THE CURE "BOYS DON'T CRY" US FIRST PRESSING 1980 RARE PVC/FICTION BLUE LABELS

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THE CURE "BOYS DON'T CRY" RARE US FIRST PRESSING 1980 PVC/FICTION BLUE LABELS
THE CURE "BOYS DON'T CRY" LABEL: PVC/FICTION RECORDS PVC 7916 (RARE BLUE LABELS) RELEASED: FEBRUARY 5, 1980 PRODUCER: CHRIS PARRY (OWNER OF FICTION RECORDS) ENGINEER: MIKE HEDGES RECORDED: MORGAN STUDIOS LONDON ~ FALL 1978 MASTERED: STERLING SOUND PRESSING: HUB-SERVALL RECORDS MATRIX (SIDE A): PVC 7916-A HUB 'STERLING'
CONDITION:  VINYL EX-   JACKET:  EX-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection recently and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 40 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this fantastic, clean copy of the US First Pressing of The Cure's great American debut album "Boys Don't Cry" on the Fiction/PVC label.
A very nice, clean copy I've had in my collection for nearly 40 years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a rare original US First Pressing of "Boys Don't Cry" on the PVC/Fiction label, with the blue labels, the very first Cure record released in America.
This was released in the States in February, 1980 and was basically a reformulated version of the Cure's UK debut LP, "Three Imaginary Boys" which was released 9 months earlier in England, but never issued in America.
This was released here in the US by their record label Fiction in order to to increase the band's exposure to both the media and new fans.
Few people knew of the Cure here in the States back then, and even fewer purchased their first LP. Original copies on Fiction, with the blue label, are quite rare. This one is a nice condition rare survivor.
~~~~~~~~~~~ When the original "Three Imaginary Boys" album was released in the UK by the band's record label, Fiction, the artwork, song selection and song sequence were not under the band's control. It was all controlled, produced, and chosen by Fiction's boss Chris Parry.
For the US release, "Boys Don't Cry", Robert Smith and the Band had much more control and were able to choose the songs, artwork and the sequencing for the album. 
The US version, now called "Boys Don't Cry," released in February 1980, was essentially a compilation of select tracks from the band's May 1979 UK debut album with some other early material added.
There are 8 tracks taken from the original UK 'Imaginary Boys' album, but the American debut adds the band's first 3 UK singles, plus some other early material from 1978-1979 period.
There were 5 tracks from the UK debut that were left off of the American "Boys Don't Cry" release. "Foxy Lady", "Meathook", "So What?" and "It's Not You", plus the 'hidden' track "The Weedy Burton." These songs were considered by the band to be the weaker material. Most fans agree.
The songs taken off the UK debut were replaced with the Band's first three singles: "Killing An Arab," "Jumping Someone Else's Train," "Boys Don't Cry" and it's B-Side "Plastic Passion." Instead of including the B-side to "Jumping Someone Else's Train," the lame song "I'm Cold," they chose to include an outtake, "World War" instead.
With the early singles added and much stronger material, the American debut album is a much better record than the UK debut.
"Three Imaginary Boys" opened with the somber “10:15 Saturday Night”, but "Boys Don't Cry" opens with with the upbeat “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” and buries "10:15" deep in the mix. The title track, “Three Imaginary Boys” gets moved to the closing position where it fits and belongs. The song sequence was switched around.
The final flow of the album is much better and it more accurately captures the early first phase of the band.
With the inclusion of the early singles, "Boys Don't Cry" showcases their upbeat, angular, raw, post-punk sound that made them such a popular act in the UK. It reveals a young band at their most raw, driven and punky. 
"Three Imaginary Boys" is now considered a dud of an album, but "Boys Don’t Cry" has held up well over the years. It has better songs and a greater sense of presence and immediacy.
The remarkable thing about The Cure is how excellent they were right from the start. From Robert Smith's young, energetic voice, to the small band's energy, verve and vitality. Their early songs were like nothing else at the time. 
The Cure could be catchy & edgy, tense & nervy, intellectual, moody and romantic; all on the same same album, sometimes all in a single song.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It wasn't just the song selection that changed when the album crossed the Atlantic. The cover design was also completely changed for the US release. The original album cover artwork on "Three Imaginary Boys" was chosen by Fiction's boss Chris Parry and was hated by the band.
It's a strange Polaroid photo featuring a lamp, a fridge, and a vacuum cleaner, where each household appliance was supposed to represent a member of the band and their characteristics during interviews with the media and journalists in the UK. Parry understood what it represented, but no-one else did.
The American cover for "Boys Don't Cry" with 3 palm trees, was taken from the back cover of the UK debut and was supposed to depict the stunning, catchy song, "Fire In Cairo", which the band thought was one of their stronger tracks. Today, 40+ years later, everybody knows and recognizes the Cure's classic "Boys Don't Cry," but few, even hardcore Cure fans, remember "Fire In Cairo."
‘Boys Don’t Cry,’ the band's second UK single, released in June 1979, was unknown in the US when this album was released here. Over time that would change. There’s no denying the impact that the song has had on generations of fans, but it wasn't a hit back in 1980 and barely got any radio exposure.
“Killing An Arab” was the Cure’s debut UK single, released on December 21st, 1978, but oddly left off the debut album by Chris Parry. It was included on the US version. Then, as now, it's a poitically charged song. 
The poorly understood and misinterpreted, Albert Camus inspired, 'Killing an Arab' was a political hot-potato in the early days. It was purposely left off the UK debut, but was rightfully included on this American version.
The result of pulling the duds and replacing them with the singles made "Boys Don't Cry" a much better and much improved version of the UK debut "Three Imaginary Boys." 
"Boys Don't Cry" is a solid Post-Punk album. Although technically a compilation, it has the feel of a well-structured and carefully crafted album. A stunning punk pop masterpiece. It's the best representation of The Cure's early Post-Punk period and the album helped popularize new wave, post-punk, and alternative rock here in the States.
"Boys Don't Cry" is a must have for any Cure fan. The music is awesome. 
When this album was released on CD, it was changed and altered once again. "Object” was replaced by “So What.” The song “World War” was dropped and the scream at the end of "Subway Song" was heavily edited.
~~~ This album is the rare original First Pressing of "Boys Don't Cry" on PVC/Fiction, with the even rarer Blue & White target labels. Most PVC/Fiction copies are found with the later Red & Yellow label. Only the very first American pressings had the Blue label.
This rare original 1980 vinyl version of the album is the proper way to hear it, in the form the band originally intended.
~~~~ The band at this point in their career were a trio and included the lineup of Robert Smith on vocals and guitar, with Michael Dempsey on bass, and Lol Tolhurst on drums. This is the only Cure album to include Dempsey on Bass. He left soon after this album and was replaced by the great Simon Gallup by the time 'Seventeen Seconds' was released.
Back then, they were just a trio of disaffected kids who didn't like what was on the radio, so they decided to do something new and different. Never again would they sound so loose and raw as with this American debut. Most of their early singles were upbeat, punchy, post-punk tunes. The Cure would rarely ever sound like that again, which is a shame, because it was a great sound, style and attitude.
Robert Smith also started to show his dark, clever, sarcastic edge on this album with songs like 'Fire in Cairo' and their first single 'Killing an Arab'. He would develop that style over the next few albums and help create the 'Goth' genre, although he still denies that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 'corrected,' re-assembled and re-ordered songs on this original American First Pressing of "Boys Don't Cry" include: 
Jumping Someone Else's Train Boys Don't Cry Plastic Passion 10:15 Saturday Night Accuracy Object Subway Song Killing An Arab Fire In Cairo Another Day Grinding Halt World War Three Imaginary Boys
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Cure was one of the best bands of the late 1970s and early 80s. It's surprising just how many great, brilliant songs they had. The music really grips you. There really isn't a weak track on this album. Absolutely essential.
~~~~~~~~~~ If you're still with me, here's
THE EARLY HISTORY OF 'THE CURE'
The Cure was formed in 1976, a time when Punk Rock was trying to find it's footing, New Wave was still waiting for Punk to burn out, and Glam Rock was coming to an end, but somehow Robert Smith and the Cure took elements from all of these genres and blended it into a unique individual style and, many claim, created the 'Goth' sound.
~~~~ The Cure started out way back in 1976, during the roots of Punk in Southern England. They called themselves 'The Easy Cure' and the early line-up included Robert Smith (guitar & vocals), schoolmates Michael Dempsey (bass), and Lol Tolhurst (drums), plus a locally well known guitarist/artist Porl Thompson. 
Unlike many local bands who were 'cover' bands, The Cure began writing and demoing their own songs, playing London gigs and attracting a bunch of loyal fans.
By 1978 they were popular enough to trim their name to 'The Cure', dump Porl Thompson and tighten up their performances as a trio. They turned down several record offers, insisting on doing things their way, and eventually signed with the brand new 'Fiction' label run by Chris Parry.
Their first album, 1979's 'Three Imaginary Boys' burst onto the scene with the hit singles "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train."
For their next album, they continued exploring the darker side of Robert's song writing. They also dropped bassist Michael Dempsey and replaced him with Simon Gallup.
Gallup was an amazing bass player and he fit the band perfectly. His style was more melodic, but still deep and heavy. He could keep the rhythm, darkness, and melody of the songs, freeing up Robert Smith to be more theatric and concentrate on his vocals.
He was a great lead guitarist, but a Bassist, like other classic British 'lead' bass players Jack Bruce, Bill Wyman, and John Entwhistle before him. Not many bands on the scene at that time had a Lead Bass player. His sound really made the difference in The Cure's music.
Their next album 'Seventeen Seconds' defined their somewhat minimalist, deep, gothic style. The hit 'The Forest' is a classic and many fans favorite song. 
They released 'Faith' in 1981 and 'Pornography' in 1982. In-between albums, they released several great non-album singles including the very popular "Charlotte Sometimes"
The Cure had drive and were writing great material. There was a real sense of 'something happening'... 
Many albums and hits later, they are still going strong today,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures. I purchased this copy many years ago in Manhattan during one of my regular digs. I've taken great care of it since.
VINYL: The vinyl looks great. Clean and Bright. No scuffs, scrapes or obvious defects. Visually fine. I'll call it EX-, but Ebay doesn't allow that category. I'll list it as VG+ but it's better than that.
I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it looks. The white 'line' across the album in my photos is a reflection. Sorry.
I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
LABELS: This is pressed on the early PVC Blue 'target' labels, not the later Yellow and Red ones. The labels are clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are still sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing and my careful handling.
JACKET: The Jacket is in very nice condition. This copy has been sleeved and stored properly for years, and is still fantastic. Clean and bright. Great colors. The corners have some very minor 'bumping', but still quite nice. Spine is fine, no ring wear, no seam splits. You can see from my pictures it's quite nice. There are what appear to be brown 'splotches', almost like paint drops. but those are intended and part of the artwork, not stains or marks. The album cover is clean and crisp.
This is a great record to add to any Cure or classic Rock collection. This is where it all began here in the States. Original pressing copies don't turn up for sale often and it's a real gem. Few people purchased this record when it first came out and original blue label copies are rare.
Overall, a very nice crisp, clean, copy of this classic Cure First Pressing from 1980. I'm sure you'll love it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN