The Cure's Robert Smith might not have been a fan of Morrissey of the Smiths, but the Cure vocalist at least admired the music his adversary made. After all, it is one thing not to like someone personally but still respect what they do professionally. Those are often two different things.
Smith has always had strong views on music, too. He should. He has fronted one of the more influential rock bands of the last 40-plus years, and the group continues to churn out excellent albums. Their latest, Songs of a Lost World, was one of the best records of 2024.
Also, the band is set to release a remix album of the 2024 project on June 13. The record will be titled Mixes of a Lost World.
The Cure's Robert Smith greatly disliked this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
But somewhat oddly, there is one iconic band from the 1980s that Smith could not stand. Something about Duran Duran irritates Smith, even though he admittedly has no qualms with anyone in the group. Not all share Smith's view, as Duran Duran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
According to an interview Smith gave the Guardian in 2018, Duran Duran stood for everything the Cure despised. The Cure created goth records that were not overly glammy, which belied how the band looked at times. Instead of a glossy finish to the songs, the Cure often intentionally made far more scruffy albums.
The band's fantastic album, Pornography, is premised on making it sound murky. This matched the darkness of the tracks. Having the same album released with an '80s sheen would have been ridiculous.
Smith told the Guardian, "(Duran Duran) represented everything we hated: the whole glamorous '80s, consumer (expletive); this horror show that we were up against."
The singer felt bad about not liking Simon Le Bon and his bandmates. The Cure vocalist added that not liking the popular band "is really sad because they loved us and they used to come to our shows."
Of course, this is a great example of how one might not like the music a band creates, but the human beings involved can still get along. Smith did not care for Morrissey, but he liked the Smiths. Smith probably would have gotten along with Le Bon and his mates, but he did not care for their music.