 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
| "A Letter to Elise" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by the Cure | ||||
| from the album Wish | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 5 October 1992 | |||
| Length | 5:12 | |||
| Label | Fiction | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| The Cure singles chronology | ||||
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"A Letter to Elise" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as the third and final single from the album Wish on 5 October 1992. In 2010, Pitchfork Media ranked it at number 184 in their list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s". [1]
"A Letter to Elise" was made public for the first time on MTV's Cure-"Unplugged" show in 1991 and had very different lyrics from the later version to be released as a 7".[ citation needed ] Letters to Felice by Kafka was a huge influence when Robert Smith wrote the lyrics of the track. [2]
The B-side "The Big Hand" was planned as an A-side single early in 1993 but the idea was scrapped, largely due to Boris Williams not wanting the track to appear on the album but having no qualms about it appearing as a B-side (from KROQ radio interview with the band in 1992). "The Big Hand" is one of the few B-sides to be played live, although very rarely. It was first played in 1991, performed a few times during the Wish Tour in 1992, then revived at the Ultra Music Festival in 2007, and was occasionally played during the band's 4Tour World Tour 2007–08.[ citation needed ]
A promo version of the song features yet another longer unreleased mix, with phaser on Robert Smith's voice.[ citation needed ] An instrumental version on cassette is also known to exist.
"A Letter to Elise" itself was revived by the band's new Smith/Gallup/Thompson/Cooper lineup in 2005 after being played sparingly, if ever, during the Smith/Gallup/Bamonte/Cooper/O'Donnell era.
"A Letter to Elise" has been covered by Aaron Sprinkle, for his Really Something EP; Blink-182, for the MTV Icon show for the Cure; and Sense Field, for their 2003 album Living Outside.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Letter to Elise" (7-inch remix edit) | 4:20 |
| 2. | "The Big Hand" | 4:52 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Letter to Elise" (Blue mix) | 6:37 |
| 2. | "The Big Hand" | 4:56 |
| 3. | "A Foolish Arrangement" | 3:54 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Letter to Elise" (7-inch remix edit) | 4:24 |
| 2. | "The Big Hand" | 4:56 |
| 3. | "A Foolish Arrangement" | 3:54 |
| 4. | "A Letter to Elise" (Blue mix) | 6:37 |
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [3] | 103 |
| Ireland (IRMA) [4] | 23 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [5] | 13 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [6] | 39 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [7] | 28 |
| US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [8] | 2 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 5 October 1992 |
| Fiction | [9] |
| Japan | 5 December 1992 | CD | [10] |
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member, though bassist Simon Gallup has been present for all but about three years of the band's history. Their debut album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979), along with several early singles, placed the band at the forefront of the emerging post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up in the United Kingdom. Beginning with their second album, Seventeen Seconds (1980), the band adopted a new, increasingly dark and tormented style, which, together with Smith's stage look, had a strong influence on the emerging genre of gothic rock as well as the subculture that eventually formed around the genre.
Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 6 May 1996 by Fiction Records. The album charted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart, staying on chart for six weeks, and charted at number 12 in the US Billboard 200.
Faith is the third studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 17 April 1981 by Fiction Records. The album saw the band continuing in the gloomy vein of their previous effort Seventeen Seconds (1980). This stylistic theme would conclude with their next album Pornography (1982).
Wish is the ninth studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 21 April 1992 by Fiction Records in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States. Wish was the most commercially successful album in the band's career, debuting at number one in the UK and number two in the US, where it sold more than 1.2 million copies.
Bloodflowers is the eleventh studio album by English rock band The Cure. It was first released in Japan on 2 February 2000, before being released in the UK and Europe on 14 February 2000 and then the day after in the US by Fiction Records and Polydor Records. Initially the album was to be released in 1999, as it had been completed by May that year, the record company wanted it to be released “post millennial fever,”.
Japanese Whispers is the second compilation album by British group The Cure. It was released in late 1983 by Fiction Records. The title is a pun on the children's game Chinese whispers.
Galore: The Singles 1987–1997 is the second singles compilation by The Cure and was released on 28 October 1997. It contains singles from the years 1987–1997. The song "Wrong Number" is the only new song on the album.
Mixed Up is a remix album by English rock band the Cure, released on 20 November 1990 by Fiction Records. The songs are remixes of some of their hits, reflecting the popularity of remixing of existing songs and dance culture of the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 2018, a sequel was released titled Torn Down.
Show is a live album released in 1993 by the British alternative rock band the Cure. It was recorded live over two nights at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan in 1992, during the successful Wish tour. Show was also released as a concert video.
Paris is a live album recorded by The Cure at Le Zénith de Paris, in October 1992 during their Wish tour, but released in October 1993. The band announced the album in July 1993.
"A Forest" is a song by the English rock band the Cure. Co-produced by Mike Hedges and the band's Robert Smith, it was released as a single from the band's second album Seventeen Seconds on 28 March 1980. It was their debut entry on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 31. The accompanying music video was first shown on BBC's Top of the Pops programme on 24 April 1980.
"Mint Car" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as the second single from their tenth studio album Wild Mood Swings in June 1996. It reached the top 20 in Finland and Iceland and peaked at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.
"The End of the World" is a song by English rock band the Cure. It was the first single to be released from their 12th studio album, The Cure (2004), and reached the top 40 in Italy and the United Kingdom.
"Let's Go to Bed" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as a stand-alone single by Fiction Records in November 1982. In the aftermath of the dark Pornography, Robert Smith returned from a month-long detox in the Lake District to write the song, the antithesis to what the Cure currently represented. It was later included on the album Japanese Whispers, which compiles the band's three singles from 1982 to 1983 and their five B-sides.
"Never Enough" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as a single in September 1990 from their 1990 remix album, Mixed Up. The song topped the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, reached number three in Finland, and peaked within the top 20 in Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
"High" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as the lead single from their ninth album, Wish (1992), on 16 March 1992. The track received mostly positive reviews and was commercially successful, reaching number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, number six on the Irish Singles Chart, and number eight on the UK Singles Chart. It charted within the top five in Portugal, where it peaked at number two, and in Australasia, reaching number five in Australia and number four in New Zealand; it is the band's highest-charting single in both countries.
"Friday I'm in Love" is a song by British rock band the Cure. Released as the second single from their ninth studio album, Wish (1992), in May 1992, the song became a worldwide hit, reaching number six in the UK and number 18 in the United States, where it also topped the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also won the award for European Viewer's Choice for Best Music Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Cut Here" is a song by English rock band The Cure, released as a single in October 2001 from their best-of compilation Greatest Hits released the same year.
The Cure: Trilogy is a double live album video by the Cure, released on two double layer DVD-9 discs, and later on a single Blu-ray disc. It documents The Trilogy Concerts, in which the three albums, Pornography (1982), Disintegration (1989) and Bloodflowers (2000) were played live in their entirety one after the other each night, the songs being played in the order in which they appeared on the albums. Trilogy was recorded on two consecutive nights, 11–12 November 2002, at the Tempodrom arena in Berlin. A third, previous Trilogy concert in Brussels on 7 November was not used.
| Studio albums | |
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| Live albums | |
| Compilations | |
| Remix albums | |
| Extended plays | |
| Singles |
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| Other songs | |
| Video albums | |
| Tours | |
| Related articles | |
