Album · Compilation
Japanese Whispers
Japanese Whispers gathers the three singles The Cure put out between Pornography and The Top, "Let's Go to Bed", "The Walk" and "The Love Cats", along with their B-sides. Only "Mr. Pink Eyes", the second B-side to "The Love Cats", was left off. It came out on Fiction on 16 December 1983, and the title is a play on the children's game Chinese whispers.
The songs capture a band in transition. Simon Gallup had left after the Pornography tour, leaving Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst as a duo, with session drummer Steve Goulding joining for the "Let's Go to Bed" tracks. Tolhurst moved from drums to keyboards, which he played until 1989. For "The Love Cats", Phil Thornalley on bass and Andy Anderson on drums made it a full band again. It was also the first Cure album to reach the US Billboard 200, in early 1984.
Japanese Whispers: tracklist, credits and charts
8 tracks · 28:38Tracklist
- 1Let's Go to BedRobert Smith and Lol Tolhurst3:34
- 2The DreamRobert Smith3:13
- 3Just One KissRobert Smith and Lol Tolhurst4:09
- 4The Upstairs RoomRobert Smith and Lol Tolhurst3:30
- 5The WalkRobert Smith and Lol Tolhurst3:30
- 6Speak My LanguageRobert Smith and Lol Tolhurst2:41
- 7LamentRobert Smith4:21
- 8The LovecatsRobert Smith3:40
- Produced by
- Steve Nye, Chris Parry, Phil Thornalley, Robert Smith
- Mixed by
- Chris Parry, Steve Nye, Robert Smith, Phil Thornalley
- Recorded
- November 1982 – April 1983
- Labels
- Fiction, Sire (US)
- Length
- 28:38
Line-up
- Steve Goulding · drums (drum set) · guest
- Robert Smith · guitar, keyboard, bass guitar, lead vocals, vocals
- Lol Tolhurst · keyboard, drum machine, vibraphone
- Andy Anderson · drums (drum set) · guest
- Phil Thornalley · bass, bass guitar · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1984 | 26 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1984 | 181 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1984 | 8 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1984 | 18 |
| German Albums · 1984 | 46 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 1984 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
52.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
5
ListenBrainz listeners
73k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
12k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 16 December
Every year →
More from The Cure
Full discography →
Three Imaginary Boys
1979
Boys Don’t Cry
1980
Seventeen Seconds
1980
Happily Ever After
1981
Faith
1981
Pornography
1982
The Top
1984
Concert: The Cure Live
1984
The Head on the Door
1985
Half an Octopuss
1985
Standing on a Beach: The Singles
1986
Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
1987
The Peel Sessions
1988
Disintegration
1989
Mixed Up
1990
Entreat
1991
Lost Wishes
1992
Wish
1992
Sideshow
1993
Show
1993
Paris
1993
Wild Mood Swings
1996
Five Swing Live
1997
Galore: The Singles 1987–1997
1997
Bloodflowers
2000
Greatest Hits
2001
Trilogy
2003
Join the Dots: B‐Sides and Rarities
2004
The Cure
2004
Hypnagogic States EP
2008
4:13 Dream
2008
Bestival Live 2011
2011
Torn Down: Mixed Up Extras 2018
2018
Songs of a Lost World
2024
Mixes of a Lost World
2025
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Supergroups
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AC/DC · 1983
Iron Maiden No me puedes dejar así / Decídete 1983
No me puedes dejar así / Decídete
Iron Maiden · 1983
Iron Maiden Lo mejor de Iron Maiden 1983
Lo mejor de Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden · 1983
More on Fiction
The label →Three Imaginary Boys
The Cure · 1979
Seventeen Seconds
The Cure · 1980
Pornography
The Cure · 1982
Wild Mood Swings
The Cure · 1996
Mixed Up
The Cure · 1990
Mixes of a Lost World
The Cure · 2025
Join the Dots: B‐Sides and Rarities
The Cure · 2004
Standing on a Beach: The Singles
The Cure · 1986
Concert: The Cure Live
The Cure · 1984
Paris
The Cure · 1993
Lost Wishes
The Cure · 1992
Five Swing Live
The Cure · 1997
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1983-12-16; musicbrainz + wikidata 1983-12-06 (10 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 6 December 1983 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 16 December 1983 | |
| Wikidata | 6 December 1983 | |
| US release | 1983 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 6 December 1983 | earliest UK or European date |
18 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Fiction | 042281747021 | other |
| — | CA | Elektra | 603497836260 | other |
| — | DE | Fiction | 042281747021 | other |
| — | XE | Fiction | 042281747021 | other |
| 1983 | FR | Fiction | 042281747014 | other |
| 1983 | US | Sire Records | 07599250761 | other |
| 6 December 1983 | GB | Fiction | original | |
| 1986 | DE | Fiction | 042281747021 | other |
| 1987 | US | Sire Records | 075992507622 | other |
| 1987 | US | Sire Records | other | |
| 1987 | AU | Fiction | 022925684325 | other |
| 21 January 1987 | JP | VAP | 4988021850070 | other |
| 1988 | XE | Fiction Records | 042281747021 | deluxe |
| 1990 | XE | Fiction | 042281747021 | other |
| 1990 | DE | Fiction | 042281747021 | other |
| 19 March 2008 | JP | Universal International | other | |
| 19 March 2021 | XE | Fiction | 602435081052 | other |
| 2022 | — | Polydor | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×600 | upscaled |