from Ian P.
I got into The Cure very early on, primarily through my girlfriend at the time, who had the Three Imaginary Boys Album with its astounding lack of information for an album on it, at that time, but the first time I saw the band was at Loughborough University in 1980 and the date 12th November 1980 on your site fits.
Sorry I can't recall the set list from all those years ago, although the list you have from Leicester University the previous day would seem about right. Certainly they played I'm Cold, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Killing an Arab, Fire in Cairo and Play for Today. I can confirm we went as a coach party from - Nottingham Trent Polytechnic (now University) and whilst the turnout was good, it was easy to walk to the bar to the rear of the hall and left of the stage, mid gig, to get a beer and walk back to the front, such that Smith and Gallup were an arms length away. No barriers in those days like you get today nor need to fight through a dense crowd of people.
The room was one of those large lecture theatres where the unused seating was able to be all telescoped away at the back of the hall, ready to be drawn out the following day, making the room suitable for such events (Strange the things you remember, and I have never been back there).
Very low key and quite upbeat. Still it was good (as was the beer), and I was so impressed that the following month, when Seventeen Seconds was released, my mates bought me the album as a present.
thanks to John Sanders
thanks to Michele from "Out of this World - The Cure Italia"
