The Cure
Hot Hot Hot!!!
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Hot Hot Hot!! Is the 4th single off The Cure’s 1987 Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me album. Following a hit as big as “Just Like Heaven” was never going to be easy, and the track’s radical departure in style from its predecessor only made for a steeper climb.
Where Heaven is plaintive and sweet, “Hot Hot Hot!!” is sharper and funkier, right down to the jangly guitar riffs and infectious trumpet.
The former is a song that got played at proms. The latter something you might hear in a smoke-filled club that’s a flight of stairs below the street.
The song spent three weeks on the UK singles chart in 1988, cresting at #45. In the US, it made it as far as #68 on the Billboard Hot 100, though a remix did well on the Dance Music charts
More: When asked about the inspiration for the lyrics, lead singer Robert smith simply answered “Drugs!” Fair enough, then.
Read the rest of the above interview here.
The original video for the song was filmed in black and white, with the band posing as Little People. It’s been described as intentionally ridiculous, though at the time I remember most of the uproar being about Smith’s newly shorn hair. It’s somewhat hard to find anymore, but you can judge for yourself here.
“Hot Hot Hot!!!” by The Cure| Kiss me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me 1987
What are your thoughts on this record? When/where’d you first hear it?
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
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P.P.S. A version of this article originally appeared on Medium.
I fell in love with this album when it came out. It still holds up today.
I’ve never heard this one. Thanks for the introduction!