KEY POINTS:
A 3000-signature petition caught the attention of Robert Smith.
After more than 15 years, British band The Cure return to New Zealand for a one-off concert in August.
Local fans have New Plymouth lads Alastair Ross and Gordon Pitcairn to thank for getting the band here after the pair started a petition which ended up attracting 3000 names. It caught the attention of Cure frontman Robert Smith, who posted a comment on the band's website last month, all but confirming a New Zealand date in August following concerts in Japan, Asia and Australia.
The Cure, who formed in Crawley, Sussex, in 1976, will play Vector Arena on August 14. Tickets will be on sale on July 9 through Ticketmaster.
The three-hour show will span the band's 30-year career which started with the post-punk phase of 1979's Three Imaginary Boys, on to the gothic period of the early 80s with albums like Pornography and Seventeen Seconds; the lighter, poppier moments of Japanese Whispers and Head On the Door; through to the world-wide success of 1989's Disintegration.
While the 1990s and 2000s haven't been as prolific for the Cure, the band released its 12th studio album in 2004 and a new one is expected this year.
Continuing the dark winter British theme are rising post-punk band Editors who play the Studio on August 7. If you're off to Bloc Party, which is the night before, you might want to make it a double whammy because Editors give those fellow Brits a run for their money.
Editors released their new album, An End Has a Start this week, the follow up to The Back Room from 2005.
Also add to the August touring schedule alt-country rocker Ryan Adams. He's just released his new album, Easy Tiger, and plays the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna on August 16.
Liam Finn is playing three New Zealand shows, including an Auckland gig at Galatos on July 21, in support of his debut solo album I'll Be Lightning, which is out on July 23.
And if you missed the news this week, Crowded House play a three-date national arena tour starting in Auckland on October 28, with a reunited Supergroove in support.
