Close to Me
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"Close to Me" | ||
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Single by The Cure | ||
from the album The Head on the Door | ||
Released | September 17, 1985 | |
Format | 7", 12" | |
Recorded | Angel Studios, London, 1985 | |
Genre | Rock | |
Length | 3:24 | |
Label | Fiction Records | |
Producer(s) | Robert Smith Dave Allen |
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Chart positions | ||
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The Cure singles chronology | ||
"In Between Days" (1985) |
"Close to Me" (1985) |
"Half an Octopuss" / "Quadpus" (1985) |
"Close to Me" is the name of a 1985 single by The Cure from their album The Head on the Door. The song was used as the theme music for the BBC sitcom The Smoking Room. On its original release, the single was most successful in Australia, where it became the band's second Top 10 hit, peaking at #7.
Contents |
[edit] History
There are two versions of "Close to Me", one with wind instruments and one without. The version without wind instruments is on The Head on the Door while the version with wind instruments is on Staring at the Sea: the Singles. The version with wind instruments also includes a long creaking sound in the beginning. This sound comes from the beginning of the music video that was shot for "Close to Me", which features the band trapped in a cupboard that is falling off of a cliff into an ocean.
French recording act -M- recorded a cover version of the song on his album Je Dis Aime in 1999. The lyrics were translated into French, with the exception of the words "close to me" which were kept in English.
[edit] Track listing
7" Single
- "Close to Me" (Robert Smith)
- "A Man Inside My Mouth"
12" Single
- "Close to Me (Long Mix)"
- "A Man Inside My Mouth"
- "Stop Dead"
[edit] Personnel
- Robert Smith - vocals, guitars, keyboards
- Laurence Tolhurst - keyboards
- Porl Thompson - guitars, keyboards
- Simon Gallup - basses
- Boris Williams - drums, percussion
[edit] Music Video
The music video accomanying the song ended up quite a famous video, and was featured on a compilation of the best music videos on VH1[citation needed]. It consists of the band all inside a wardrobe on the edge of a cliff. Following the musical scheme of the song, which builds up instrumentally (starting with just drums, then adding the bass, then keyboard etc etc), all the band members are inside the wardrobe, but not playing the instruments they would actually be playing, for obvious reasons. The drummer is simply 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. 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 "20 to 1 Amazing Moments in Music" aired on Australia's Nine Network 4 March 2007. Essentially the show rated the most unique music videos (won by Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer).
[edit] External Links
Close to Me music video on YouTube