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Cover of Disintegration by The Cure
Cover: Disintegration

Song · The Cure

“Love Song” by The Cure

From the album Disintegration (1989)

“Love Song” by The Cure appears on 80 radio countdowns from 29 stations between 1989 and 2026. It was first released in 1989 on the album Disintegration. Its best result is #1 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1989. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #1 alternative song of 1989, #122 alternative song of all time and #12 of the '80s.

80countdowns
29stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
6top 10 finishes
1989–2026years charted

The Cure's "Love Song", also written as "Lovesong", came off Disintegration, the band's eighth studio album, and went out as its third single in August 1989. On a record that mostly drifts through fog and drizzle, this is the one that steps out into daylight: a swaying, heart-on-sleeve piece of gloom-pop that doesn't bother hiding behind anything.

Robert Smith sings it and plays guitar and keyboards, weaving around Porl Thompson's guitar and Roger O'Donnell's keyboards, while Simon Gallup's bass does the heavy lifting and Boris Williams keeps the drums steady and unhurried. Smith wrote the words alone and produced the track with David M. Allen, but the music is credited to all six members, Lol Tolhurst included, and Smith had a hand in the mix as well, alongside Chris Parry and Mark Saunders.

It did its biggest business in America. It rose to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1989, the only time the Cure ever made the top 10 there, while at home it stopped at number 18, and it also cracked the top 20 in Canada and Ireland.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1989 1 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1989 107
1989 2 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1989 90
1989 2 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1989 105
1989 3 Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1989 30

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 68 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1989 39 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 86 WFNX WFNX Top 101 Songs of the Decade (December 1989) 101
1989 128 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1990 40 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 58 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 57 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 227 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 67 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 16 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 363 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1995 27 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 215 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 57 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 22 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1998 46 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 64 Channel 104.9 Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) 104
1999 352 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 415 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 59 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 108 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 253 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 399 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 235 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 391 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 393 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 147 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 145 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 393 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 118 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 15 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 135 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 393 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 143 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 40 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 393 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 240 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 95 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 388 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 484 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 73 The Edge KEDJ Top 103 on Independent Radio 103
2005 2 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 70s & 80s 96
2006 71 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 88 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 99 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 7 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Resurrection Songs (December 2006) 107
2007 1876 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 876 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 185 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 1789 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 175 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 1773 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 402 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 407 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 1779 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1814 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1852 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1906 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 461 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2018 174 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 943 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 943 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 500 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 252 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 181 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 319 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 326 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2022 11 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 69 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 18 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of The Last 40 Years 91
2023 976 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 484 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 804 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2026 385 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 249 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500
2026 125 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Lovesong.

Charting alongside it in 1989

Best songs of 1989 →
  1. 2StandR.E.M.
  2. 3Here Comes Your ManThe Pixies
  3. 4She Drives Me CrazyFine Young Cannibals
  4. 5Love ShackThe B-52's
  5. 6Personal JesusDepeche Mode
  6. 7So AliveLove and Rockets

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