Album
Seventeen Seconds
Seventeen Seconds is the second studio album by the Cure, released on 18 April 1980 on Fiction Records. It followed Three Imaginary Boys and arrived with the band reshaped. Original bassist Michael Dempsey had left, and Simon Gallup joined as an official member alongside keyboardist Matthieu Hartley. It was also the first record Robert Smith co-produced, working with Mike Hedges.
The album sits at the point where the Cure's sound moved into the gothic rock and post-punk territory that would define their next few records. It is worth hearing for "A Forest", the band's first single to reach the UK top 40, and as the clearest early picture of Smith taking charge of the group's direction. Anyone tracing the road from Three Imaginary Boys to Faith and Pornography should start here.
Seventeen Seconds: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 35:36Tracklist
- 1A ReflectionGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst2:09
- 2Play for TodayGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst3:41
- 3SecretsGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst3:20
- 4In Your HouseGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst4:08
- 5ThreeGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst2:34
- 6The Final SoundGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst0:52
- 7A ForestGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst5:55
- 8MGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst3:03
- 9At NightGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst5:54
- 10Seventeen SecondsGallup, Hartley, Smith, Tolhurst3:59
- Produced by
- Mike Hedges, Robert Smith
- Recorded at
- Morgan, London
- Recorded
- January 1980
- Label
- Fiction
- Length
- 35:36
Line-up
- Simon Gallup · electric bass guitar
- Matthieu Hartley · keyboard
- Robert Smith · electric guitar, lead vocals
- Lol Tolhurst · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “A Forest” · 28 March 1980
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1980–1981 | 20 |
| US Billboard 200 · Combined | 186 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1980–1981 | 9 |
| Dutch Albums · 1980–1981 | 15 |
| US Alternative · Combined | 21 |
| Scottish Albums · Combined | 28 |
| US Top Rock Albums · Combined | 36 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1980–1981 | 39 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2005 | 78 |
| French Albums · 2005 | 80 |
All 11 charts
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2020–2026 | 144 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| France · 1986 | Gold |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2025 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
89.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
8.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
161k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
22k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
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More from The Cure
Full discography →
Three Imaginary Boys
1979
Boys Don’t Cry
1980
Happily Ever After
1981
Faith
1981
Pornography
1982
Japanese Whispers
1983
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
The best of 1980
All of 1980 →
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Ozzy Osbourne · 1980
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Iron Maiden · 1980
Boy
U2 · 1980
Making Movies
Dire Straits · 1980
British Steel
Judas Priest · 1980
Sandinista!
The Clash · 1980
Permanent Waves
Rush · 1980
The Game
Queen · 1980
Emotional Rescue
The Rolling Stones · 1980
Heaven and Hell
Black Sabbath · 1980
More on Fiction
The label →Three Imaginary Boys
The Cure · 1979
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
Japanese Whispers
The Cure · 1983
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 1980-04-18; musicbrainz + wikidata 1980-04-22 (4 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 22 April 1980 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 18 April 1980 | |
| Wikidata | 22 April 1980 | |
| UK / Europe release | 22 April 1980 | earliest UK or European date |
29 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | CA | Elektra | 603497978380 | remaster |
| — | XE | Fiction | 042282535429 | other |
| — | XE | Fiction | 042282535429 | other |
| — | XE | Fiction | 600753277843 | other |
| — | DE | Fiction | 042282535429 | other |
| — | AU | Fiction | 0042282535429 | other |
| 1980 | DE | Fiction | other | |
| 1980 | CA | Fiction Records | other | |
| 1980 | FR | Fiction | other | |
| 22 April 1980 | GB | Fiction | original | |
| 1985 | DE | Fiction | 042282535429 | other |
| 1985 | DE | Fiction | 042282535429 | other |
| 1988 | US | Elektra | 075596078429 | other |
| 1988 | US | Elektra | 075596078412 | other |
| 1988 | US | Elektra | other | |
| 1992 | MX | PolyGram | 7509967210208 | other |
| 2005 | DE | Fiction | 602498218327 | other |
| 1 January 2005 | AF | UMC | 602438863327 | deluxe |
| 26 April 2005 | US | Rhino | 081227468224 | other |
| 2 May 2005 | XE | Fiction | 602498218310 | deluxe |
| 9 May 2005 | GB | Fiction | 602498218327 | other |
| 7 June 2005 | US | Elektra | 081227787561 | deluxe |
| 21 May 2008 | JP | Fiction | 4988005514387 | other |
| 28 May 2008 | JP | Fiction | 4988005514387 | other |
| 24 October 2011 | NL | Music on Vinyl | 0600753030424 | other |
| 2012 | XE | Fiction | 600753277843 | other |
| 21 April 2012 | XE | Fiction Records | 0600753381144 | other |
| 2 September 2016 | US | Fiction | 081227981600 | other |
| 29 August 2020 | XE | Fiction | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · cropped: cropped from 2827x2793 to 2793x2793
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2827×2793 | cropped: cropped from 2827x2793 to 2793x2793 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |