The Cure’s Robert Smith on how quitting smoking was his “most important” decision in preserving his voice
“I was astonished that I got to 50 and started to think I'd probably like to get to 60”
by Liberty Dunworth · NMEThe Cure’s Robert Smith has revealed how the decision to quit smoking was the “most important” decision he made to preserve his voice.
The frontman opened up about the decision during a new interview with Radio X host John Kennedy recently, as part of a special track-by-track playback of the band’s new ‘Songs Of A Lost World’ album.
At one point in the discussion, Smith spoke candidly about his views on mortality and the decisions he’s made to enable him to continue his time with The Cure. He explained that, while he began the band as a teenager in the ’70s, he didn’t take action to preserve his well-being and his voice until his 40s.
“I’m fortunate to have the genes that I have, because I have really not paid great attention to longevity in my own personal life, up until the age of 50,” the musician, now aged 65, explained. “I was astonished that I got to 50 and then I started to think I’d probably like to get to 60. And so I started to moderate a bit. Then you turn 60. Really every year is a bit of a bonus for me. So I suppose as a consequence of that, my voice has held up probably a lot longer than I thought.”
One major decision he referenced as the decision to quit smoking at age 40 – both in a bid to protect his voice and improve his health. “It was the most important thing I did, really. I turned 40 and I thought, I’m never smoking again. And I haven’t,” he said.
“I think that’s really pretty much, along with a few other things, [what has] allowed me to continue doing what I do. But having said that, there are people who I know who are singers who do look after themselves, but then their voices go. It’s just one of those things.”
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He added: “My voice will go at some point… but I said recently my dad would sing every day into his 90s. He would say to me, just like, keep singing. He’d always say that to me. Just keep singing until people tell you to stop.”
Based on the timeline laid out by Smith, the decision to quit smoking when he was 40 would have been around the year 1999 – just a year before they released their 11th studio album ‘Bloodflowers’.
Elsewhere in the interview, Smith revealed that the band have “written a really catchy pop song” that they are contemplating releasing as a Christmas single.
The frontman also teased that the band were well underway with plans for two more albums – one of which is set to be a “companion piece” to ‘Songs Of A Lost World’, while the third takes a different approach.
This wasn’t the first time that Smith hinted at new material either, as back in 2020 he told NME that The Cure were hard at work on “two new albums and an hour of noise”.
‘Songs Of A Lost World’ was their first LP since 2008’s ‘4:13 Dream’, and saw The Cure bag their first Number One album in the UK in 32 years, with NME awarding it five stars. “Merciless? Yes, but there’s always enough heart in the darkness and opulence in the sound to hold you and place these songs alongside The Cure’s finest,” the review read.
It was also included in NME’s list of Best Albums Of The Year, while lead single ‘Alone’ starred in NME’s Best Songs Of 2024. “‘Alone’ ended a 16-year drought and proved The Cure haven’t lost any of their magic. Through swirling synths and cinematic instrumentation, paired with Robert Smith’s poignant lyricism and melodies, this epic is a masterwork of ethereal beauty and raw emotional depth,” the latter read. “One of their most captivating songs to date.”
More recently, the band released the new ‘A Fragile Thing’ EP featuring a live version and a Robert Smith remix, before announcing a new live album of their special London launch gig, which arrived last week (December 12).