This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. (March 2012)

This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (September 2007)

Summer camps for children are often associated with homesickness, particularly for children who are away from their parents for the first time.

Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from the specific home environment or attachment objects. The term is in origin a loan translation of nostalgia, a learned term coined in Baroque period medicine. The Oxford English Dictionary describes homesickness as a feeling one has when missing home. Feelings of longing are often accompanied by anxiety and depression. These symptoms may range from mild to severe.

Homesickness frequently occurs when one travels and may be exacerbated by unfamiliar environments or foreign cultural contexts. Homesickness is especially common in youth. Young people may experience a sense of dread, helplessness, or separation anxiety on their first day of school, summer camp, or on a protracted summer vacation away from the family. Many first-year students at boarding schools or universities also experience homesickness. Some new members on military basic training and members on taskings^[ambiguous] might also experience it.

Overview[link]

Newly-enlisted soldiers sometimes experience homesickness when they are staying in an army camp.

As children, people develop feelings about home and attachments with things at home. Having those attachments seems to be a hindrance on children as they go to summer camps, sleepovers, as they travel and even more commonly, when they go to college. Homesickness can be associated with feelings of nostalgia, grief, depression and adjustment disorders, all of which can affect people psychologically and emotionally. Symptoms in homesickness may be emotional, cognitive or physical.

In extreme cases, physical health problems accompany the hallmark symptom of homesickness, which is preoccupying thoughts of home. Most people describe homesickness as a want or longing to be back home, continuously missing their parents, siblings, spouse, relatives, friends, pets and aspects of their familiar environments. People may describe their feelings as a deep sadness, depression, frustration, anger or hopelessness. In very rare instances, suicidal thoughts may accompany feelings of missing home.^{[citation needed]}

As homesickness is defined as feelings of one missing home, there are many different types of people who are affected by it. From young children to college students, homesickness can impact people very negatively. If it is not dealt with effectively, homesickness can lead to other emotions that are much deeper and could ultimately psychologically damage some people.

Factors that may affect homesickness include:

• Age - Children are more prone to homesickness than adults ^[1][2]
• Gender - There is still debate about gender differences and homesickness.^[3]
• Culture - The comparison of Turkish first year students to Americans ^[4]
• Rigidity - This can cause a strong attachment to your routine or “home” life, making homesickness very relevant and difficult.

History[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The "Fox River Grove Castle" in Fox River Grove, Illinois was built in the 1930s by a European railway worker who was homesick for his native Luxembourg.

Literary treatment of homesickness can be traced at least as far back as Odysseus from Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus wept and rolled on the hard ground thinking of home. Followed later were actual documented cases of homesickness. In the 17th century, Johannes Hofer, a Swiss physician, diagnosed a young man on his deathbed with homesickness. After releasing him to go home, his condition immediately improved^{[citation needed]}. In the earliest days of European settlement in North America, many colonists longed for their faraway homes and displayed such longings publicly.

The Europeans who migrated to America in the early seventeenth century did not have the modern lexicon to describe their feelings, but diaries, letters, and histories reveal that yearning was part and parcel of the colonizing experience. Although such scattered references to homesickness appeared in journals and letters, Americans first perceived the emotion as a widespread social problem during the American Revolutionary War, when thousands of men left home to fight and countless soldiers complained of homesickness. Following the Revolution, Americans underwent a dramatic transformation. This was the first time in American history that the people readily had available resources such as canals, steamboats, and railroads. As a result, these Americans left their homes in search of change, finding out that it gave them a sense of “dislocation” and homesickness.

Modern research[link]

Today, homesickness is recognized more in children and more quickly identified. Modern researchers document case studies and more in-depth feelings surface. The feelings that are mostly identified with homesickness are nostalgia, grief, depression, anxiety, sadness, withdrawal, and adjustment disorders.

• Grief - Can be described as the emotional pain or anguish that someone feels after the loss of a loved one. This relates to homesickness in that homesickness is a grief-like symptom caused by missing one's home. In addition, according to Fisher (1989) homesickness and grief are two affective emotions associated with a particular and known cause, like a “loss”.

• Topophilia - This particular phobia is characterized by relationships between human beings and their environment. According to the author Tuan, "Beyond clothing, a person invests bits of his emotional life in his home, and beyond the home in his neighborhood. To be forcibly evicted from one's home and neighborhood is to be stripped of a sheathing, which in its familiarity protects the human being from the bewilderments of the outside world".^[5] Topophilia is characterized by an individual’s attachment to their surroundings. According to Tuan (1974) topophilic persons can view their environment as a symbol or a carrier for emotionally charged events causing a high level of topophilic sentiments.^[6] These sentiments can therefore be origins for homesickness ^[7]

• Adjustment Disorders - According to the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria, adjustment disorder is a maladaptive response to an identifiable psychosocial stressor occurring within three months and remitting within six months of the termination of the stressor. Severe homesickness may be seen as a particular form of two of these subtypes, namely adjustment disorder with depressed mood or adjustment disorder with physical complaints, when two other conditions are fulfilled, namely being away from home (the stressor) and thinking a lot about home.

• Other Feelings and Disorders

1. Withdrawal
2. Sadness
3. Agoraphobia
4. Claustrophobia

Related theories[link]

Uncertainty reduction theory[link]

Uncertainty Reduction Theory discusses the processes through which individuals go to reduce uncertainty about one another when placed in an unknown or unfamiliar environment (Berger & Calabrese, 100). Homesickness directly relates to this theory in the processes in which individuals face homesickness when placed in an unfamiliar place and how this affects their uncertainty reduction. Particular situations where Uncertainty Reduction Theory and Homesickness can be viewed in atmospheres where the individual is relocated to a new environment with new peers for an abbreviated amount of time or permanently (e.g. summer camps, boarding schools, military, and college campuses).

Social penetration theory[link]

Social Penetration Theory^{[citation needed]} describes self-disclosure and the processes in which individuals disclose personal information about themselves. This is important to homesickness in the aspect that individuals will be more likely to self-disclose when they are in an environment that they are familiar or comfortable with, such as “home”.

Coping[link]

In cases where children are hospitalized, homesickness can be a problem, unless measures are taken to prevent it.

Coping is a method used by individuals to lessen the effects of a negative situation. Homesickness is a state of being that includes both cognitive process and complicated emotions. Feelings associated with homesickness are anxiety, depression, sadness, and withdrawal. About three quarters of children experience homesickness to some degree and thus must cope somehow with the experience. Often homesickness is somewhat hard to diagnose. Individuals tend to withdraw socially, mentally returning to comforting thoughts of home. An immediate remedy for homesickness is to return home. However this is not always an option and in many cases can be more harmful to the development of the individual.^[8]

The first method of coping with homesick individuals is addressing the cognitive components. If individual’s cognitions are manipulated then they will tend to not experience the symptom of homesickness. Cognitions of home are either altered or totally avoided when trying relieving homesickness. Getting homesick individuals to participate in games, task, or assignment will redirect conscious thought away from home. Cognition is a large factor to why an individual experiences homesickness and by making a homesick individual change their conscious thoughts it will help them cope with homesickness. Also participation in activities will reduce uncertainty homesick individuals have about new environments^[9]

The second aspect of homesickness is the affective state or emotional state. This is more problematic because the emotions experienced with homesickness must be internally processed. Emotions like sadness, depression and withdrawal are experienced by homesick individuals and can’t be immediately relieved . Counseling and discussion of feelings with a trusted individual is a method to help relieve some of the anxiety and stress. There are direct methods to ease some of the symptoms like writing a letter, or calling home. Direct contact with home is a reassurance of the security of the home.^[10]

Psychologists say that the best way to prevent homesickness is to spend practice time away from home. Previous experience away helps develop and refine the coping skills most effective for an individual. A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics published in January, 2007, in the journal Pediatrics, also recommends that parents involve children in every aspect of planning separation, and not offer to pick the child up before the period of separation is scheduled to end. New thinking needed on helping kids avoid or cope with homesickness, experts say. By Kara Gavin, University of Michigan Health System. January 2, 2007.

Once separated from home, children and adults report that the most effective ways of coping include:

• Keeping a positive attitude^{[citation needed]}
• Maintaining contact with home, through letters (both traditional and electronic)
• Activity
• Communication
• Enjoying what's different about the novel environment
• Bringing a "transitional object" (something special from home)

See also[link]

• Nostalgia
• Third Culture Kids
• Sehnsucht

References[link]

External links[link]

• CampSpirit.com - Ideas about homesickness prevention and treatment, especially with children, plus empirical research on homesickness phenomenology.
• CampParents.org - The American Camp Association's main page for parents, with links to more research on homesickness and materials for homesickness prevention.
• "Preventing and Treating Homesickness" - Direct link to the American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report published in the journal "Pediatrics"
• "Curing Homesickness" - profiles Dr. Christopher Thurber and his methods for preventing and dealing with homesickness.

v t e Emotions (list) Emotions Adoration Affection Agony Awe Amusement Anger Anguish Annoyance Anxiety Arousal Attraction Caring Compassion Contempt Contentment Defeat Dejection Depression Desire Despair Disappointment Disgust Ecstasy Embarrassment Empathy Enthrallment Enthusiasm Envy Euphoria Excitement Fear Frustration Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Homesickness Hope Horror Hostility Humiliation Hysteria Infatuation Insecurity Insult Interest Irritation Isolation Jealousy Loneliness Longing Love Lust Melancholy Neglect Optimism Panic Passion Pity Pleasure Pride Rage Regret Rejection Remorse Resentment Sadness Sentimentality Shame Shock Sorrow Spite Suffering Surprise Sympathy Tenseness Thrill Revenge Wonder Worry Diligence Zest Worldviews Compatibilism Existentialism Fatalism Incompatibilism Metaphysics Nihilism Optimism Pessimism Reclusion Social justice Weltschmerz Source: Parrott, W. (2001), Emotions in Social Psychology, Psychology Press, Philadelphia.

The Cure
The Cure performing in Singapore in 2007. Left to right: Porl Thompson, Jason Cooper (back), Robert Smith, Simon Gallup.
Background information
Origin	Crawley, England
Genres	Gothic rock,[1][2] alternative rock, New Wave, post-punk
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Fiction, Suretone, Geffen, Polydor, Elektra, Asylum, Sire
Associated acts	Malice, Easy Cure, The Glove, Siouxsie and the Banshees
Website	www.thecure.com
Members
Robert Smith Simon Gallup Roger O'Donnell Jason Cooper Reeves Gabrels
Past members
Lol Tolhurst Michael Dempsey Matthieu Hartley Andy Anderson Phil Thornalley Boris Williams Porl Thompson Perry Bamonte

The Cure are an English alternative rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member. The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s with its debut album Three Imaginary Boys (1979); this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of the post-punk and New Wave movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock revolution in the United Kingdom. During the early 1980s, the band's increasingly dark and tormented music helped form the gothic rock genre.^[1][2][3]

After the release of Pornography (1982), the band's future was uncertain and Smith was keen to move past the gloomy reputation his band had acquired. With the 1982 single "Let's Go to Bed" Smith began to place a pop sensibility into the band's music (as well as a unique stage look). The Cure's popularity increased as the decade wore on, especially in the United States where the songs "Just Like Heaven", "Lovesong" and "Friday I'm in Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By the start of the 1990s, The Cure were one of the most popular alternative rock bands in the world. The band is estimated to have sold 27 million albums as of 2004.^[4] The Cure have released thirteen studio albums, 10 EPs and over thirty singles during the course of their career. Since 2010, they have been working on a fourteenth studio album.^[5]

History[link]

Formation and early years (1973–1979)[link]

The first incarnation of what became The Cure was The Obelisk, a band formed by students at Notre Dame Middle School in Crawley, Sussex. The band made their public debut in a one-off performance in April 1973, and featured Robert Smith (piano), Michael "Mick" Dempsey (guitar), Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst (percussion), Marc Ceccagno (lead guitar) and Alan Hill (bass guitar).^[6] In January 1976 the band took a more substantial form of what would be when Ceccagno formed Malice with Smith and Dempsey along with two other classmates from St. Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School, with Ceccagno on lead, Smith on guitar, and Dempsey switching to bass. Ceccagno soon left, however, to form a jazz-rock fusion band called Amulet. Increasingly influenced by the emergence of punk rock, Malice's remaining members became known as Easy Cure in January 1977.^[7] By this time, Smith and Dempsey had been joined by Lol Tolhurst from The Obelisk on drums, and new lead guitarist Porl Thompson. Both Malice and Easy Cure auditioned several vocalists before Smith finally assumed the role of Easy Cure's frontman in September 1977.^[8]

That year, Easy Cure won a talent competition with German label Hansa Records, and received a recording contract. Although the band recorded tracks for the company, none were ever released.^[9] Following disagreements in March 1978 over the direction the band should take, the contract with Hansa was dissolved. Smith later recalled, "We were very young. They just thought they could turn us into a teen group. They actually wanted us to do cover versions and we always refused."^[9] Thompson was dropped from the band in May, and the remaining trio (Smith/Tolhurst/Dempsey) were soon renamed The Cure by Smith.^[10] Later that month the band recorded their first sessions as a trio at Chestnut Studios in Sussex, which were distributed as a demo tape to a dozen major record labels.^[11] The demo found its way to Polydor Records scout Chris Parry, who signed The Cure to his newly formed Fiction label—distributed by Polydor—in September 1978.^[12] The Cure released their debut single "Killing an Arab" in December 1978 on the Small Wonder label as a stopgap until Fiction finalised distribution arrangements with Polydor. "Killing an Arab" garnered both acclaim and controversy: while the single's provocative title led to accusations of racism, the song is actually based on French existentialist Albert Camus's novel The Stranger.^[13] The band placed a sticker label that denied the racist connotations on the single's 1979 reissue on Fiction. An early NME article on the band wrote that The Cure "are like a breath of fresh suburban air on the capital's smog-ridden pub-and-club circuit" and noted "With a John Peel session and more extensive London gigging on their immediate agenda, it remains to be seen whether or not The Cure can retain their refreshing joie de vivre."^[14]

The Cure released their debut album Three Imaginary Boys in May 1979. Because of the band's inexperience in the studio, Parry and engineer Mike Hedges took control of the recording.^[15] The band, particularly Smith, were unhappy with their debut; in a 1987 interview, he admitted, "a lot of it was very superficial – I didn't even like it at the time. There were criticisms made that it was very lightweight, and I thought they were justified. Even when we'd made it, I wanted to do something that I thought had more substance to it".^[16] The band's second single "Boys Don't Cry" was released in June. The Cure then embarked as the support band for Siouxsie and the Banshees' Join Hands promotional tour of England, Northern Ireland, and Wales between August and October. The tour saw Smith pull double duty each night by performing with The Cure and as the guitarist with The Banshees when John McKay quit the group.^[17] That musical experience had a strong impact on him: "On stage that first night with the Banshees, I was blown away by how powerful I felt playing that kind of music. It was so different to what we were doing with The Cure. Before that, I'd wanted us to be like The Buzzcocks or Elvis Costello, the punk Beatles. Being a Banshee really changed my attitude to what I was doing."^[18]

The Cure's third single "Jumping Someone Else's Train" was released in early October 1979. Soon afterwards, Dempsey was dropped from the band because of his cold reception to material Smith had written for the upcoming album.^[19] Dempsey joined the Associates, while Simon Gallup (bass) and Matthieu Hartley (keyboards) from The Magspies joined The Cure. The Associates toured as support band for The Cure and The Passions on the Future Pastimes Tour of England between November and December—all three bands were on the Fiction Records roster—with the new Cure line-up already performing a number of new songs for the projected second album.^[20] Meanwhile, a spin-off band comprising Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey, Gallup, Hartley and Thompson, with backing vocals from assorted family and friends, and lead vocals provided by their local postman Frankie Bell released a 7-inch single in December under the assumed name of Cult Hero.^[21]

Early Gothic Phase (1980–1982)[link]

	"One Hundred Years" (1982) noicon Sample of "One Hundred Years" from Pornography.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Due to the band's lack of creative control on the first album, Smith exerted a greater influence on the recording of The Cure's second album Seventeen Seconds, which he co-produced with Mike Hedges.^[22] The album was released in 1980 and reached number 20 on the UK charts. A single from the album, "A Forest", became the band's first UK hit single, reaching number 31 on the singles chart.^[23] The album was a departure from The Cure's sound up to that point, with Hedges describing it as "morose, atmospheric, very different to Three Imaginary Boys."^[24] In its review of Seventeen Seconds the NME said, "For a group as young as The Cure, it seems amazing that they have covered so much territory in such a brief time."^[25] At the same time, Smith was pressed concerning the concept of an alleged "anti-image".^[26] Smith told the press he was fed up with the anti-image association that some considered to be "elaborately disguising their plainness", stating, "We had to get away from that anti-image thing, which we didn't even create in the first place. And it seemed like we were trying to be more obscure. We just didn't like the standard rock thing. The whole thing really got out of hand."^[27] That same year Three Imaginary Boys was repackaged for the American market as Boys Don't Cry, with new artwork and a modified tracklist. The Cure set out on their first world tour to promote both releases. At the end of the tour, Matthieu Hartley left the band. Hartley said, "I realised that the group was heading towards suicidal, sombre music—the sort of thing that didn't interest me at all."^[28]

The band reconvened with Hedges to produce their third album Faith (1981), which furthered the mood of misery present on Seventeen Seconds.^[29] The album peaked at number 14 on the UK charts.^[23] Included with cassette copies of Faith was an instrumental soundtrack for Carnage Visors, an animated film shown in place of an opening act for the band's 1981 Picture Tour.^[30] In late 1981, The Cure released the non-album single "Charlotte Sometimes". By this point, the sombre mood of the music had a profound effect on the attitude of the band. The band would refuse requests for older songs in concert, and sometimes Smith would be so absorbed by the persona he projected onstage he would leave at the end in tears.^[31]

In 1982, The Cure recorded and released Pornography, the third and final album of an "oppressively dispirited" trio that cemented the Cure's stature as purveyors of the emerging gothic rock genre.^[32] Smith has said that during the recording of Pornography he was "undergoing a lot of mental stress. But it had nothing to do with the group, it just had to do with what I was like, my age and things. I think I got to my worst round about Pornography. Looking back and getting other people's opinions of what went on, I was a pretty monstrous sort of person at that time".^[16] Gallup described the album by saying, "Nihilism took over [. . .] We sang 'It doesn't matter if we all die' and that is exactly what we thought at the time."^[33] Parry was concerned that the album did not have a hit song for radio play and instructed Smith and producer Phil Thornalley to polish the track "The Hanging Garden" for release as a single.^[34] Despite the concerns about the album's uncommercial sound, Pornography became the band's first UK Top 10 album, charting at number eight.^[23] The release of Pornography was followed by the Fourteen Explicit Moments tour, where the band finally dropped the anti-image angle and first adopted their signature look of big, towering hair and smeared lipstick on their faces.^[35] The tour also saw a series of incidents that prompted Simon Gallup to leave The Cure at the tour's conclusion. Gallup and Smith did not talk to each other for eighteen months following his departure.^[36]

Increasing commercial success (1983–1986)[link]

	"Just Like Heaven" (1987) noicon Sample of "Just like Heaven" from Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

With Gallup's departure from The Cure and with Smith's work with Siouxsie and the Banshees, rumours spread that The Cure had broken up. In December 1982, Smith remarked to Melody Maker, "Do The Cure really exist any more? I've been pondering that question myself [. . .] it has got to a point where I don't fancy working in that format again." He added, "Whatever happens, it won't be me, Laurence, and Simon together any more. I know that."^[37]

Parry was concerned at the state of his label's top band, and became convinced that the solution was for The Cure to reinvent its musical style. Parry managed to convince Smith and Tolhurst of the idea; Parry said, "It appealed to Robert because he wanted to destroy The Cure anyway."^[38] With Tolhurst now playing keyboards instead of drums, the duo released the single "Let's Go to Bed" in late 1982. While Smith wrote the single from as a throwaway, "stupid" pop song to the press,^[39] it became a minor hit in the UK, reaching number 44 on the singles chart.^[23] It was followed in 1983 by two more successful songs: the synthesiser-based "The Walk" (number 12), and "The Love Cats", which became the band's first British Top 10 hit, reaching number seven.^[23] The group released these studio singles and their B-sides as the compilation album Japanese Whispers, designed by Smith for the Japanese market only, but released worldwide on the decision of the record company. The same year, Smith also recorded and toured with Siouxsie and the Banshees, contributing as guitarist on their Nocturne live video and their Hyaena studio album. Meanwhile, he recorded the Blue Sunshine album with Banshees bassist Steven Severin as The Glove, while Lol Tolhurst produced the first two singles and debut album of the English band And Also The Trees.

In 1984, The Cure released The Top, a generally psychedelic album on which Smith played all the instruments except the drums—played by Andy Anderson—and the saxophone—played by returnee Porl Thompson. The album was a Top 10 hit in the UK, and was their first studio album to break the Billboard 200 in the U.S., reaching number 180.^[23][40] Melody Maker praised the album as "psychedelia that can't be dated", while pondering, "I've yet to meet anyone who can tell me why The Cure are having hits now of all times."^[41] The Cure then embarked on their worldwide "Top Tour" with Thompson, Anderson, and producer-turned-bassist Phil Thornalley on board. Released in late 1984, The Cure's first live album, Concert consisted of performances from this tour. Near the tour's end, Anderson was fired for destroying a hotel room and was replaced by Boris Williams.^[42] Thornalley also left because of the stress of touring.^[43] However, the bassist slot was not vacant long, for a Cure roadie named Gary Biddles had brokered a reunion between Smith and former bassist Simon Gallup, who had been playing in the band Fools Dance. Soon after reconciling, Smith asked Gallup to rejoin the band.^[44] Smith was ecstatic about Gallup's return and declared to Melody Maker, "It's a group again."^[45]

In 1985, the new line-up of Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Thompson, and Williams released The Head on the Door, an album that managed to bind together the optimistic and pessimistic aspects of the band's music between which they had previously shifted.^[46] The Head on the Door reached number seven in the UK and was the band's first entry into American Top 75 at number 59,^[23][40] a success partly due to the international impact of the LP's two singles, "In Between Days" and "Close to Me". Following the album and world tour, the band released the singles compilation Standing on a Beach in three formats (each with a different track listing and a specific name) in 1986. This compilation made the US Top 50,^[40] and saw the re-issue of three previous singles: "Boys Don't Cry" (in a new form), "Let's Go To Bed" and later "Charlotte Sometimes". This release was accompanied by a VHS or LaserDisc called Staring at the Sea, which featured videos for each track on the compilation. The Cure toured to support the compilation and released a live concert VHS of the show, filmed in the south of France called The Cure in Orange. During this time, The Cure became a very popular band in Europe (particularly in France, Germany and the Benelux countries) and increasingly popular in the U.S.^[47]

[edit] Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me and worldwide success (1987–1993)

In 1987, The Cure released the double LP Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, which reached number six in the UK, the Top 10 in several countries^[48] and was the band's first entry into the U.S. Top 40 at number 35 (where it was certified platinum),^[23][40][49] due to the combination of the band's rising popularity and the success of lead single, "Why Can't I Be You?".^[50] The album's third single, "Just Like Heaven" was the band's most successful single to date in the US, being their first to enter the Billboard Top 40.^[51] After the album's release, the band embarked on the successful Kissing Tour. During the European leg of the tour, Lol Tolhurst's alcohol consumption was interfering with his ability to perform so The Psychedelic Furs keyboardist Roger O'Donnell was frequently called upon to stand in for him.^[52]

	"Lovesong" (1989) noicon Sample of "Lovesong" from Disintegration. "Lullaby" (1989) noicon Sample of "Lullaby" from Disintegration.
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

In 1989, The Cure released the album Disintegration, which saw a return to the gothic atmospheres of earlier releases like Faith and Pornography.^[53] It became their highest charting album in the UK to date, entering at number three and featuring three Top 30 singles in the UK and Germany ("Lullaby", "Lovesong" and "Pictures of You").^[23][54] Disintegration also reached number twelve on the US charts.^[40] The first single stateside, "Fascination Street", reached number one on the American Modern Rock chart, but was quickly overshadowed when its third US single, "Lovesong", reached number two on the American pop charts (the only Cure single to reach the US Top 10).^[51] By 1992, Disintegration had sold over three million copies worldwide.^[55]

During the Disintegration sessions, the band gave Smith an ultimatum that either Tolhurst would have to leave the band or they would.^[56] In February 1989, Tolhurst's exit was made official and announced to the press;^[57] this resulted in Roger O'Donnell becoming a full-fledged member of the band and left Smith as The Cure's only remaining founder member. Smith attributed Tolhurst's dismissal to an inability to exert himself and issues with alcohol, concluding, "He was out of step with everything. It had just become detrimental to everything we'd do."^[58] Because Tolhurst was still on the payroll during the recording of Disintegration, he was credited in the album's liner notes as playing "other instruments", however it has since been revealed that he contributed nothing to the album in either performance or song writing. The Cure then embarked on the Prayer Tour, which saw the band playing stadiums in the US. On 6 September 1989, The Cure performed "Just Like Heaven" at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.^[59] In February 1990, the song won the Brit Award for Best British Video.^[60]

In May 1990, Roger O'Donnell quit and was replaced with the band's guitar technician Perry Bamonte. That November, The Cure released a collection of remixes called Mixed Up. The album was not well received and quickly slid down the charts.^[61] The one new song on the collection, "Never Enough", was released as a single. In 1991 The Cure were awarded the Brit Award for Best British Group.^[62] That same year Tolhurst filed a lawsuit against Smith and Fiction Records in 1991 over royalties payments, and claimed joint ownership of the name "The Cure" with Smith; the verdict was handed out in September 1994 in favour of Smith. In respite from the lawsuit, the band returned to the studio to record their next album.^[63] Wish reached number one in the UK and number two in the US and yielded the international hits "High" and "Friday I'm in Love".^[23][40] The Cure also embarked on the "Wish Tour" with Cranes, and released the live albums Show (September 1993) and Paris (October 1993). As a promotional exercise with the Our Price music chain in the UK, a limited edition EP was released consisting of instrumental outtakes from the Wish sessions. Entitled Lost Wishes, the proceeds from the four-track cassette tape went to charity. In 1993, the band were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album for Wish.^[64]

In the years between the release of Wish and the start of sessions for The Cure's next album, the band's line-up shifted again. Thompson left the band once more during 1993 to play with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, and Bamonte took over as lead guitarist. Boris Williams also left the band, and was replaced by Jason Cooper (formerly of My Life Story).

Period of transition (1994–1998)[link]

The album sessions began in 1994 with only Smith and Bamonte present; the pair were later joined by Gallup (who was recovering from physical problems) and Roger O'Donnell, who had been asked to rejoin the band at the end of 1994.^[65] The Cure performed "Burn" in the movie The Crow and "Dredd Song", the theme song of the 1995 movie Judge Dredd starring Sylvester Stallone (The former song despite never being released as a single nor ever played live, is regarded a fan favourite of Cure fans and fans of 'The Crow'). It was not released on a Cure album until 2004 on Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities 1978–2001 (The Fiction Years).

Wild Mood Swings, finally released in 1996, was poorly received compared with previous albums and marked the end of the band's commercial peak.^[66] Early in 1996, the Cure played festivals in South America, followed by a world tour in support of the album Galore. Galore contained all of the Cure's singles released between 1987 and 1997, as well as the new single "Wrong Number", which featured longtime David Bowie guitarist Reeves Gabrels. Gabrels also accompanied The Cure on a brief American radio festival tour as an onstage guest guitarist for "Wrong Number". In 1998 The Cure contributed to the soundtrack album for The X Files feature film as well as the Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses, with their cover of "World in My Eyes".

	"Out of This World" (2000) noicon Sample of "Out of This World" from Bloodflowers.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Later years (1999–2009)[link]

With only one album left in their record contract and with commercial response to Wild Mood Swings and the Galore compilation lacklustre, Smith once again considered that the end of The Cure might be near and thus wanted to make an album that reflected the more serious side of the band.^[67] The Grammy-nominated album Bloodflowers was released in 2000 after being delayed since 1998.^[68] According to Smith, the album was the third of a trilogy along with Pornography and Disintegration.^[69] The band also embarked on the nine-month Dream Tour, attended by over one million people worldwide. In 2001, The Cure left Fiction and released their Greatest Hits album and DVD, which featured the music videos for a number of classic Cure songs. In 2002, the band headlined twelve major summer music festivals, and played three extended concerts (one in Brussels, two in Berlin) in which they performed the albums Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers in their respective entireties each night. The Berlin performances were released on DVD as The Cure: Trilogy in 2003.

In 2003, The Cure signed with Geffen Records. In 2004, they released a new four-disc boxed set on Fiction Records titled Join the Dots: B-Sides and Rarities, 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years). The compilation includes seventy Cure songs, some previously unreleased, and a 76-page full-colour book of photographs, history and quotes, packaged in a hard cover. The album peaked at number 106 on the Billboard 200 album charts.^[40] The band released their twelfth album The Cure on Geffen in 2004, which was produced by Ross Robinson. It made a top ten debut on both sides of the Atlantic in July 2004.^[23][40] To promote the album, the band headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival that May. From 24 July to 29 August, The Cure headlined the Curiosa concert tour of North America. While attendances were lower than expected, Curiosa was still one of the more successful American summer festivals of 2004.^[70] The same year the band was honoured with an MTV Icon award in a television special presented by Marilyn Manson.^[71]

The Cure in concert in 2004. From left to right: Robert Smith, Jason Cooper, and Simon Gallup

In May 2005, Roger O'Donnell and Perry Bamonte were fired from the band. O'Donnell claims Smith informed him he was reducing the band to a three-piece. Previously O'Donnell said he had only found out about the band's upcoming tour dates via a fan site and added, "It was sad to find out after nearly 20 years the way I did but then I should have expected no less or more."^[72] The remaining members of the band—Smith, Gallup and Cooper—made several appearances as a trio before it was announced in June that Porl Thompson would be returning for the band's 2005 Festival summer shows, as well as their set at Live 8 in Paris on 2 July. Later that year, the band recorded a cover of John Lennon's "Love" for Amnesty International's charity album Make Some Noise. It is available for download on the Amnesty website, while the album was released on CD in 2006. On 1 April 2006, The Cure appeared at the Royal Albert Hall on behalf of the Teenage Cancer Trust. It was their only show through to the end the year. In December a live DVD, entitled The Cure: Festival 2005 including 30 songs of their 2005 Festival tour was released.

The Cure began writing and recording material for their thirteenth album in 2006. Smith initially stated it would be a double album.^[73] The Cure announced a last-minute postponement of their autumn 2007 North American 4Tour in August in order to continue working on the album, rescheduling the dates for spring 2008.^[74] Titled 4:13 Dream, the album was released in October 2008. The group released four singles and an EP—"The Only One", "Freakshow", "Sleep When I'm Dead", "The Perfect Boy" and Hypnagogic States respectively—on or near to the 13th of each month, in the months leading up to the album's release. In February 2009, The Cure received the 2009 Shockwaves NME Award for Godlike Genius.^[75]

Reunion with former members and next album (2010–present)[link]

On January 13, 2010, Smith announced on The Cure's website that they were working on the follow-up to 4:13 Dream and an iTunes exclusive release. He explained, "There is an 'exclusive' iTunes Cure album still in the works... and part two of the Dream sessions is slowly taking shape."^[5] In August 2011, Smith told Hot Press that The Cure may not be interested in wrapping up the leftover material that was recorded during the 4:13 Dream sessions. He explained, "It's one of those things that it's been left so long now I expect it will come out as a half-finished sort of thing. I'm not sure if the band wants to complete it, which is sort of the elephant in the room. What happened to the second half of the album? No one mentions it! We're aware that it's there. Nobody really wants to talk about it. Maybe it will come up after a few post-festival beers!". Smith later added, "I think between now and this time next year, The Cure will take precedence over anything else. Until I get the second half of this album out, I won't do another collaboration."^[76]

In 2011, the band played their first three studio albums in their entirety during two shows in Sydney, Australia. These "Reflections" shows notably featured Roger O'Donnell and Laurence Tolhurst, both in a keyboard and percussion role. Porl Thompson was absent from the performances. The shows are due to be released on DVD in 2012.^[77] The band later headlined Bestival. Roger O'Donnell again joined the band on stage. On 11 September 2011, Roger O'Donnell announced on his Facebook page that he had officially rejoined the band. The band announced seven more Reflections shows, one in London, three in New York City and three in Los Angeles.^[78] On Tuesday 27 September, The Cure was announced as a nominee for 2012 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[79] The Cure have been announced as one of the three headliners of the 2012 Reading and Leeds Festivals.

Musical style[link]

The Cure are often identified with the gothic rock subgenre of alternative rock, and are viewed as one of the form's definitive bands. However, the band has routinely rejected classification, particularly as a gothic rock band. Robert Smith said in 2006, "It's so pitiful when 'goth' is still tagged onto the name The Cure", and added, "We're not categorisable. I suppose we were post-punk when we came out, but in total it's impossible [...] I just play Cure music, whatever that is."^[80] Smith has also expressed his distaste for gothic rock, describing it as "incredibly dull and monotonous. A dirge really."^[81] While typically viewed as producers of dark and gloomy music, The Cure have also yielded a number of upbeat songs. Spin has said "The Cure have always been an either/or sort of band: either [...] Robert Smith is wallowing in gothic sadness or he's licking sticky-sweet cotton-candy pop off his lipstick-stained fingers."^[82]

The Cure's primary musical traits have been listed as "dominant, melodic bass lines; whiny, strangulated vocals; and a lyric obsession with existential, almost literary despair."^[83] Most Cure songs start with Smith and Gallup writing the drum parts and bass lines. Both record demos at home and then bring them into the studio for fine-tuning.^[84] Smith said in 1992, "I think when people talk about the 'Cure sound,' they mean songs based on 6-string bass, acoustic guitar, and my voice, plus the string sound from the Solina."^[84] On top of this foundation is laid "towering layers of guitars and synthesisers".^[85] Keyboards have been a component of the band's sound since Seventeen Seconds, and their importance increased with the instrument's extensive use on Disintegration.^[86] With the Departure of Roger O'Donnell in 2005, keyboards have not been as prominent in the band's album 4:13 Dream and their live shows.

Music videos[link]

The band's early music videos have been described as "dreadful affairs" and have been maligned for their poor quality, particularly by the band itself. Lol Tolhurst said, "Those videos were unmitigated disasters; we weren't actors and our personalities weren't coming across."^[87] It was with the video for "Let's Go to Bed", their first collaboration with director Tim Pope, that The Cure would become noted for their videos. Pope added a playful element to the band's videos; the director insisted in a 1987 Spin interview, "I think that side of them was always there, but was never brought out."^[16] Pope would go on to direct the majority of The Cure's videos, and his videos, which became synonymous with the band, helped expand The Cure's audience during the 1980s.^[88] Pope explained the appeal of working with The Cure by saying, "The Cure is the ultimate band for a filmmaker to work with because Robert Smith really understands the camera. His songs are so cinematic. I mean on one level there's this stupidity and humour, right, but beneath that there are all [Smith's] psychological obsessions and claustrophobia."^[81]

Legacy[link]

The Cure were one of the first alternative bands to have chart and commercial success in an era before alternative rock had broken into the mainstream. In 1992 the NME declared The Cure had during the 1980s become "a goth hit machine (19 to date), an international phenomenon and, yep, the most successful alternative band that ever shuffled disconsolately about the earth".^[55] Smith has noted he looks at Cure-influenced bands like Interpol and My Chemical Romance with affection, adding, "I also think [Interpol bassist] Carlos D.'s obsession with Simon Gallup is sweet."^[89] Interpol lead singer, Paul Banks was quoted as saying "The Cure is the band that all of us in Interpol can say influenced us. When I was younger I listened to them a lot. Carlos as well. Actually, he took a straight influence from this band on the way he played the bass and the keys. To me, Robert Smith is also one of these examples: you can't be Robert Smith if you're not Robert Smith. It's one of the bands with the deepest influence on Interpol, because we all like them. They're legendary."^[90]

Several references to The Cure and their music have been made in popular culture. A number of films have used the title of a Cure song as the film's title, including Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Just Like Heaven (2005). The Cure's gloomy image has been the subject of parody at times. In series two of The Mighty Boosh, The Moon sings 'The Love Cats' over the credits. In the same episode, a powerful gothic hairspray, Goth Juice, is said to be "The most powerful hairspray known to man. Made from the tears of Robert Smith." The Mary Whitehouse Experience often featured brief clips of the stars of the show performing comical songs and nursery rhymes as The Cure in a morose style. Robert Smith appeared in the final episode of the first series of The Mary Whitehouse Experience singing "The sun has got his hat on" before punching the character Ray (played by Robert Newman) whilst uttering Ray's catchphrase "Oh no what a personal disaster". Robert Smith was also portrayed on an episode of South Park (Season 1, Episode 12) where he transforms into the form of Mothra and battles Mecha-Streisand to save the day and Kyle shouts "Disintegration is the best album ever!" In Craig Thompson's graphic novel Blankets the chapter seven is called "Just Like Heaven". The same chapter shows Raina singing some lyrics from this song to Craig.

Discography[link]

• Three Imaginary Boys (1979)
• Boys Don't Cry (1980)
• Seventeen Seconds (1980)
• Faith (1981)
• Pornography (1982)
• Japanese Whispers (1983)
• The Top (1984)
• The Head on the Door (1985)
• Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
• Disintegration (1989)
• Wish (1992)
• Wild Mood Swings (1996)
• Bloodflowers (2000)
• The Cure (2004)
• 4:13 Dream (2008)

Members[link]

Current line-up

• Robert Smith – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards (1976–present)
• Simon Gallup – bass guitar, keyboards (1979–1982, 1985–present)
• Roger O'Donnell – keyboards (1987–1990, 1995–2005, 2011–present)
• Jason Cooper – drums, percussion (1995–present)
• Reeves Gabrels – guitars (2012–present)

See also[link]

• Wikipedia books: The Cure

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Apter, Jeff. (2006). Never Enough: The Story of the Cure. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-827-1

Further reading[link]

• Ten Imaginary Years, by L. Barbarian, Steve Sutherland and Robert Smith (1988) Zomba Books ISBN 0-946391-87-4
• The Cure: A Visual Documentary, by Dave Thompson and Jo-Ann Greene(1988) Omnibus Press ISBN 0-7119-1387-0
• The Cure: Songwords 1978–1989 S. Hopkins, Robert Smith and T. Foo (1989) Omnibus Press ISBN 0-7119-1951-8
• In Between Days: An Armchair Guide To The Cure by Dave Thompson, Helter Skelter Publishing (October 2005) ISBN 1-905139-00-4
• The Cure – Greatest Hits (songbook containing 20 of their best, transcribed note-for-note with tab, chord symbols and complete lyrics), Hal Leonard Corporation (May 2002) ISBN 0-634-04667-5
• Robert Smith: "The Cure" and Wishful Thinking by Richard Carman (2005) Independent Music Press (UK) ISBN 978-0-9549704-1-3
• Jeremy Wulc : My dream comes true : Carnet de route avec The Cure. (2009) Editions : Camion Blanc

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Cure

• Official website
• The Cure Records – the most complete discography on the Internet
• The Cure discography at Discogs

Stan Walker
Background information
Born	(1990-10-23) 23 October 1990 (age 21) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Origin	Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, New Zealand
Genres	Pop, R&B
Occupations	Singer, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Sony Music Australia
Associated acts	Jessica Mauboy
Website	stanwalker.com.au

Stan Walker (born 23 October 1990 in Melbourne, Victoria), is a Māori Australian recording artist and actor. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh and last season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia.

In December 2009, Walker released his debut studio album, Introducing Stan Walker, which included the hit single, "Black Box". The album debuted at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It also appeared on the New Zealand Albums Chart at number two and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). In 2010, Walker released his second studio album, From the Inside Out, which spawned the hit singles, "Unbroken" and "Choose You". The album debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart and number two on the ARIA Albums Chart. In November 2011, Walker released his third studio album, Let the Music Play, which debuted at number 18 on the ARIA Albums Chart and number 12 in New Zealand, and spawned the hit single "Loud".

During his career, Walker has won five New Zealand Music Awards and has received four ARIA Music Award nominations. He will make his acting debut in the upcoming New Zealand film, Mt Zion, due to be screened in 2012.

Life and career[link]

1990–2009: Early life[link]

Stan Walker was born on 23 October 1990 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia^[1] to parents Ross and April Walker.^[2] He is of Māori descent and is from the Tuhoe and Ngati Ranginui tribes in New Zealand.^[3] Walker grew up on a marae in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.^[4] In New Zealand, he attended Fairfield Intermediate and Hamilton Boys' High School.^[5] Walker has compared his early life to that portrayed in the 1994 New Zealand film, Once Were Warriors, which tells the story of an urban Māori family and their problems with poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence.^[6] His father was repeatedly jailed for beating his wife, April, and five children, including Walker.^[2] This led to Walker smoking marijuana and thieving.^[4] Walker was also sexually abused by a relative over a nine-month period.^[2] His parents were drug dealers and both have spent time in jail for drug offences.^[2]

At the age of 15, Walker started going to church, after hearing a testimony of a girl who had a similar family background to his.^[6] Walker says his passion for music and church made him a "good boy" again.^[4] After several violent episodes, Walker and his family moved back to Australia in Coolangatta, Queensland.^[2][6] In 2009, Walker lost a daughter when his then-girlfriend suffered a miscarriage.^[3] He had planned to call his baby, Ataahua, which is Māori for "beautiful", and wears her name as a tattoo on his neck.^[3] Before Walker had entered Australian Idol, he was a shop assistant at a menswear shop in Coolangatta.^[7]

[edit] 2009: Australian Idol and Introducing... Stan Walker

In 2009, Walker auditioned for the seventh season of Australian Idol, singing John Legend's "Ordinary People" at his Brisbane audition.^[1] He received praise from the judges and progressed through to the theatre rounds receiving more recognition from the judges, with Kyle Sandilands saying, "You're the only person after the auditions that I ever told anyone about; family, friends other people that I run into. I only told them about you."^[8] After all three theatre rounds were over, it was announced that Walker had made it into the top twenty four semi-finals. Walker was a part of the first group to perform in the semi-finals. The following evening, it was announced that the first two contestants to be put through to the final top twelve according to viewer votes, were Walker and fellow contestant Kate Cook.^[9]

Throughout the season, Walker was praised continually for his voice and for the daring choices he took with his song choices.^[10] One of his most highly praised performances on the show was of the Prince song, "Purple Rain", which received a standing ovation from the judging panel and the audience.^{[citation needed]} The grand final was held on 22 November 2009 at the Sydney Opera House. After the viewer votes had been tallied, it was announced that the winner was Walker.^[11] He is the first person of New Zealand descent to win Australian Idol.^[6] After coming out of Australian Idol as the winner, Walker signed to Sony Music Australia and received an artist's development fund worth $200,000.^[12] During this time, he established his own company called, Stan Walker Music Pty Ltd, which is run by his mother, April.^[13] The company was set up in order to negotiate his contract with Sony Music and not end up like past Australian Idol contestant Damien Leith, who claimed he did not make any money from his Winners Journey release.^[13]

Walker's debut single, "Black Box", was released digitally following his win on Australian Idol on 22 November.^[14] The song peaked at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling 140,000 copies.^[15][16] It also peaked at number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), for selling 30,000 copies.^[17][18] Walker's debut studio album, Introducing... Stan Walker, was released on 8 December 2009, three days ahead of its original release date.^[19] The album featured the selected songs Walker had performed as part of the top twelve on Australian Idol, as well the two original songs, "Black Box" and "Think of Me", which was produced by the first Australian Idol winner, Guy Sebastian.^[20] Introducing... Stan Walker debuted at number three on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the ARIA.^[15][21] It also made its debut on the New Zealand Albums Chart at number two and was certified triple platinum by the RIANZ, for selling 45,000 copies.^[17][22]

[edit] 2010–present: From the Inside Out, Let the Music Play and acting debut

In April 2010, Walker flew to Haiti to help Compassion Australia's relief effort of the 2010 Haiti earthquake as an ambassador.^[23] Walker's second studio album, From the Inside Out, was released on 20 August 2010.^[24] The album debuted at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart.^[15] In New Zealand, it debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart, and became Walker's first number-one album in the country.^[17] Eventually, From the Inside Out was certified platinum by the RIANZ.^[22] "Unbroken" was released as the album's lead single on 12 April 2010.^[25] On the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song peaked at number nine and was certified gold.^[17][18] In Australia, "Unbroken" peaked at number 23 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold.^[15][16] In June 2010, Walker featured on New Zealand rapper Young Sid's single, "Stuck in a Box". The album's second single, "Choose You", was released on 20 July 2010.^[26] The song peaked at number three on the New Zealand Singles Chart and was certified platinum.^[17][18] It also appeared on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 16 and was certified platinum.^[15][27] "Homesick", featuring rapper Kayo, was released as the album's third and final single on 29 October.^[28] It peaked at number 21 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and was certified gold.^[17][18] This single did not chart in Australia.^[15]

Walker and Jessica Mauboy performing together during the Galaxy Tour in January 2012.

In November 2010, Walker served as a support act for the Summerbeatz tour in Australia, touring alongside Flo Rida, Jay Sean, Akon and Ciara, among other artists.^[29] He performed at the Parachute music festival in January 2011.^[30] In February 2011, Walker held his first headlining tour in New Zealand.^[31]

Walker's third studio album, Let the Music Play, was released on 18 November 2011.^[32] It debuted at number 18 on the ARIA Album Chart and number 12 on the New Zealand Albums Chart.^[15][17] Its lead single, "Loud", was released on 2 May 2011.^[33] The song peaked at number nine on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum.^[15][27] On the New Zealand Singles Chart, "Loud" peaked at number eight and was certified gold.^[17][18] The album's second single, "Light It Up", featuring Static Revenger, was released on 16 September 2011.^[34] The song peaked at number 23 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and has reached number 45 on the ARIA Singles Chart.^[15][17] In October 2011, Walker was featured on Jessica Mauboy's single, "Galaxy", which peaked at number 13 on the ARIA Singles Chart.^[15][35] Walker and Mauboy embarked on their Galaxy Tour across Australia in January 2012, to celebrate the release of the song.^[36] The tour ended in February 2012.^[36]

Walker will play the lead role of Turei in the upcoming New Zealand film, Mt Zion, about a young Māori musician who seeks to "win the support slot for Bob Marley's 1979 concert in Auckland, but comes into conflict when his ambitions clash with the traditional values of his whānau".^[37] When speaking of his role in the film, Walker told Herald Sun, "They approached me ... the script is so good, it's basically who I was six years ago ... It's definitely the main reason I wanted to get involved."^[38] "Music Won't Break Your Heart" was released as the third single from Let the Music Play.^[39] In May 2012, Walker became a supporting act for Nicki Minaj on the Australian leg of her Pink Friday Tour.^[40]

Musical style and inspiration[link]

Walker cites Beyoncé Knowles as a main inspiration; "She's musically why I do what I do."^[41] According to Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic, Walker sings predominantly pop music "with an R&B style".^[42] Walker's second album, From the Inside Out, drew from pop, R&B and hip hop,^[43] with elements of electro, glam metal, hip pop and funk also present.^[44] He describes his third album, the more pop and dance-orientated Let the Music Play,^[45] as thematically his most personal. "These are my songs, my stories, my tunes, my melodies, my words, me."^[46]

Discography[link]

• Introducing... Stan Walker (2009)
• From the Inside Out (2010)
• Let the Music Play (2011)

Tours[link]

• 2010: Summerbeatz (Supporting Act)
• 2011: New Zealand Summer Tour (Headlining)
• 2012: Galaxy Tour (Supporting Act) (with Jessica Mauboy)
• 2012: Pink Friday Tour (Supporting Act)

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]