Nick Faber

The hypnotic guitar figure in “A Forest” emerged from a song The Cure had been experimenting with long before they recorded its definitive version. Producer Mike Hedges helped strip the arrangement down, creating the cold, spacious atmosphere that became central to the band’s developing sound. Released in 1980, “A Forest” came from their second album, Seventeen Seconds, and gave The Cure their first UK Top 40 single. Its repetitive structure also allowed the band to stretch it far beyond the studio recording onstage. At Belgium’s Werchter Festival on 5 July 1981, that darker, increasingly intense live approach was already transforming the song into a Cure concert staple.