Straight outta Crawley: White Rabbit signs The Cure biography

White Rabbit publisher Lee Brackstone has bought an encyclopaedic literary biography of goth rock giants The Cure by music journalist Simon Price (pictured).  

Curepedia: An A-Z of The Cure will examine and riff on "miscellaneous trivia, biographies of the band members past and present, summaries of each album and selected songs, details of the band’s various tours and films, and essays on broader topics such as their image, their politics and their influences". It will be publsihed in August 2021.  

Brackstone acquired world rights from Matthew Hamilton at The Hamilton Agency. Foreign rights have gone to Dey Street Books in the US, Spain's Sexto Piso and Heyne Hardcore in Germany.

Formed in the late 1970s in Crawley, West Sussex by frontman and songwriter Robert Smith—who is the only constant member in the band's four decades—the group became global superstars in the late 1980s and 1990s with hits such as "Friday, I'm in Love", "Just Like Heaven" and "Boys Don't Cry".     

Price's music journalism career included nine years at Melody Maker and 12 years as the rock and pop critic for the Independent on Sunday. Brackstone said: "‘I have wanted to work with Simon Price for many years. He is one of the great British music writers of his generation and I know many people who value great pop culture writing will celebrate, finally, the arrival of a big project from such an influential writer. The mythology, mystique and music of The Cure has never been covered in a satisfying biographical way; Simon’s approach will fill the vacuum and please the legions of fans around the world."

Price said that he became "a fan of The Cure as a 16-year-old in the 1980s, and I've written about them numerous times though my journalistic career. I've always admired the defiantly individual path that Robert Smith and his bandmates have followed, as well as their unfailingly high standards. Writing a book about them is an honour".