After a 16-year hiatus from releasing new music, The Cure have made a welcome return with their much-anticipated album, Songs Of A Lost World.
Robert Smith and his iconic band are back, delivering a fresh collection of songs that captures their signature blend of introspective lyrics and atmospheric soundscapes.
In an exclusive interview, Robert joined Matt Everitt in Studio Three for an in-depth discussion about the new album, exploring the creative process, inspirations, and the themes that run through it. Adding to the magic of the occasion, Abbey Road’s Photographer in Residence, Sam Rockman, was there to capture the candid moments, as well as having just enough time to fit in a photoshoot with Robert, which now features on the cover of Uncut Magazine.
Since becoming a finalist in two categories at the Music Photography Awards in 2023, Sam joined our judging panel for this year’s awards, became our Photographer in Residence this August and has now earned his first-ever magazine cover. We caught up with Sam to find out more about the experience, as well as the story behind the shoot.
“So, working with Robert Smith was amazing (and incredibly nerve wracking!) It’s been a long time since I’ve been that nervous all day which I think is a good thing as it made me look forward to shooting it.
The opportunity really came about by being the photographer in residence at Abbey Road and him seeing my photos on the website. He was coming into Abbey Road for a playback, I believe, and he thought it would be a really great opportunity to do everything in one go. So he requested me, which is amazing!
I came in, got everything set up about three or hours before, and was told I only have 15 minutes with him, as he likes things very precise and short which was really cool. So I got everything set up, we did the photos and he was brilliant on camera. Sometimes you wonder “am I going to have to direct them a lot, or how are they going to be on camera?” But every time the flash went off, he changed position and tried lots of stuff out, and within 15 minutes we had so much which was great.”
