𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗯𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁. 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵 - 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗜'𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

We all know that the single version of “𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙄'𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜” is a collaboration of Placebo with David Bowie, but did you know that there's also a live collaboration of the song with another legendary artist? It's The Cure founder and frontman Robert Smith, style icon and role model for generations of goths.

On November 5th 2004 he was special guest at the concert at Wembley Arena in London. It was the kick-off show of the short “Once more with feeling” tour and also the only gig of that tour that took place outside of South America.
The audience didn't know that Robert Smith would be part of the evening. He entered the stage during the first encore, right after Placebo had played “Twenty years”. Robert and the band performed two songs together. They started with “Without you I'm nothing” which was followed by The Cure cover “Boys don't cry”.

 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗕𝗢 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁. 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗛 – 𝗕𝗢𝗬𝗦 𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗖𝗥𝗬
 https://bit.ly/3cMueC4 

But this wasn't the only time they appeared on stage together in 2004. On October 14th they collaborated again at the 20 years anniversary show of French TV channel Canal+. This time they chose a Cure cover again and played “If only tonight we could sleep” from the iconic album “Disintegration”.

Placebo and Robert Smith of The Cure at Wembley Arena, 2004. Photo credit unknown

 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗕𝗢 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁. 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗛 – 𝗜𝗙 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗪𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗦𝗟𝗘𝗘𝗣
 https://bit.ly/3oGTUnI 

In 2018 Robert Smith curated Meltdown festival in London and invited Placebo to play there. The line-up also included Nine Inch Nails, My Bloody Valentine, Death Cab For Cutie, Manic Street Preachers and The Twilight Sad. To honor Smith Placebo put “Let's go to bed” by The Cure on their setlist. They also performed the songs at three more festivals the following month.

 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗕𝗢 – 𝗟𝗘𝗧'𝗦 𝗚𝗢 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘𝗗
 https://bit.ly/36DMET8 

Brian Molko and Robert Smith at Wembley Arena, 2004. Photo credit unknown 

 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗡 “𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗜'𝗠 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚”
 “You know, that’s about someone I used to go out with really, and that was like me exorcising the guilt or that failing relationship which I was mainly responsible for.“
(NME, December 1998)

 "'Without you I'm nothing' can be seen on three levels, I think. It's us, the band, talking to ourselves; its me talking to certain people in my past; it's also us talking to our fans."
(Chat hosted by David Bowie, March 29th 1999)

 “That song is very misunderstood. It is not a love song, the narrator is suffering from pathological low self-esteem. It’s about co-dependence, feeling like you don’t have an identity without somebody else.”
(Independent, October 17th 2017)

Post by Silke