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.
On Sunday 29 July 1979, The Cure played their first ever gig abroad. It took place at the ‘Sterren in het bos’ (‘Stars in the forest’) Festival in Groningen, a city in the Northeast of the Netherlands. The Sterren in het bos festivals were organised in the ‘Sterrebos’ park on Sundays during the summers of the seventies up until 1983. It was free entrance. On most editions a couple of thousand visitors would turn up. In those days there was still quite a hippie-like atmosphere. Other bands that have played at the Sterren in het bos festival series include Fischer Z (1979), Echo & the Bunnymen (1980), The Sound (1981) and Comsat Angels (1982).