Boys Don't Cry (The Cure song)

"Boys Don't Cry"
Single by the Cure
from the album Boys Don't Cry
B-side"Plastic Passion"
Released12 June 1979 (1979-06-12)[1]
Recorded1979
Genre
Length2:35
LabelFiction
Songwriters
ProducerChris Parry
The Cure singles chronology
"Killing an Arab"
(1978) 		"Boys Don't Cry"
(1979) 		"Jumping Someone Else's Train"
(1979)
Official audio
"Boys Don't Cry" on YouTube
"Boys Don't Cry (New Voice - New Mix)"
1986 UK re-release
Single by The Cure
B-side
  • "Pillbox Tales"
  • "Do the Hansa"
Released21 April 1986 (1986-04-21)
Length2:38
LabelFiction
Songwriters
  • Robert Smith
  • Lol Tolhurst
  • Michael Dempsey
Producers
The Cure singles chronology
"Close to Me"
(1985) 		"Boys Don't Cry (New Voice - New Mix)"
(1986) 		"Why Can't I Be You?"
(1987)
Official video
"Boys Don't Cry" (1986) on YouTube

"Boys Don't Cry" is a song by English rock band the Cure. It was released in the UK as a stand-alone single on 12 June 1979, and was included as the title track on Boys Don't Cry, the American equivalent to Three Imaginary Boys. The song reached No. 22 on the UK singles chart on two occasions, in 1986 and 2026.

History

Written by band members Michael Dempsey, Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst, the lyrics tell the story of a man who has given up trying to regain the love that he has lost, and tries to disguise his true emotional state. In an interview with the NME, Smith stated:

And as an English boy at the time, you're encouraged not to show your emotion to any degree. And I couldn't help but show my emotions when I was younger. I never found it awkward showing my emotions. I couldn't really continue without showing my emotions; you’d have to be a pretty boring singer to do that. So I kind of made a big thing about it. I thought, 'Well, it’s part of my nature to rail against being told not to do something'.[5]

In April 1986, it was re-released on under the title "New Voice · New Mix", in which the original track was remixed and the vocals re-recorded.[6] It was released to promote Standing on a Beach; however, the original version of the song appears on the album. The 12" version "New Voice · Club Mix" was included on the 2018 remastered Deluxe Edition of Mixed Up. The 7" mix of the new version went out-of-print until 2026 when it, alongside the 12" mix and B-sides, were released to streaming sites on 30 January 2026, with a physical release forthcoming on 21 April 2026.[7]

Music video

The video, released in 1986 to promote the "New Voice New Mix" re-recording, features three children, actors Mark Heatley, Christian Andrews and Russell Ormes miming the song. Behind a curtain, Smith, Tolhurst and Dempsey (in his only appearance with the band since his 1979 departure), appear as the children's shadows, with red eyes, an effect that was attained by painting their eyelids with fluorescent paint.[8]

Reception

"Boys Don't Cry" is widely regarded as one of the Cure's best songs. In 2019, Billboard ranked the song number four on their list of the 40 greatest Cure songs,[9] and in 2023, Mojo ranked the song number three on their list of the 30 greatest Cure songs.[10]

Legacy

The 1999 film Boys Don't Cry took its title from the song; a cover version, performed by Nathan Larson, was used as the title song for the film. The song has appeared in numerous other films, including The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates, Starter for Ten, I Do, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Friends with Benefits (a cover version, performed by Grant-Lee Phillips, is used in the soundtrack of the film) and Me and You. The song also featured in the second season of the TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother.[11] The post-grunge band Oleander covered the song on their 1999 album February Son.

In 2018, the song was the subject of an episode of the BBC Radio 4 series Soul Music. The programme featured an interview with Tolhurst about the history of the song.[12]

In 2020, the song appeared during the episode "Fagan" of the Netflix show The Crown.[13]

American band I Dont Know How but They Found Me released a cover of the song in November 2021 as part of the deluxe version of their album Razzmatazz.

The song was performed live for the 1000th time on December 13, 2022 at the OVO Arena in Wembley, London, England. [14]

Despite it not being much of a hit during its original run, it has since become one of The Cure's best known tracks, and it is currently their most streamed track on Spotify with over one billion streams as of January 2026.

Track listings

7" vinyl

  1. "Boys Don't Cry" – 2:34
  2. "Plastic Passion" – 2:15

1986

7" vinyl
  1. "Boys Don't Cry" (New Voice · New Mix) – 2:38
  2. "Pill Box Tales" – 2:54
12" vinyl
  1. "Boys Don't Cry" (New Voice · Club Mix) – 5:31
  2. "Pill Box Tales" – 2:56
  3. "Do the Hansa" – 2:40

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1979–80) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[15] 99

"Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · New Mix)"

Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[15] 26
French Singles Chart 28
Dutch Top 40 37
German Singles Chart 19
Spain (AFYVE)[16] 31
UK Singles Chart[17] 22
Chart (2026) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[18] 199
Global Excl. US (Billboard)[19] 187
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 48
Lithuania (AGATA)[21] 100
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 22

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[24] Gold 30,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[25] Gold 45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[26] Gold 300,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[27] Platinum 100,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] 2× Platinum 60,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[29] Gold 20,000‡
Spain (Promusicae)[30] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[32] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "The Cure Official Site".
  2. ^ Anthony DeCurtis; James Henke; Holly George-Warren (1992). The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely New Reviews : Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist. Random House. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-679-73729-2.
  3. ^ Dominic Pedler (25 May 2010). The Songwriting Secrets Of The Beatles. Omnibus Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-85712-346-6.
  4. ^ SPIN Media LLC (June 1992). SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. p. 32. ISSN 0886-3032.
  5. ^ Andrew Trendell (21 October 2019). "Robert Smith on the power of The Cure's 'Boys Don't Cry' on gender norms – and never being "goth"". NME. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  6. ^ "The Cure - Boys Don't Cry (New Voice • Club Mix)". Discogs.
  7. ^ "The Cure to reissue "Boys Don't Cry" (86 mix)". Uncut.
  8. ^ "Cure video - Boys Don't Cry". April 2, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-04-02.
  9. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (March 29, 2019). "The Cure's 40 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "The Cure's 30 Greatest Songs Ranked". Mojo. November 14, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Soundtracks". IMDb. 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Boys Don't Cry". BBC Radio 4 - Soul Music. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Soundtracks". IMDb. 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  14. ^ "The Cure Concert Setlist at OVO Arena Wembley, London, England on December 13, 2022". setlist.fm. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  15. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  16. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  17. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 130. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  18. ^ "Top Singles (Semaine du 23 janvier 2026)" (in French). Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  19. ^ "The Cure Chart History (Global Excl. US)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  20. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart on 6/2/2026 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  21. ^ "2026 6-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 6 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  22. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 6, 2026". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  23. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 6/2/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  24. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – The Cure – Boys Don't Cry" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Danish single certifications – The Cure – Boys Don't Cry". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  26. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (The Cure; 'Boys Don't Cry')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  27. ^ "Italian single certifications – The Cure – Boys Don't Cry" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  28. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – The Cure – Boys Don't Cry". Radioscope. Retrieved 11 February 2026. Type Boys Don't Cry in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  29. ^ "Portuguese single certifications – The Cure – Boys Don't Cry" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Spanish single certifications – The Cure – Boys Don't Cry". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  31. ^ "British single certifications – Cure – Boys Don't Cry". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 February 2026. Select singles in the Formats field. Type Boys Don't Cry Cure in the "Search:" field.
  32. ^ "American single certifications – The Cure – Boys Don_t Cry". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.