British rock band to play landmark 1989 album in full at Vivid Live festival in May

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

British rock group the Cure will be celebrating their landmark eighth album Disintegration with a 30th anniversary live show, which will have its world premiere and Australian exclusive at Vivid Live at the Sydney Opera House in May.

Released in 1989, Disintegration peaked at No 3 in the UK album charts, making it the band’s highest-charting record. Songs such as Lullaby, Lovesong, Pictures of You and Fascination Street cemented the band’s success in the United States too. By 1992, the album, described by this publication as “exquisitely morose”, had sold more than three million copies worldwide.

The Cure will be playing the record with a full band, featuring lead singer Robert Smith alongside Simon Gallup, Jason Cooper, Roger O’Donnell and Reeves Gabrels.

This will be the second time the Cure have played Vivid Live after 2011’s Reflections shows, at which the band played their first three albums in full: Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds and Faith.

This time, the band will play Disintegration along with other tracks from their back catalogue.

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Announcing the 2019 shows, Smith said: “Our Reflections shows in 2011 were truly memorable experiences, and with the excitement surrounding those early album performances in mind we are more than delighted to be announcing our return.”

While the band has a series of festival dates scheduled across the globe through the year, the Disintegration shows in Sydney are being billed as a “world premiere” – but no other venues or dates have been announced.

The idea for the shows came about after Vivid Live curator Ben Marshall contacted Smith directly asking for footage from the 2011 tour. While chatting, Marshall said he asked if Smith would consider performing Disintegration in its 30th year. Smith said he would love to.

Marshall described Disintegration as an “immaculately glacial, majestic album marrying raw, intense emotion with some of the biggest hits of their career”. He added that the Cure’s choice of venue for their tour’s debut was “both a perfect fit and an immense honour”.

Tickets to the four shows will be available via a ballot system, which is now open for applications. The Opera House says the system will “ensure everyone has an equal chance” at tickets while minimising website congestion.