Glastonbury 25.6.95

This was the first Cure gig I saw.

I remember the Wish Tour in Germany when I decided not to go neither to Berlin nor to Hamburg because my friends in Germany told me that there were no tickets anymore for these shows. Well, that day I thought it was too risky, now I believe I simply was too weak 'die-hard' fan. No doubt I would get inside nowadays. Instead I had to satisfy myself with listening to "The European Tour '85" boot on the day of the Berlin concert. When it came to "A Forest" - one of my fav versions of this song... well... Then after a couple of days I met my friend who had gone to this concert. He used to work in a music shop in Gdansk near my University and I came to see him after my lectures. I remember exactly how he described this event. From trying to get to the hall to the incredible version of "A Forest" and then going around the city till morning. It was his first Cure gig ever... And I didn't feel well after that.
In addition Robert again used to say that it was gonna be the last Cure tour. I wasn't very happy as you can guess.

Fortunately 1995 came and they announced a mini summer festival tour. My friend ('this Berlin one') used to live in London those days, so... those were the days of no doubts. Stachu (my second friend) and me packed ourselves and went to UK to see The Cure for the first time. As it sometimes happens after travelling over 1000 kilometers it occured that nothing was prepared as we had expected and been promised. Just one day before Glastonbury we are in London without any festival tickets and no chance to catch any transport there (all places engaged). Well, but it was the time with no doubts... :).

One day later, Friday afternoon, ca 150 km away from London, 3 guys are going with the rucksacks along ca 1 km long road that leads to the Glastonbury festival gates. From the distance we can hear Sinead O'Connor - is that it? Noooo, we barely can believe it. Just after crossing the gate, walking several hundred meters and seeing her live on Pyramid stage plus thousands of people and tents everywhere - oh, yeah, we were there! I think it all may seem strange eg to English people but you know, for us it was quite an expedition. Just to see one group...
Well, I remember several guys we met there, mainly from UK and Ireland. They asked us where we came from, when we answered "Poland", they wanted to be sure: "Holland?".

Several stages, hundreds of bands, rock, jazz, acoustic, dance, techno, movie, theatre, circus, 100 000 people, very sunny weather (sic!), Cure T-shirts and bootlegs (!), "25 years and still smoking", something like 1000 various shops, "Speed" on the huge screen behind the trees, loads and loads of music. Despite seeing a lot of bands now I don't remember many of them - Oasis, Portishead (awesome gig in a big tent), PJ Harvey, Marion, Verve (oh yeah...), Jeff Buckley (oh, where are you, man?), Belly, Jamiroquai, Page & Plant (& Porl of course), Simple Minds. Well, despite many great performances it was definitely The Cure festival for me and my friends.

The third day of the fest. Sunday afternoon. We came closer to the Pyramid Stage just before Page&Plant. Seeing Porl was a very good intro to The Cure gig. After that we approached the stage really close. Only Simple Minds before "our" concert. I'm standing with my friend in the middle ca 10 meters in front of the barrier. The third of us decided to watch the gig from the distance in a more "comfortable" way. During Simple Minds gig the sky is bright. When I look at the pictures from both gigs it's hard to believe they happened one after another. The Cure played almost at night.

Finally they finished. I don't even remember if it was a good or bad concert. I remember a couple of hits like Belfast Child, some others... I was nervous as hell. I had waited 6 years for that concert. Now I'm standing among the crowd that saw this group at least 10 times. I'm pissed with screams and 2-meters guy in a hat standing just between me and the stage. Eventually he put it off. I wasn't the only one who was pissed...
They were to begin at 22.00. We say nothing to ourselves. From time to time we only look at ourselves in a very strange way. Fear? 22.00 sharp and I lift my friend up on my shoulders so that he could take some photos. He weights a tone I believe. 22.05 - I got enough, I put him down. Waiting. 22.10 - up again. We can't miss it. At last the last band of the festival hit the Pyramid Stage around 22.15. Out of the clouds of smoke Roger, Jason, Perry, Simon and Robert are coming out. I cannot believe it. Even when I hear this dreamed "hello". Only my cheeks know they are there...
The tunes I hear for the first time - I guess it is called 'Want' as I read in some reviews of earlier '95 gigs on 'babble' - The Cure mailing list. The same later with "Jupiter Crash" and "Mint Car". Before the concert I hadn't really thought which songs I would like to hear. I'd just wanted to hear, that's all. I pushed myself to the barrier. A few photos, the camera pisses me off a bit, but on the other hand now I got great pictures...
"Pictures Of You" - from my beloved album, every time I listen to this song, even if it's 200 time, it always hits me inside... Now I hear it live. "Just Like Heaven" - the most brilliant single of the world. "Dressing Up" - the only time when Robert puts away his guitar, takes the mic and walks towards the crowd surrounded by violet light. Great moment. Just after that "A Strange Day" with one of my most beloved Robert's guitar solos. With no other sound behind and one single spotlight directed on Robert. "From The Edge..." - no words I can find, "Disintegration" - next tears and finally "End" with Porl on guitar - song drowned in pornographic bloody light. The end. Like death in the rain. It was like I saw my whole life, love, sadness, joy and everything what is important on the stage through the sounds coming from instruments and Robert's voice. 100 minutes of the highest feelings. And pure emptiness after that. All senses left behind. The next thing I remember was lying on the ground in darkness in front of the tent and passing silent faces of my friends. We didn't talk about this gig for many days...