Close to Me (The Cure song)

"Close to Me" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released in September 1985 as the second and final single from their sixth album, The Head on the Door.[1]

"Close to Me"
Single by the Cure
from the album The Head on the Door
B-side
  • "A Man Inside My Mouth",
  • "Stop Dead"
Released17 September 1985 (1985-09-17)
Recorded1985
StudioAngel Recording, London
Length3:38
LabelFiction
Songwriter(s)Robert Smith
Producer(s)
The Cure singles chronology
"In Between Days"
(1985)		 "Close to Me"
(1985)		 "Boys Don't Cry (New Voice • New Mix)"
(1986)
Music video
"Close To Me" on YouTube

Content

Three versions of "Close to Me" were released in 1985, including the original album version, the 7" single mix version and the 12" extended mix version. The album version does not feature the brass section part present on all of the other versions, which was adapted from a traditional New Orleans funeral march melody and played by horn section Rent Party for the single mix.

The 7" version also includes a long creaking sound of a door closing at the beginning, which originated from the music video shot for the song by director Tim Pope, which features the band trapped in a wardrobe falling off a cliff into the English Channel.

Music video

The music video is written and directed by the band's frequent music video director Tim Pope. It consists of the band all inside a wardrobe on the edge of a cliff at Beachy Head.[2][3] Following the musical scheme of the song, which builds up instrumentally, all the band members are inside the wardrobe, but not playing instruments. Boris Williams is clapping to the beat, keyboardist Lol Tolhurst is playing a very small, handheld keyboard, and Porl Thompson on the top shelf is plucking a comb to represent the short high sounds in the song. Bassist Simon Gallup does not play, and instead appears to be tied up. Tim Pope later revealed that Gallup had a light bulb in his mouth to create a "lit from within" feel, and the cloth was there to hide the wire.[4] Robert Smith then comes from the back of the wardrobe and sings, also playing with finger puppets, which appear to be voodoo dolls of the band members, as when he moves them, the corresponding member moves. He then becomes more violent with the dolls, shaking them around heavily, which in turn causes the band members to hit into the sides of the wardrobe, which eventually results in the wardrobe falling off the cliff and into the sea. As they go into the sea, the wardrobe fills up slowly with water, like a capsized ship, but the band members continue to play their "instruments." The video ends with the wardrobe full of water and a band member pushing a rubber duck across the screen.

The music video was rated 13th on the 20 to One TV show, aired on Australia's Nine Network on 4 March 2007, which rated the most distinctive music videos.

Robert Smith said of making the video: "It was the most uncomfortable 12 hours that I've ever spent. He [Tim Pope] ended up dropping the wardrobe - with us still in it - into a huge tank filled with 1000 gallons of water. Watching it you'd think is was fun, but all I could think about was dying a slow, painful death".[5]

Release

"Close to Me" was released on 9 September 1985 as the second single from the band's sixth album, The Head on the Door.

The single peaked at number 4 in Ireland, and also reached number 7 in Australia and number 24 in the UK Singles Chart.[6][7][8] It was remixed in 1990 for their remix album Mixed Up, and the remix was released as a single, peaking at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US in January 1991.

Track listing
7" single
  1. "Close to Me (Remix)" – 3:38
  2. "A Man Inside My Mouth" – 3:07
10" single
  1. "Close to Me (Remix)" - 3:38
  2. "A Man Inside My Mouth" - 3:07
  3. "New Day" - 4:08
  4. "Stop Dead" - 3:21
12" single
  1. "Close to Me (Extended Remix)" – 6:35
  2. "A Man Inside My Mouth" – 3:07
  3. "Stop Dead" – 3:21

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1985-1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 7
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 30
France (SNEP)[10] 17
Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 49
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 21
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 16
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 45
UK (Official Charts Company)[8] 24

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[15] Gold 25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]
sales since 2004 		Silver 200,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Close to Me · Remix
"Close to Me · Remix"
Single by the Cure
from the album Mixed Up
B-side"Just Like Heaven (Dizzy Mix)"
Released16 October 1990[17]
GenreDance-pop[18]
Length4:28
LabelFiction
Songwriter(s)Robert Smith
Producer(s)
The Cure singles chronology
"Never Enough"
(1990)		 "Close to Me · Remix"
(1990)		 "High"
(1992)

"Close to Me · Remix" is the name given to the remixed version of the song, released as a single in October 1990 to promote the album Mixed Up. It was made available in two different versions, the "Closer Mix", included on the 12" and the limited edition CD single, and the "Closest Mix", included on the 7" and the regular edition CD single. Both versions were available together on the cassette release. The "Closest Mix" was also included on the singles compilation Galore in 1997. It reached number 13 in the UK and 97 in the US. Both the "Closer Mix" and the "Closest Mix" were remixed by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne for the 1990 album Mixed Up. The "Closest Mix" is the edited version of the "Closer Mix".

Track listing
7"
  1. "Close to Me (Closest Mix)"
  2. "Just Like Heaven (Dizzy Mix)"
12" and CD
  1. "Close to Me (Closer Mix)"
  2. "Just Like Heaven (Dizzy Mix)"
  3. "Primary (Red Mix)"
Cassette single
  1. "Close to Me (Closer Mix)"
  2. "Just Like Heaven (Dizzy Mix)"
  3. "Close to Me (Closest Mix)"
  4. "Primary (Red Mix)"

Music video

There is also a music video for the version of the song that appeared on Mixed Up. The video picked up where the original video ended, with the wardrobe crashing down the cliffside and sinking to the bottom of the sea. Robert exits first and is attacked by an octopus (seen playing the horns later in the video). After his struggle, the other band members try to flee as well, and are attacked by a starfish. The video ends without any of the band members reaching the surface, though they could see a boat overhead.

Charts
Chart (1990–1991) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 55
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[20] 47
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 27
Portugal (AFP)[21] 8
Spain (AFYVE)[22] 18
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 13
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 97
US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[24] 44

References
  1. "The Cure : Official Site: Discography :: Close To Me". thecure.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  2. "Close To Me video shoot, 1985 | In pictures: The Cure behind the scenes". Radio X. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  3. / Tonino Cagnucci (20 September 2014). "In pictures: The Cure behind the scenes | THE CURE". Thecuretc.wordpress.com. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  4. "timpope.tv : polaroid simon". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  5. "Robert Smith's Critical Guide to Robert Smith". 7 October 2007. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  8. "1985 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 5th October 1985". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  9. "Ultratop.be – The Cure – Close to Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  10. "Lescharts.com – The Cure – Close to Me" (in French). Les classement single.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Cure – Close to Me". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Cure" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Cure – Close to Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  14. "Charts.nz – The Cure – Close to Me". Top 40 Singles.
  15. "Italian single certifications – The Cure – Close to me" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 9 December 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Close to me" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  16. "British single certifications – The Cure – Close to me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  17. "The Cure - Discography". thecure.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  18. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Cure - Galore: The Singles 1987-1997". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  19. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  20. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7 no. 46. 17 November 1990. p. IV. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  21. "Top 10 in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 6. 9 February 1991. p. 22. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  22. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  24. "Artist Chart History (singles) – The Cure". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
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