A Single

"A Single"
Single by The Cure
from the album Pornography
Released July 12, 1982
Format Double 7" / 7" / 10"
Recorded April 27, 1982 (part 2)
Genre Gothic rock, post-punk
Length 4:22
Label Fiction
Producer(s) Chris Parry, Phil Thornalley, The Cure
The Cure singles chronology
"Charlotte Sometimes"
(1981)		 "A Single"
(1982)		 "Let's Go to Bed"
(1982)

A Single was the first limited edition release by The Cure. It was released as a gatefold double pack of 7" singles with a total of four tracks.[1] It has also been released as a 10" record which contains all four songs from the double 7" pack, as well as a single 7" featuring only "The Hanging Garden" and "Killing an Arab" (FICS 15).[2]

Whilst the official name is "A Single", this release is often referred to as "The Hanging Garden" as a way of avoiding confusion.

The single made it to number 34 in the UK Singles Chart.[3]

Reception

NME writer Adrian Thrills was not impressed with the single, writing "The Cure have drifted disappointingly and indulgently from the idllic pop invention of their younger days".[1] BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel included the song at number 25 in his Festive Fifty list for 1982.[4] In his review for Allmusic, Stewart Mason noted that Robert Smith was splitting his time between The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees at this time and went on to note that this song was heavily influenced by the Banshees.[5]

Music video

The video shows the band playing in the York House Gardens [London, UK]. The band also wears masks, which is similar to the concept of the album, Pornography. According to Robert Smith, he said "For The Hanging Garden video we got two people who did Madness videos but it was a really awful video. They wanted to make us look serious and we wanted them to make us look like Madness".[6] The video is directed by Chris Gabrin.[7][8]

Cover versions

In 1998, the California-based alternative rock band, AFI, covered "The Hanging Garden", which was released on their A Fire Inside EP.[9]

Track listing

Single

  1. "The Hanging Garden"
  2. "Killing an Arab" (Live)

Double Pack

Disc one

  1. "The Hanging Garden"
  2. "One Hundred Years"

Disc two - recorded April 27, 1982 at the Manchester Apollo

  1. "A Forest" (Live)
  2. "Killing an Arab" (Live)

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Apter, Jeff (March 1, 2006). Never Enough: The Story of The Cure. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1844498277.
  2. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (October 20, 1998). The Great Rock Discography. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0812931112.
  3. ↑ "Cure / Artist / Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  4. ↑ "BBC — Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel — Festive 50s - 1982". BBC. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  5. ↑ Mason, Stewart. The Hanging Garden at AllMusic. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ Apter, Jeff (March 1, 2006). Never Enough: The Story of The Cure. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1844498277.
  7. ↑ "The Cure — Hanging Garden — video clip". Universal Music Group. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Cure — Hanging Garden (1982)". IMVDb. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  9. ↑ ASIN B00000AE8M, AFI  – A Fire Inside

External links