The Head on the Door is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Cure. It was released on 30 August 1985 by Fiction Records. Preceded by the single "In Between Days" which had reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart, The Head on the Door was described by Melody Maker as "a collection of pop songs". "Kyoto Song" contains an oriental hook, while "The Blood" is played in a flamenco style. The piano tune of "Six Different Ways" had been previously used by Smith during his tenure with Siouxsie and the Banshees, for the single "Swimming Horses". The last song of the album, "Sinking", was reminiscent of the band's Faith era, while "Close to Me" (released as the album's second and final single) was described as a "disco thing" by critics. The opening track and first single, "In Between Days", was compared to New Order's material. "A Night Like This" contains a saxophone solo by Ron Howe from Fools Dance. The title of the album comes from a line in the chorus of "Close to Me".
When he was interviewed that year, Smith said that his five favourite albums were at that time Mirror Moves by the Psychedelic Furs, This Year's Model by Elvis Costello, Low by David Bowie, Kaleidoscope by Siouxsie and the Banshees and Rattus Norvegicus by the Stranglers.
Release, reception and legacy
Released on 30 August 1985 in the UK and on 4 September in the US, The Head on the Door was the first big international success for the band, notably entering the top 75 in the US and reaching the top 20 in numerous other countries. In December 1985 it was named the best album of the year by Melody Maker.
In 2000 it was voted number 833 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Tim Sendra noted that The Head on the Door marked a new musical direction for the Cure in that Smith had managed to make the band's trademark "gloom and doom" style both "danceable and popular"; Sendra also found that the album's "inventive" arrangements provide "a musical depth previous efforts lacked".
Track listing
Personnel
- Robert Smith – vocals, guitars, keyboards, production
- Lol Tolhurst – keyboards
- Porl Thompson – guitars, keyboards
- Simon Gallup – bass guitar
- Boris Williams – drums, percussion
- Ron Howe – saxophone on "A Night Like This"
- David M. Allen – production
- Howard Gray – production on "Kyoto Song", "Push" and "A Night Like This"
- Frank Barretta – engineer
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1985–1986 weekly chart performance for The Head on the Door
! scope="col"| Chart (1985–1986)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 6
|-
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Eurotipsheet)
| 7
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)
| 18
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ 2006 weekly chart performance for The Head on the Door
! scope="col"| Chart (2006)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2023–2025 weekly chart performance for The Head on the Door
! scope="col"| Chart (2023–2025)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Croatian International Albums (HDU)
| 36
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1985 year-end chart performance for The Head on the Door
! scope="col"| Chart (1985)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 65
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 49
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1986 year-end chart performance for The Head on the Door
! scope="col"| Chart (1986)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 43
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)
| 71
|}