Pornography

Pornography is the fourth studio album by the Cure, released on 3 May 1982 on Fiction. It was recorded at RAK Studios between January and April that year, with Phil Thornalley producing for the first time, and followed the stand-alone single "Charlotte Sometimes". The sessions were turbulent, with heavy drug use, infighting and Robert Smith's depression all feeding into the music and words.

It closes the dark, gloomy stretch that began with Seventeen Seconds in 1980. Bassist Simon Gallup left soon afterwards, and the band moved towards a brighter, more radio-friendly new wave sound. Critics were unkind at first, yet the record became the band's biggest seller to that point, reaching number eight on the UK Albums Chart. Its reputation has grown since, and it is now regarded as a key step in the development of gothic rock. For anyone tracing the Cure's story, this is the bleak peak.