"Friday I'm in Love" is a song by British rock band

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

. Released as the second single from their ninth studio album, ''

Wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. Sociology Several cu ...

'' (1992), in May 1992, the song became a worldwide hit, reaching number six in the UK and number 18 in the United States, where it also topped the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. It also won the award for European Viewer's Choice for Best Music Video at the

1992 MTV Video Music Awards The 1992 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 9, 1992, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1991, to June 15, 1992. The show was hosted by Dana Carvey at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The night's biggest winners were Va ...

. Robert Smith, the song's primary writer, described it in 1992 as both "a throw your hands in the air, let's get happy kind of record" and "a very naïve, happy type of pop song."

Production

During the writing process, Robert Smith became convinced that he had inadvertently stolen the chord progression from somewhere, and this led him to a state of paranoia where he called everyone he could think of and played the song for them, asking if they had heard it before. None of them had, and Smith realised that the melody was indeed his. "It's always been paradoxical that it's pushed down people's throats that we're a goth band," Smith observed. "Because, to the general public, we're not. To taxi drivers, I'm the bloke that sings 'Friday I'm in Love'. I'm not the bloke who sings 'Shake Dog Shake' or ' One Hundred Years'." The song was written to be a slower number than its upbeat final rendition. While the track was recorded in

D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...

, the commercially released version sounds a quarter-tone higher (halfway between D and E-flat) due to Smith forgetting to disengage the

vari-speed A variable speed pitch control (or vari-speed) is a control on an audio device such as a turntable, tape recorder, or CD player that allows the operator to deviate from a standard speed (such as 33, 45 or even 78 rpm on a turntable), resulting ...

function on the multi-track recorder after toying with it before the final mixing process took place. When played live, the song is performed in its original intended key as opposed to the pitch discrepancy heard on the record. The track was produced by David M. Allen and the Cure.

Release

"Friday I'm in Love" was the second single taken from the band's ninth studio album, ''

'', and was released in the United Kingdom on 15 May 1992. Unusually, two formats of the song were released on a Friday instead of a Monday, so it debuted on the UK Singles Chart at a low number 31 on the chart week beginning 17 May. The following week, after the other two formats went on sale, the single rose to number eight and peaked at number six during its third week on the chart. As of , it is the group's last UK top-10 hit. In the United States, the song reached number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, giving the band their last American top-40 hit to date. It was also the band's last song (in a string of four) to top the ''Billboard''

chart, matching the success of their previous single, " High", with a four-week stint at number one.

Music video

The video, directed by

Tim Pope Timothy Michael Pope (born 12 February 1956) is a film director most known for his music videos, for having directed feature films, and for a brief pop career. Early life and career Pope grew up in the north London suburb of Enfield. Both his ...

, features the band performing the song in front of various backdrops on a soundstage, in homage to French silent filmmaker

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès ( , ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French magic (illusion), magician, toymaker, actor, and filmmaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of film, cinema, primarily in th ...

: the video features the appearance of characters from his '' The Eclipse, or the Courtship of the Sun and Moon''. Throughout the video the band play with various props and costumes while several extras wander around, causing chaos and ultimately trashing the set. Tim Pope makes a cameo at the beginning, riding a

rocking horse __NOTOC__ A rocking horse is a child's toy, usually shaped like a horse and mounted on rockers similar to a rocking chair. There are two sorts, the one where the horse part sits rigidly attached to a pair of curved rockers that are in contact wit ...

and yelling out high-pitched stage directions through a plastic megaphone after inhaling

helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...

from a balloon. The band's Japanese make-up artist also makes an appearance. The final shot is of bassist Simon Gallup crouching and peering into the camera while wearing a bridal veil and holding some

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

. The producer of "Friday, I'm in Love", Dave M. Allen, makes an appearance in the background, also holding up props. Another oddity is the band's name on the drum—a scrawled "The Cures" rather than the band's singular name.

Track listing

Personnel

* Robert Smith – vocals, guitar * Simon Gallup – bass * Porl Thompson – guitar *

Boris Williams Boris Peter Bransby Williams (born 24 April 1951) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for The Cure from 1984 until 1994, and for forming the band Babacar (band), Babacar in the late 1990s. Biography Williams was born in 1951 (som ...

– drums *

Perry Bamonte Perry Archangelo Bamonte (born 3 September 1960) is an English musician and artist, best known as a guitarist/keyboardist for The Cure from 1990 to 2005, and again since 2022. He is also the bassist of Love Amongst Ruin. Biography Bamonte was ...

– six-string bass, keyboards

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Friday I'm In Love 1992 singles 1992 songs The Cure songs Elektra Records singles Fiction Records singles Jangle pop songs List songs Music videos directed by Tim Pope Song recordings produced by David M. Allen Songs written by Jason Cooper Songs written by Porl Thompson Songs written by Robert Smith (musician) Songs written by Simon Gallup