Robert James Smith was born in Blackpool on 21 April 1959, the third of four children of Rita Mary (née Emmott) and James Alexander Smith. He came from a musical family, as … 展开

Smith started to backcomb his short hair in 1980-1983. He adopted his aesthetic of a pale complexion, smeared red lipstick, black eye-liner, dishevelled nest of wiry long black hair, all-black clothes, and brothel creeper shoes or trainers in 1984, after being the guitarist of 展开

School bands: 1972–1976
Smith has said that his first band when he was 14 consisted of himself, his brother Richard, their younger … 展开

Smith has credited his older siblings Richard and Margaret with exposing him to rock music such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones when … 展开

Songwriting
In an interview in 2000, Smith said that "there is one particular kind of music, an atmospheric type of … 展开

Early television and film references
An early "pop culture" reference to the Cure is found in the eleventh episode of BBC2's … 展开

Marriage
Smith met Mary Theresa Poole in drama class at St Wilfrid's when they were both around 14 years old, and they were married at 展开