“Primary” by The Cure

"Primary" was the only single the Cure pulled from Faith, their third album, in 1981, and it's the sound of a post-punk band stripping itself to the bone. There's no guitar on it and no keyboards either: Simon Gallup and Robert Smith both play bass, Smith running his through effects pedals so his lines ring out like a lead instrument while Gallup's churn underneath. Lol Tolhurst drives the whole thing at a nervous clip, and Smith sings it with real urgency.

Smith co-produced with Mike Hedges. It was also the first Cure track to get its own extended mix for the 12-inch, one that stretches out the instrumental passages ahead of each verse. That version has never turned up anywhere but the original single, which makes it a collector's prize.

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