MOG

It's true. At one point Cure front man Robert Smith with the guitarist with Siouxsie and the Banshees. Siouxsie & The Banshees were notorious for going through guitarists the way 80s metal bands went through Aqua Net, and at one point Smith was their guitarist. The union didn't last long -- Smith was thrown out of the band by management because he was apparently having a bad influence on the never-accused-of-teetotaling post-punk icons. He did record one album with them, though, and it was a fine one: 1984's Hyaena, the first Siouxsie album to get a proper US release. Smith played guitar and keyboards.

A cover of the Beatles song "Dear Prudence" appears on the US release of Hyaena. The recording was intended by the band to only be released as a single.
I love the Beatles and usually think "why did they bother?" when others try to cover their songs, but this is a rare exception, and you can actually catch glimpses of Robert Smith As Banshee in the video above.
In the video below you can see the band lip-synching the cover on TV. Check out Smith's left hand.

Posted on 05/07/2008