It was a cold and snowy night two days before Christmas when my four mates and I piled into my car for a long drive from Leicester to just north of Crawley. We went to see Fools Dance: the band Simon was now playing in since leaving The Cure. An hour down the motorway, my car lights started to fail. Thankfully, we eventually found a mechanic at a service station who changed the fan belt. Back on the road it was: a race against the clock with no idea what time the band would start.
Fools Dance
Although this was my first Fools Dance gig, my friend Fitz had been to loads. He’d even traveled to Holland with the band. I’d met the singer Gary a few times and he’d snuck us into some Cure’s gigs. The tiny warm up ones in Bournemouth and Bath the year before (amazing tiny shows).
With my usual Cure luck, we arrived at the venue just as the band were about to start. I set my tape recorder going, (we did a lot of that), and instead of holding it, I placed it on top of an upright piano so I could jump about more freely. The crowd were raucous! With plenty of banter from the stage there was a definite Christmas party atmosphere.
The Mixing Desk
I recently chatted with Ron who played Sax in the band. And he remembers ‘Gary got told off for standing on the monitors in protest at being put on stage so late’. ‘The drummer had to play standing up, as he had forgotten to bring his stool’.
Gary was one of The Cure’s road crew, and was sometimes accused of acting like Robert. He definitely had some charisma and a decent singing voice. Simon sang on one song called The Ring, which sounded quite like Mark Hollis from Talk Talk.
Not long after they started, I glanced behind me at the mixing desk and was surprised to see Robert Smith doing the sound. Yes, it is widely believed that this was the meeting which got Robert and Simon back together, and ultimately led to Simon rejoining The Cure.
My friend Craig remembers Robert buying him a pint and Roberts girlfriend Mary looking shocked, saying that Robert never buys anyone a drink.
The Riverside Club, Fetcham
Near the end Fitz gave a shout out for everyone from Leicester and then remained on stage and sang the last song instead of Gary. It was over all too soon and I have no memory of driving us all home.
A few months later Simon came up to Leicester to see Fitz singing with his band at the Princess Charlotte Pub after that we had a party in our shared house. But that is another story ………
Although I never felt the same love for the Fools Dance songs as those early Cure tracks, having listened back to the tape a couple of times, I have noticed myself humming a few of them. They’ve stood the test of time surprisingly well!
It’s been fun talking to old mates getting their snippets of memories. Thanks to members of the Facebook group The Riverside Club Fetcham, for their kind help, and amazing photos. I’d also like to dedicate this to Gary Biddles, who passed away in 2013 way too young..
