1978-12-03 Bristol - Locarno (England)

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Robert Smith
Laurence Tolhurst
Michael Dempsey

Day of the week: Sunday
Tour: Supporting Generation X

Attendance:
Capacity:

After this concert, an incident occurred between Lol and Billy Idol in the toilet.

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from the book 'Ten Imaginary Years'

On the 3rd December, The Cure played Bristol Locarno.
Lol: "After the gig, I wandered back through Gen X's dressing room to go to the toilet but someone at the door said I couldn't go in there. Well, I was desperate so I pushed past and went in, and there was Billy Idol up against the urinal in a rather compromising position with a young lady. He gave me his famous sneer but I thought 'Sod it, I'm not going away, so I walked right up next to him and pulled out my willy. He was going 'Don't be nervous, don't be nervous' and I turned to him and went 'Alright Billy' and pissed all over him!"
Michael: "Lol had this unfortunate ability to stumble across people in some sort of carnal act."
Robert: "We did one more date on that tour before they kicked us off and that was Dunstable California Ballroom because I don't think they could get anyone else to do it. The toilet incident obviously didn't go down too well but, as well as that, we were beginning to get too good a reaction, and that made them nervous."

from the book 'Cured - The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys' (Lol Tolhurst)

Two nights later the highlight of the tour occurred. I was searching desperately for the Gents to relieve myself of several pints of free Gen X lager I'd consumed after the Bristol gig at the Locarno, a throwback 1960s Mecca ballroom complete with sparkly curtains and glitter balls. It was the kind of place that was more accustomed to hosting beauty contestants in bikinis and grass skirts than punk gigs.
I finally spied the men's toilet and burst into the room, unzipping my flies as I entered to save precious time, as the pressure had built up substantially. As I rushed toward the urinal I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Billy Idol perched somewhat precariously in the next stall with a young lady clasped to his bosom (or maybe he was clasping her bosom, time distorts such distinctions).
A guttural sound passed from my throat, which might have been recognized as "Hello, Billy," were I in a more sober mood, but it just sounded like a low grunt after that much alcohol. The young lady looked somewhat startled by the fact that there was another musician in the vicinity of their love nest, so the ever chivalrous Mr. Idol tried to calm her down with a valiant, "Don't be nervous, love," or something to that effect, while she anxiously eyed the toilet door.
Unfortunately, by this time I had reached the point of no return and a stream of urine shot outward to the porcelain bowl next to Billy. Regrettably for me (as well as Billy and his date), my aim was not improved terribly with the consumption of so much cheap lager. As I looked down toward where I assumed the urinal was, I realized that I was in fact urinating on Billy's leg. Pissing on the Idol!
He gave me one of his trademark sneers and I hastily zipped up and hightailed it out of there in a flurry of drunken apologies. On the drive home, as I sobered up, I was already beginning to perceive that this event might not be seen in the "jolly japes, all lads together," kind of way one might hope. However, I thought, not unreasonably, that someone who was bathed in spittle every night wouldn't find much wrong with a little urine on his strides as he was caught in flagrante delicto with a local lass. It might even be seen as "punk camaraderie" of sorts. Right? How wrong I was on that count.

from the book 'Never Enough - The Story of The Cure'

An innocent enough incident occurred after their October 3 gig at the Bristol Locarno which the band believe led to them being ejected from the Generation X tour. It began when Tolhurst wandered through the backstage area, in dire need of a toilet. Although warned not to enter, he pushed past a security guard and strolled into the gents, to discover that Billy Idol was "introducing himself" to a female fan. Undeterred, Tolhurst went about his business, calmly spraying Idol's foot with pee as a farewell gesture.
"I found Billy in, shall I say, a rather compromising position with a young lady in the bathroom," Tolhurst said. "I was desperate to relieve myself, he wouldn't budge, so I did the best job I could.
Unfortunately some of Billy was in my trajectory." (Years later, Tolhurst met Idol again in New York. "He gave me the strangest look as he was trying to piece together where he remembered me from. I didn't remind him.")
The Cure and Generation X would share one more bill, on December 5 at the California Ballroom in Dunstable, but even then, according to Smith, it was only because The Cure were the only act available at short notice. "The toilet incident obviously didn't go down too well," Smith explained, "but, as well as that, we were beginning to get too good a reaction and that made them nervous."
Tolhurst confirmed this when I spoke with him. "As I recall, it [the bathroom encounter] was the excuse they needed to eject us from the tour. We had been going down too well, I think."