This time 33 years ago(!) I was aboard a coach & stuck in traffic en route from sunny Staffordshire to an even sunnier Crystal Palace for the event of the year — The Garden Party.

For their South London Pleasure Trips show The Cure had put together a dream lineup with All About Eve, James & Lush providing sonic support.

I remember packing 2 cassette tapes in my bag (Scarlet & Other Stories by the Eves and the B52s Cosmic Thing) and persuaded the coach driver to play them, which was great… until we hit motorway traffic and the tape just kept auto playing until we’d all heard Loveshack far too many times!

Legging it off the bus to catch the last bit of Lush’s set (bloody traffic) there was time to grab a t-shirt…

…before a bit of a Sit Down for James (geddit?), a fair bit of goth hand dancing for AAE (joined by Wayne Hussey on guitar to riotous applause), and then the lake in front of the stage became a dry ice mood swamp as The Cure hit the stage and launched into Shake Dog Shake. Amazing.

There was this ramp thingy with barriers keeping people away from the lake (and several metres from the stage, Robert quipping about needing boats), which made for a piss poor view even down the front. I remember moving back as night fell for some deep cuts including The Same Deep Water As You (aka ‘no, YOU’RE crying’) and (OMG!) Lament. So brilliant to hear those songs under a starlit sky.

Fireworks fizzed and crackled across the lake as The Cure told us whatever they do it’s Never Enough.

Honestly, I could have died happy just having heard Lament played live, and so beautifully, but there were more legendary Cure shows in store…

See what The Cure played here.

Instafollow: The Cure, Julianne Regan (AAE), James, Miki Berenyi from Lush.