Charlotte Sometimes (song)
| "Charlotte Sometimes" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Cure | ||||
| A-side | "Charlotte Sometimes" | |||
| B-side | "Splintered in Her Head" | |||
| Released | 5 October 1981 | |||
| Format | 7" and 12" vinyl | |||
| Recorded | 16–17 July 1981 at Playground Studio | |||
| Genre | Gothic rock,[1] post-punk | |||
| Length | 4:13 | |||
| Label | Fiction | |||
| Producer(s) | Mike Hedges, The Cure | |||
| The Cure singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Charlotte Sometimes" is a non-album single by English rock band The Cure, recorded at producer Mike Hedges' Playground Studios and released on 5 October 1981 by Polydor Records, following the band's third studio album Faith. The titles and lyrics to both sides were based on the book Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer. The single reached number 44 in the UK charts.
Background
The song "Charlotte Sometimes" is based on Charlotte Sometimes,[2][3] a children's novel by English writer Penelope Farmer, published in 1969. According to Robert Smith, "There have been a lot of literary influences through the years; "Charlotte Sometimes" was a very straight lift."[4] Many lines in the song reflect lines directly from the book, such as "All the faces/All the voices blur/Change to one face/Change to one voice" from the song compared to the first sentence of the book, "By bedtime all the faces, the voices, had blurred for Charlotte to one face, one voice." The song continues, "Prepare yourself for bed/The light seems bright/And glares on white walls", and the book continues, "She prepared herself for bed... The light seemed too bright for them, glaring on white walls..." The title of the single's B-side, "Splintered in Her Head", is also taken from a line in the novel.[2] The Cure would later release another song based on the novel, "The Empty World", from their 1984 album The Top.
Lyrics, including "she was crying and crying for a girl who died so many years before" and "sometimes I'm dreaming where all the other people dance", help add to the dream-like rhythmic and melodic structures; recurring modal transitions, numerous harmonic suspensions and lamenting vocals create a feeling of inevitable drift into darkness. Live takes were included on the Concert and Paris albums.
The mood of B-side "Splintered in Her Head" is overall more disquieting, with metallic, distorted vocals and heavy percussion, foreshadowing the sound and feel of the band's next studio album, Pornography.[3] The ten-minute live version of "Faith" on the B-side of the 12" version of the single was recorded at the Sydney Capitol Theatre in August 1981 by the then-Australian Broadcasting Commission's youth radio station 2JJJ. This version is reproduced on the second disc of the deluxe reissue of the album Faith.
The cover of the single is a distorted picture of Mary Poole,[3] Robert's then-girlfriend and to-be wife. The same picture was used again as the cover of The Cure's 1990 single "Pictures of You", but with the picture clear and undistorted.
Recording
The single was recorded over 16 and 17 July 1981 at Mike Hedges' Playground Studio, named by Robert Smith, in between European festival dates and an upcoming North American tour.[3] Production was overseen by Hedges and the band itself.
Music video
On advice by Fiction label owner Chris Parry, the music video for "Charlotte Sometimes" was filmed at Holloway Sanatorium. It features the character of Charlotte recreating scenes from the story in the presence of the band, while Smith mimes the words of the song.
The video has been called "a major mistake" by biographer Jeff Apter, denouncing it as "ranking among the worst of the band's small-screen career".[3]
Release
The song reached number 44 in the UK Singles Chart.[5]
Track listing
7" single
All songs written and composed by The Cure (Robert Smith, Simon Gallup and Lol Tolhurst).
| Side A | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Charlotte Sometimes" | 4:15 |
| Side B | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Splintered in Her Head" | 5:15 |
12" single
| Side A | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Charlotte Sometimes" | 4:14 |
| 2. | "Splintered in Her Head" | 5:16 |
| Side B | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Faith (Recorded Live)" | 10:33 |
Personnel
- The Cure
- Robert Smith – guitar, keyboard, vocals, harmonica on "Splintered in Her Head", production
- Simon Gallup – bass guitar, production
- Lol Tolhurst – drums, production
- Technical
- Mike Hedges – production
- Arun Chakraverty – mastering
References
- ↑ Simpson, Paul (2003). The Rough Guide to Cult Pop. Rough Guides. p. 119. ISBN 9781843532293.
- 1 2 Charlotte Sometimes author Penelope Farmer in 2007 about "Charlotte Sometimes", part one and two (via Archive.org)
- 1 2 3 4 5 Apter, Jeff (2006). Never Enough: The Story of The Cure. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1844498271.
- ↑ "Robert Smith Interview 2008 Part2 – YouTube". YouTube. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ↑ "Cure | Artist | Official Charts". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
