The Glove

The Glove

The Glove is a UK post-punk and new wave project formed in 1983 by Robert Smith of The Cure and Steven Severin, the bassist of Siouxsie and the Banshees. It is also associated with electronic, rock and synth-pop, and its sound is often described through its psychedelic and gothic leanings.

Formation and background

Smith and Severin first meet in 1979 at the YMCA in Tottenham Court Road in London during a Throbbing Gristle gig, and their friendship develops through their later work together. By the spring of 1983 they begin The Glove as a joint project. The name comes from the evil animated glove in the Beatles film Yellow Submarine.

The project is originally intended as a set of unusual singles for the Japanese market, with the possibility of more material later. It becomes a fuller album project after label concerns over Smith’s contract with Fiction Records, which restricts him to singing only on Cure recordings. After discussion, he is allowed to sing on two tracks, and Jeanette Landray is brought in to sing the rest of the album.

Blue Sunshine

The Glove issues one official album, Blue Sunshine. Smith and Severin work on it as a psychedelic project, using unusual and exotic instruments so that it does not simply sound like a blend of The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees. The sessions take place at Britannia Row Studios in London, which appeals to them partly because of its association with Pink Floyd.

Robert Smith provides vocals on the original recordings of “Mr. Alphabet Says” and “Perfect Murder”, while Jeanette Landray sings on most of the remaining tracks. Landray, who is a member of the ZOO dance troupe and had not sung before, takes a session-style role in the project. Smith later recalls finding it unusual to hear someone else sing songs he had demoed himself, while Landray is described as being patient and determined during recording.

Personnel and guests

Named members and contributors include Robert Smith, Steven Severin, Jeanette Landray, Martin McCarrick, Andy Anderson, Anne Stephenson and Gini Ball. Smith handles guitar and vocals; Severin plays bass; McCarrick contributes keyboards and real strings; Anderson plays real drums; Stephenson and Ball provide real strings. Porl Thompson appears as a special guest in the videos.

Recording context and style

Severin describes the recording environment as busy and chaotic, with visitors including Marc Almond, The Associates and John McGeoch. Sessions run from 6pm to 6am, and the pair also immerse themselves in “video nasties” and other junk-culture references as part of their approach to creating a disorienting psychedelic effect. Smith’s later dissatisfaction with The Cure after the departure of bassist Simon Gallup forms part of the background to the project, alongside his work outside the band.

Related act

The name The Glove is also used by an electro techno project, but the main act associated with the name is the 1983 collaboration between Smith and Severin.