See The Cure’s Robert Smith Perform Three Songs For Charity Livestream
The Cure’s Robert Smith joined the line up yesterday for Nine Lessons And Carols For Curious People, a 24-hour-long charity livestream, hosted by comedian Robin Ince.
Created over 15 years ago by Robin Ince, Nine Lessons And Carols For Curious People is an acclaimed science/comedy/music variety night. Each December, along with Robin and Brian Cox’s Christmas Compendium of Reason at the Hammersmith Apollo, the world’s best scientists, comedians, musicians, poets and more come together for a celebration of human endeavour and creativity, and to raise money for a range of charities.
With 2020’s event cancelled due to the ongoing global pandemic, the event was instead broadcast online, free to watch, from Kings Place, London. It featured guests including Brian Cox, Helen Czerski, Chris Hadfield, Helen Sharman, Sharon D Clarke, Josie Long, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Chris Jackson, Jim Al-Khalili, and Eddie Izzard, with Robin Ince hosting for the entire 24 hours.
The event was broadcast by the Cosmic Shambles Network, with all proceeds donated to the charities Turn2Us, Doctors Without Borders, Mind and the Kings Place Music Foundation.
Robert Smith, whose set was prerecorded, performed barefoot in a studio thought to be his own home studio. Surrounded by amps and a drum machine, Robert Smith performed a handful of Cure classics: In Your House, Play For Today and M, all three of which feature on the band’s Seventeen Seconds record, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary.
It marks a busy year for Robert Smith, who has been working on a new Cure album and solo project during lockdown, while he also collaborated with Damon Albarn on a new Gorillaz song, Strange Timez. Smith also auctioned off his hand-painted Schecter guitar to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust, and collaborated with the British knitwear brand, HADES Wool, on a range of official Cure jumpers, with the band’s share of profits donated to Doctors Without Borders.
You can watch Robert Smith’s performance below:
And to find out more about Nine Lessons And Carols For Curious People and donate, you can visit the crowdfunder page here