"Primary" is a song by English rock band

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

, released as the sole single from their third studio album, ''

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

'', on 27 March 1981. It reached number 43 in the UK Singles Chart.

Background

The song is unusual in that both Simon Gallup and Robert Smith play bass, with the effects pedals on Smith's giving the leads a unique sound. There are no guitars or keyboards played in the song.

Release

"Primary" was the first song by The Cure to be remixed as a separate extended mix for release on

12" single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compar ...

(and not co-released on other formats, in the way the 12" version of " A Forest" was also the album version appearing on '' Seventeen Seconds'', for example). In fact, the original 12" extended mix is, to this day, still only available on the original 12" single, which has never been reproduced on any other album, making it quite a rare item. The main difference between the 7" mix (also the album mix) and the 12" mix is that the extended mix lengthens the instrumental introductions to the song's verses.

Critical reception

Upon the single release

David Hepworth David Hepworth (born 27 July 1950) is a British music journalist, writer, television presenter, and publishing industry analyst. He was instrumental in the foundation of a number of popular magazines in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Along with the j ...

of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' expressed his admiration for Robert Smith and wondered "how long The Cure can continue to prop their songs against the same chord progression, with its clambering bass and deadpan drums."

Track listing

7" # "Primary" # "Descent" 12" # "Primary (Extended)" # "Descent"

Musicians

* Robert Smith – vocals, bass * Simon Gallup – bass *

Lol Tolhurst Laurence Andrew Tolhurst (born 3 February 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, producer, and author. He was a founding member of the Cure, for which he first played drums before switching to keyboards. He stayed a member of the Cure until ...

– drums

References

External links

* {{Authority control The Cure songs 1981 singles Songs written by Robert Smith (musician) Songs written by Lol Tolhurst Song recordings produced by Mike Hedges 1981 songs Fiction Records singles Songs written by Simon Gallup