"Let's Go to Bed" is a song by English 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 a stand-alone single by

Fiction Records Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of the Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...

in November 1982. In the aftermath of the dark ''

Pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

'', Robert Smith returned from a month-long detox in the Lake District to write the song, the antithesis to what the Cure currently represented. It was later included on the album '' Japanese Whispers'', which compiles the band's three singles from 1982 to 1983 and their five

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s. The single was only a minor success in the UK, peaking at No. 44, but became a Top 20 hit in Australia in 1983, reaching No. 15 in Australia (for two weeks) and No. 17 in New Zealand.

History

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Robert Smith discussed the initial reaction when playing the song to

: However, the song became a success much to Smith’s surprise. On 15 March 1983, the song was the first broadcast for the pioneering

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

-based

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

radio station WFNX. When WFNX was sold and ceased broadcasting on 20 July 2012, "Let's Go to Bed" was selected as the station's final broadcast.

Reception

Chris True of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the song as "antic, herky-jerky new wave pop", while also observing it as 'poppier than former singles, but still maintains a dark edge. The moody atmospherics and percussive elements of the Cure of old are traded in for offbeat melodies and quirky dance beats." He also said "The song has an almost childlike approach". further stating that the "production feels like kids are trying out new toys." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' called it "bratty, funky

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

". In 2022, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked it 19 on their list "100 Best Songs of 1982".

Music video

The song's music video was the band's first collaboration with

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 ...

, who would go on to direct several more videos for the group. The video features members Robert Smith and

Lol Tolhurst Laurence Andrew Tolhurst (born 3 February 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, producer, and author. He was a founding member of the Cure, for which he first played drums before switching to keyboards. He stayed a member of the Cure until ...

, who at that point were the only members of the Cure – the only instance in the band's history where the band officially had a two-person lineup. Pope's video treatment displayed the band's more whimsical side, something absent from the band's early work. In his book, Tolhurst also recalls that he was dancing naked behind the screen as a shadowy silhouette. He also says that the music videos soon helped the band's fortunes: "As we soon found out, some heavy rotation on MTV, together with our rigorous touring, would start to accelerate the rise of the band." Robert Smith has admitted they were poking fun at Tears for Fears in this video.

Track listing

7-inch vinyl :# "Let's Go to Bed" – 3:35 :# "Just One Kiss" – 4:10 12-inch vinyl :# "Let's Go to Bed" (Extended Mix) – 7:04 :# "Just One Kiss" (Extended Mix) – 7:02 US 7-inch vinyl :# "Let's Go to Bed" – 3:34 :# "Boys Don't Cry" – 2:36 US 12-inch vinyl :# "Let's Go to Bed" – 7:45 :# "Just One Kiss" – 7:18 :# "Let's Go to Bed" (edit) – 3:35

Personnel

* Robert Smith – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards *

– keyboards * Steve Goulding – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{authority control The Cure songs 1982 singles Ivy (band) songs Songs written by Robert Smith (musician) Music videos directed by Tim Pope Songs written by Lol Tolhurst Fiction Records singles 1982 songs