Robert Smith knows what he’s doing.
Garbage and Placebo have united in London over the weekend for night number six of Teenage Cancer Trust’s concert series.
The week-long residency at Royal Albert Hall has hosted names like Elbow, Mogwai, Manic Street Preachers, My Bloody Valentine, and Wolf Alice to raise funds for young people battling cancer across the UK.
The man behind the lineup is none other than The Cure’s Robert Smith, and Garbage have paid homage with a heartfelt cover of the band’s most romantic track ‘Lovesong’.
They’d never given the 1989 hit a crack, said Shirley Manson, but “whipped it up” just for the night.
It was a bit of a pinch me moment for the alt-rockers as Shirley crossed her fingers she’d get through the performance without crying, citing The Cure as Garbage’s sole inspiration for getting started in the first place.
They’re not the first performers to give thanks to The Cure for the opportunity through song after Manic Street Preachers covered ‘Close To Me’ last week.
It was Placebo’s first gig in almost two years, but they knew what they had to do to honour their mate and collaborator Robert.
It was a stripped-back set compared to their usual modernistic approach, and though frontman Brian Molko admitted to “flutters of nerves,” you’d have never guessed.
They kicked off with a cover of Sinead O’Connor‘s ‘Jackie O’ – a track they haven’t touched in a decade – before buzzing between all their classics and a cover of Sleeping With Ghosts latest single ‘Special Needs’.
It was all love throughout the night, with Manson’s list of thanks shouting out Placebo, Robert, Teenage Cancer Trust, and the “the bad ass motherfucker” young patients who took to the stage pre-music.
Garbage kick off their Europe and UK tour this May, and if Saturday’s anything to go by, it wont be one to miss.
