The Cure‘s Robert Smith gave a hilarious response to a reporter while being interviewed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Friday. Check out the video below. Ahead of the iconic Crawley group being inducted at the New York ceremony, Smith and co. took to the red carpet to discuss receiving the accolade, their lengthy career, and the progress on new music. At the top of the chat, the band were introduced by an enthusiastic interviewer, who also admitted to being a huge fan. “Congratulations The Cure – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees 2019! Are you as excited as I am? !” she asked. Advertisement Offering a typically-deadpan and blunt reply, Smith said: “By the sounds of it, no.” this is the funniest start to an interview i have ever seen i love robert smith man pic.twitter.com/7H4okzPX0L — al (@_jxnesyy) March 30, 2019 The clip has since gone viral, with fans hailing the moment as “priceless”, “wonderfully British”, and “a hilarious joy”. “This is the funniest start to an interview I have ever seen I love Robert Smith man,” one viewer commented. Another said: “I didn’t think it was possible for me to like Robert Smith any more than I already did. I was wrong.” The Cure’s longtime video director Tim Pope also tweeted the video, saying that the exchange was his “favourite moment” from Friday’s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame event. See more reactions along with the full interview below. My favourite moment from RARHF. Introducer: ‘On my God! The Cure! Robert Smith! Are you as excited as I am?’ Robert: ‘By the sound of it, no.’ pic.twitter.com/u1qllywa5f — Tim Pope (@timpopedirector) March 30, 2019 Advertisement Met Robert Smith once and he was exactly as great as this. https://t.co/n5ThMpQG2T — Dara Ó Briain (@daraobriain) March 31, 2019 Robert Smith you are the BEST https://t.co/3bWqcx2vuj — Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) March 31, 2019 The whole interview with Robert Smith is a hilarious joy https://t.co/JBzAykBto5 — Krishnan Guru-Murthy (@krishgm) March 31, 2019 When Robert Smith gives you this look, you know it's not going to end well ?? pic.twitter.com/xwrugi4Drg — Scott H (@Scottdiavolo) March 31, 2019 Robert Smith's wonderfully British responsepic.twitter.com/0f78vLd7WE — Will Gavin (@WillGav) March 31, 2019 Robert Smith is my spirit animal https://t.co/lRruYfCLod — Alix Robertson (@AlixHRobertson) March 31, 2019 That Robert Smith video is as good a reason as any to remind people that Disintegration is one of the best albums of all time. — kevinbiegel (@kbiegel) March 31, 2019 Robert Smith in a single sentence. https://t.co/EbUuaavDig — Lawson Clarke (@Malecopywriter) March 31, 2019 Following their induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, The Cure took to the stage to perform a special five-song set. The band played ‘Shake Dog Shake,’ ‘A Forest’, ‘Love Song’, ‘Just Like Heaven’, and ‘Boys Don’t Cry’. Meanwhile, Robert Smith has shared further details on the band’s upcoming new album – described by the frontman as “so dark” and “incredibly intense”. “I think it will delight our hardcore fans,” the singer explained, “and probably really, really infuriate everyone else. At my age, I’m still doom and gloom.” In other news, The Cure were confirmed to be headlining this year’s Glastonbury Festival earlier this month (March 15). They join Stormzy and The Killers at the top of a bill that also includes the likes of Janelle Monáe, Liam Gallagher, Tame Impala, Vampire Weekend, Bastille, Billie Eilish, and more.<doc-sep>Seminal ’80s English new wave band The Cure were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday night. Frontman Robert Smith showed up to the ceremony in his usual get-up: teased hair, smudgy black eyeshadow, and smeared red lipstick. True to their goth personas, it seemed as though band was dramatically less enthusiastic about their induction than their interviewers. One excited journalist was particularly taken aback after Smith’s response to her first question. When the interviewer cheerily asked if The Cure were “as excited” as her to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Smith responded apathetically, “By the sounds of it, no.” this is the funniest start to an interview i have ever seen i love robert smith man pic.twitter.com/7H4okzPX0L — al (@_hidingwithboys) March 30, 2019 Smith went on to tell the interviewer that news of their induction “was a bit of a surprise.” Fans of The Cure thought Smith’s response was both hilarious and fitting. This is why Robert Smith is God https://t.co/XgCApsXrll — Dom Joly (@domjoly) March 31, 2019 Forget the brexit jingoism, this the the Britain we need back. — Tadeo (@ProculSpectator) March 31, 2019 The Cure received their Hall of Fame induction by Nine Inch Nails. Their induction coincided with the 40th anniversary of their debut album Three Imaginary Boys in May. Robert Smith ended up giving a heartfelt speech about their 40-year career. When asked about his emotions surrounding The Cure’s debut album turning 40, Robert Smith told Rolling Stone, “It means I’m f*cking old!” Watch the full interview of The Cure at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.<doc-sep>The Cure, the legendary British rock band whose music has spanned the styles of post-punk, pop, and -- the genre with which they are perhaps most closely identified -- goth, were inducted Friday night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as Pitchfork reported. This comes 40 years after the release of their now-classic debut album, Three Imaginary Boys — retitled Boys Don't Cry for American release — in 1979. But band founder, leader, and songwriter Robert Smith found himself trending on Twitter Sunday morning, according to Trends 24, not for the band's performance at the induction ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York -- or for his moving acceptance speech — but for his terse but hilarious five-word response to an overexcited American interviewer. Said response was heard as Smith came offstage following his band's induction, and it was deemed -- as one Twitter user put it -- "wonderfully British." Another Brit, 1980s pop star Boy George, also took to Twitter, calling it "Funny as f***!" As he came off the stage, Smith was greeted by what the site ClashMusic.com described as "an excitable American presenter" who rushed toward him, brimming with enthusiasm for her meeting with the Cure frontman, who will turn 60 on April 21. The instantly viral exchange can be viewed below. this is the funniest start to an interview i have ever seen i love robert smith man pic.twitter.com/7H4okzPX0L — al (@_jxnesyy) March 30, 2019 As The Independent recounted, after the hyped-up interviewer asked Smith, "Are you as excited as I am?" the deadpan goth rocker, who was raised in Crawley, West Sussex, England, replied, "By the sounds of it, no." "I didn't think it was possible for me to like Robert Smith any more than I already did. I was wrong," wrote Twitter user Prof Alice Roberts. "This is my Britain," wrote another, Jess Phillips. "Forget the brexit jingoism, this the the Britain we need back," wrote Tadeo on Twitter. Getty Images | Kevin Winter The Cure, performing in 2004. Smith founded The Cure in Crawley in 1976, at the height of Britain's punk rock era. But by the time the band found its own musical voice and began recording and releasing music, the punk phenomenon had largely passed, and The Cure fit transitioned to — and helped to create — a new movement labeled "post-punk," which AllMusic described as a "more adventurous and arty form of punk, no less angry or political but often more musically complex and diverse." The Cure also pioneered the rock genre known as "goth," a post-punk style which celebrated "outsider" themes, often focusing on emotions such as alienation and depression — emotional states felt widely by teenagers, but rarely acknowledged in popular music until The Cure and others made them a central theme, as Uproxx described. But in the 1980s, Smith's songwriting was able to translate his goth sensibilities to a broad, popular audience, with singles such as "Just Like Heaven," "Friday I'm In Love," and other hits. "Niche bands with entirely subterranean fanbases don't get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," Billboard magazine wrote. "But now, The Cure are inside, and it shows that they haven't been true outsiders for some time now."<doc-sep>Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor recalled his lifelong love of the Cure while inducting the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday. In a 2018 interview with The Quietus, Reznor spoke at length about discovering the Cure after leaving his rural hometown for college. Reznor specifically cited the band’s album The Head on the Door, saying it “got me through a lot of long dark times. I felt that this Robert Smith guy really understood who I was and I loved the Cure from that point on.” What Reznor felt for the Cure, however, was likely mutual. The Nine Inch Nails frontman recalled the first time he met Smith was at a small goth club in New Orleans at around two in the morning. Reznor said Smith was dancing by himself, but after spotting each other the two immediately embraced, despite never meeting before. “We were just hugging for about two minutes and I think by the time we stopped ‘Blue Monday’ actually was playing. And we were just looking at each other and he was just [nods head slowly]. And that was it! My meeting with Robert Smith!” Read Reznor’s entire speech below. I grew up in a small town — small town USA. Mercer, Pennsylvania, to be precise, where there was nothing to look at but cornfields. It was a primitive time long before the miracle of the internet arrived to devalue our wonderful art form. Even pre-MTV. There was nothing to listen to on the radio. Nothing to do but dream and escape. When I left home it was time for the big city. In my case, the big city of Cleveland. It was the mid-Eighties, and just being able to tune into college radio made my head explode with limitless possibilities. This was my baptism into the world of alternative and underground music. And one of the most important aspects of being swept away by this tidal wave of new music was getting to hear the Cure for the first time. Immediately this band struck a chord. The first album I heard was The Head on the Door. I hadn’t heard anything like it before. I felt a lot of the darkness that I felt in my head coming back at me through the speakers, and it blew my mind. It was like this music was written just for me. I struggled my whole life feeling that I don’t fit in or belong anywhere — kind of like right now. Hearing this, suddenly I felt connected, no longer quite so alone. That’s one of the things I find so unique and special about the power of music. It wasn’t just the sound, the words, the presentation, all of it was anchored by the most exquisite of instruments, Robert Smith’s voice. That voice had such range of emotion — from rage, and sorrow and despair to beauty, frailty and joy. It might sound naïve, but until I heard The Head on the Door, I didn’t realize that it’s possible to have such difficult and profound ideas in the context of accessible songs that might even get played on the radio, challenging norms on the inside. I listened to that record until I wore the grooves clean off the vinyl, then I worked my way backwards. There was a rich and important back catalog waiting for me. The group that would go on to form the Cure formed in 1976 in the suburban English backwater of Crawley, a small town that the members also dreamt of escaping from. They were energized by the explosion of punk that was happening miles up the road in London and the heavy psychedelic rock from America which they grew up loving. After a few lineup changes and the creation of some timeless post-punk and New Wave, the band entered 1980 as one of the groups who would come to define the music, the attitude, the look of the decade to come. … Just as everyone else was getting ready to jump on the new sound that the Cure helped usher into the world, they were already moving to new pastures. Robert Smith was keen to show the world he could do so much more than monochromatic. He recorded a series of songs that became huge hits across the globe and are rightly still seen as classics today. … The 13 albums they recorded over their 40 year career stand as a testament to their undiminished power and artistic imagination. Despite making challenging music that deals with the biggest themes, their impact has been gigantic. They’ve sold the best part of who gives a shit how many million records and been an essential touchstone in the genres of post-punk, New Wave, goth, alternative, shoegaze and post-rock. They’ve been in and out of fashion so many times in the last four decades that they ended up transcending fashion itself. Though they might be a hip name to drop in 2019, this wasn’t always the case. Their dedication to pushing sonic and artistic boundaries while making music for the ages wasn’t always rewarded with glowing reviews in the press. But they never failed to attract a passionate, intelligent and loyal fanbase who always knew the truth: The Cure are one of the most unique, most brilliant, most heartbreakingly excellent rock bands the world has ever known. … Quite understandably, most musicians tend to differ from their carefully cultivated personas to one degree or another. As far as I can tell, Robert Smith is that rarest of things: A 100 percent authentically Robert Smith kind of person who lives a 100 percent authentically Robert Smith kind of life. He used that to create a completely self-contained world. It’s a sound, it’s a look, it’s a vibe, it’s an aesthetic that the fans get to visit and immerse themselves in whenever they like. It’s a custom world for anyone who has ever dreamed of escape. I should make a full disclosure at this point. I think it’s only right for me to admit that I’ve been, let’s say, ambivalent about the existence of certain award ceremonies.<doc-sep>
Robert Smith, the voice of the Cure, was at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. While he was there, before he even got onstage, he somehow managed to create yet another indelible piece of art. What the kids might call a viral moment, even. It happened when a red carpet interviewer approached Smith with an excessively cheery vibe. “It’s sooo nice to meet you!!" she said, nearly screaming with delight as she presented Smith her microphone. Smith, 59, who co-founded the Cure in 1976 in Crawley, England and went on to influence generations of goth-identifying teens, scratched his face and cast a trepidatious glance in her direction. “Hi!!! Congratulations, the Cure, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees 2019!! !” the interviewer enthused to the post-punk legend. "Are you as excited as I am? ?” “Um, by the sounds of it, no,” Smith said, magnificently ending our entire lives. this is the funniest start to an interview i have ever seen i love robert smith man pic.twitter.com/7H4okzPX0L — al (@_hidingwithboys) March 30, 2019 Those 11 seconds of the interview have been widely shared on Twitter and social media, where Smith has earned raves for his reply. The clip has probably drawn more attention than the actual induction. A clip of the rest of the interview can be seen on YouTube. “Oh no, what are we gonna do!” the chirpy host asked, in answer to Smith’s deflating reply. I didn’t think it was possible for me to like Robert Smith any more than I already did. I was wrong. https://t.co/6GNPheQ7ua — Prof Alice Roberts (@theAliceRoberts) March 31, 2019 Robert Smith's Cure Your Enthusiasm 🤣 pic.twitter.com/35TnZbrAf9 — Ra Nerdsworth (@FLitz) March 31, 2019 “Um, I’m sure we’ll get there, eventually,” Smith said. “It’s a bit early, isn’t it?” The interviewer, who told Smith she’s been a Cure fan since birth, went on to suggest that maybe they just needed “a few drinks" to liven things up. Smith mused that the band had been “subsumed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame despite all our best attempts,” noting how the group had been nominated before. You can watch the whole interview here (it ends at the 4:55 mark): Smith and the rest of the band were introduced at the induction ceremony with a speech from Trent Reznor of the Nine Inch Nails. In his own speech, Smith, who called the induction a surprise, thanked everyone who had been a part of the band over the years, including former members. He went on to rattle off their names. “As Trent said, it’s 40 years since our first album came out," he said. “It doesn’t seem like that. And in that time, there’s obviously been a lot of people who’ve played a part in the Cure story, for better or worse.” The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2019 induction ceremony will be televised at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 on HBO. Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.