Curepedia: Author Q&A with DJ Set – Ballina Fringe Festival
by Killian Laher

There are multiple festivals taking place across the country, not just in cities but in smaller towns as well, and not necessarily just in summer.  The Ballina Fringe Festival has been running since early October and culminated in this event with author Simon Price interviewed by Paul McDermott about his Curepedia book, and the Cure in general.  It was quite the coup to get Price over to Ballina as opposed to a larger city in Ireland, particularly with such a buzz about the Cure in the run-up to the release of their forthcoming album.

The night began with Price reading an entry from his book before Paul McDermott asked the author about the origins of his Cure fandom.  There were interesting insights about how filmmakers use a poster of the Cure in films to signify a type of person, and also how Boys Don’t Cry talked about toxic masculinity before it existed as a concept.

The night was broken up by clips of some of Price’s favourite Cure songs, One Hundred Years, Just Like Heaven and Close To Me.  McDermott mentioned how his brother didn’t ‘allow‘ him to like the Cure initially, though Primary was something of an entry point for him, along with the Standing On A Beach compilation album.

It was far from an over-serious event, Price read the entry about Pissing from his book and there was mention of The Cure’s connection with Ireland, having lived in Dalkey in Dublin for a year or two and made the awful Why Can’t I Be You video in Bray.  Price is one of the few people who has heard the new Cure album and he mentioned how good it sounded without giving away too much about it.

This was followed up by a DJ set – Spellbound in Lillies Bar round the corner and Simon Price managed to get the crowd dancing on tables to Siouxsie, Sisters of Mercy, Talking Heads and of course, the Cure.  A most enjoyable evening and it is great to see stuff like this happening in rural Ireland.