The Cure announce Wish 30th anniversary reissue

28 July 2022, 14:58 | Updated: 28 July 2022, 15:25

The Cure in 1992 at the time of the release of Wish
The Cure in 1992 at the time of the release of Wish. Picture: Paul Cox/Press

By Martin O'Gorman

The band's seminal 1992 album is to receive the deluxe treatment - with a vinyl remaster, a set of rarities, plus a replica of the much sought-after "Lost Wishes" cassette of outtakes.

The Cure are set to release a 30th anniversary edition of their album Wish later this year.

The band's ninth studio album was originally issued on 21st April 1992 and featured the hits Friday I'm In Love, High and A Letter To Elise. It was the group's first - and to date, only - Number 1 album in the UK.

The new edition, which is released on 7th October 2022, will see the album officially pressed on vinyl for the first time in 30 years, plus a 3-CD collection which includes 24 previously-unreleased tracks of demos, outtakes and live recordings. The double vinyl set will follow on 25th November.

Read more: Friday I'm In Love: how The Cure created the perfect pop song

The Cure - Friday I'm In Love (Official Video)

As an extra bonus, the tracks from the rare Lost Wishes cassette will be included - these four instrumental outtakes from the album sessions were originally released on a mail-order only cassette in 1993. Fans will be able to buy a replica of the tape as part of the new 30th anniversary package and the opening track, Uyea Sound, has been remixed and released as a trailer for the new collection. Listen here:

Uyea Sound (Dim-D mix) - Official Visualiser

Wish has been remastered at Abbey Road Studios by frontman Robert Smith and Miles Showell. Smith says of the album: "There’s a side to the album which I had kind of forgotten, a very gentle, yearning thing which is quite beautiful. Trust is one of the best things we’ve ever done I think, it’s played with great feeling, and To Wish Impossible Things is another gorgeous, melancholic piece… in fact it could well be my favourite song on the record.”

The Cure's Wish album will be back on vinyl for the first time in 30 years
The Cure's Wish album will be back on vinyl for the first time in 30 years. Picture: UMC/Fiction

The Cure - Wish 30th anniversary deluxe edition tracklisting:

CD1 Original Album Remastered by Robert Smith and Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios

  1. Open
  2. High
  3. Apart
  4. From The Edge of The Green Sea
  5. Wendy Time
  6. Doing The Unstuck
  7. Friday I’m In Love
  8. Trust
  9. A Letter To Elise
  10. Cut
  11. To Wish Impossible Things
  12. End

CD2 Demos – All previously unreleased versions

  1. The Big Hand [1990 Demo]
  2. Cut [1990 Demo] aka “Away"
  3. A Letter To Elise [1990 Demo] aka “Cut”
  4. Wendy Time [1990 Demo]
  5. This Twilight Garden [Instrumental Demo]
  6. Scared As You [Instrumental Demo]
  7. To Wish Impossible Things [Instrumental Demo]
  8. Apart [Instrumental Demo]
  9. T7 [Instrumental Demo]
  10. Now Is The Time [Instrumental demo]
  11. Miss van Gogh [Instrumental demo]
  12. T6 [Instrumental Demo]
  13. Play [Instrumental Demo]
  14. A Foolish Arrangement [Instrumental Demo]
  15. Halo [Instrumental Demo]
  16. Trust [Instrumental Demo]
  17. Abetabw [Instrumental Demo]
  18. T8 [Instrumental Demo]
  19. Heart Attack [Instrumental Demo]
  20. Swing Change [Instrumental Demo]
  21. Frogfish [Instrumental Demo]


CD3: Lost Wishes / Studio Out-Takes / 12” Remixes / Live / Rare / Previously Unreleased.

  1. Uyea Sound [Dim-D Mix]
  2. Cloudberry [Dim-D Mix]
  3. Off To Sleep… [Dim-D Mix]
  4. The Three Sisters [Dim-D Mix]
  5. A Wendy Band [Instrumental]
  6. From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea [Partscheckruf Mix]
  7. Open [Fix Mix]
  8. High [Higher Mix]
  9. Doing The Unstuck [Extended 12” Mix]
  10. Friday I’m In Love [Strangelove Mix]
  11. A Letter To Elise [Blue Mix]
  12. End [Paris Live 92]

Smith says that he had a plan for the making of Wish, which was the follow-up to the hugely successful Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (1987) and Disintegration (1989): "The overall sound was in my head from the start. We used a pretty small palette of sounds, as we did with Disintegration, but managed to create a lot of different kinds of song with it. I think Kiss Me was more of a reference than Disintegration.”

The remastering process has allowed Robert to fix some of the issues with the original mix. "In the studio control room it all sounded excellent, but I got too busy sorting out our upcoming concerts to properly oversee the mastering. It was too late to do anything about it; the album was out, and we were off around the world again. It has really bugged for me for a very long time.

“It has taken 30 years, but finally, finally my Wish has come true.”

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