Arnhem 1980

Robert Smith and Simon Gallup at the Stokvishal, Arnhem, 24 May 1980. Photo by Cesar Eisma.

The 45th anniversary of The Cure’s legendary second concert at the Stokvishal in Arnhem seemed like a good opportunity for a blog post. This was further encouraged by the fact that a very kind gentleman – who was actually there! – mailed me some cool, atmospheric self-made photos of the night. Although this show is well known among Cure fans, I had never seen any imagery of it before. So, very special.

This concert of The Cure at the Stokvishal in Arnhem took place on Saturday 24 May 1980. One day after their show at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. That week The Cure were in the Netherlands for six concerts as part of the European tour to promote their new, second LP Seventeen Seconds, which was just released. Supporting them were Fiction label mates The Passions, who would reach the UK charts about half a year later with the wonderful single I’m In Love With A German Film Star.

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