebo and The Cure (or Robert Smith)

Well, the interference in the French channel event was good, it had mystique and everything was great. But perhaps, that does not compare with what would come later in that same 2004. In November, Placebo gave a concert at the legendary Wembley Stadium as a consolidated band and by the end, they had a surprise of epic proportions.

Yes: Robert Smith would now come up as a guest of Molko and company. But it is valid to say that this intervention was even more emotional since on the one hand, Placebo rose like the band of the moment and Robert Smith, without hesitation, agreed to the invitation affirming that idea.

Of course, although Smith sang “Without You I’m Nothing” with them, Molko and his colleagues did not hesitate to honor the legacy of The Cure with a great cover of “Boys Don’t Cry” that surely those who attended that concert, must have saved as an unforgettable memory. In more recent years, the covers followed and some ensemble appearances as well, but certainly nothing compares to those first times. And if you don’t believe us, listen to the screams of the people in this video of that 2004 show at Wembley.

At 01:17:40 they find the cover of Placebo with Robert Smith:

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