Standing on a Beach

Standing on a Beach
Compilation album by The Cure
Released	13 May 1986
Recorded	1978 to 1985
Genre	Post-Punk, Gothic Rock, Alternative Rock, New Wave
Length	45:44 (Vinyl edition) 60:40 (CD edition)
Label	Fiction Records Elektra Records
Producer	The Cure
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
The Cure chronology
The Head on the Door (1985) Standing on a Beach (1986) Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
Staring at the Sea

Standing on a Beach is a singles compilation released by the British rock band The Cure in May, 1986, marking a decade since the band's founding in 1976. The title is taken from the opening lyrics of The Cure's debut single "Killing an Arab", which was released prior to their debut album, making these four words the first Cure lyrics ever heard on record.

Release formats

The album was released in three formats, vinyl record, compact disc and audio cassette.

The vinyl edition is a collection of all thirteen of The Cure's commercially released singles up to that point in chronological order.

The CD edition features the same tracks as the vinyl edition, but also includes an extra track each from four of the band's albums. This version is also available under the name Staring at the Sea, with an identical track listing.

The cassette edition features the same tracks as the vinyl edition, but also contains all of the band's b-sides that had, to that point, not received a long-play release. This excludes "10:15 Saturday Night" from the "Killing an Arab" single, which was released on the Three Imaginary Boys album, "Plastic Passion" from the "Boys Don't Cry" single, which was released on the Boys Don't Cry album, and the five b-sides from the "Let's Go to Bed", "The Walk" and "The Lovecats" singles, which were released on the Japanese Whispers compilation album. However, the b-side "Mr. Pink Eyes" from the 12" version of "The Lovecats" was omitted from Japanese Whispers, and so was included on this release.

These releases were accompanied by a VHS and laserdisc release, a music video collection named Staring at the Sea: The Images.

Track listing

Vinyl edition

1. "Killing an Arab" (Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst, Michael Dempsey) – 2:22
2. "Boys Don't Cry" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:35
3. "Jumping Someone Else's Train" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:54
4. "A Forest" (Smith, Tolhurst, Simon Gallup, Matthieu Hartley) – 4:53
5. "Primary" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Hartley) – 3:33
6. "Charlotte Sometimes" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 4:13
7. "The Hanging Garden" (Smith) – 4:21
8. "Let's Go to Bed" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:33
9. "The Walk" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:28
10. "The Lovecats" (Smith) – 3:38
11. "The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:38
12. "In Between Days" (Smith) – 2:56
13. "Close to Me" (Smith) – 3:39

CD edition

1. "Killing an Arab" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:22
2. "10:15 Saturday Night" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 3:37 (from Three Imaginary Boys, 1979)
3. "Boys Don't Cry" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:35
4. "Jumping Someone Else's Train" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:54
5. "A Forest" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Hartley) – 4:53
6. "Play for Today" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Hartley) – 3:42 (from Seventeen Seconds, 1980)
7. "Primary" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 3:33
8. "Other Voices" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 3:27 (from Faith, 1981)
9. "Charlotte Sometimes" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 4:13
10. "The Hanging Garden" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 4:21
11. "Let's Go to Bed" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:33
12. "The Walk" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:28
13. "The Love Cats" (Smith) – 3:38
14. "The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:38
15. "In Between Days" (Smith) – 2:56
16. "Close to Me" (Smith) – 3:39
17. "A Night Like This" (Smith) - 4:11 (from The Head on the Door, 1985)

Cassette edition

Side one - The singles

1. "Killing an Arab" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey)
2. "Boys Don't Cry" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey)
3. "Jumping Someone Else's Train" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey)
4. "A Forest" (Smith)
5. "Primary" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup)
6. "Charlotte Sometimes" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup)
7. "The Hanging Garden" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup)
8. "Let's Go to Bed" (Smith, Tolhurst)
9. "The Walk" (Smith, Tolhurst)
10. "The Lovecats" (Smith)
11. "The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst)
12. "In Between Days" (Smith)
13. "Close to Me" (Smith)

Side two - The b-sides

1. "I'm Cold" (from "Jumping Someone Else's Train")
2. "Another Journey By Train" (from "A Forest")
3. "Descent" (from "Primary")
4. "Splintered in Her Head" (from "Charlotte Sometimes")
5. "Mr. Pink Eyes" (from "The Lovecats")
6. "Happy the Man" (from "The Caterpillar")
7. "Throw Your Foot" (from "The Caterpillar")
8. "The Exploding Boy" (from "In Between Days")
9. "A Few Hours After This" (from "In Between Days")
10. "A Man Inside My Mouth" (from "Close to Me"/"Half an Octopuss")
11. "Stop Dead" (from "In Between Days"/"Close to Me"/"Half an Octopuss")
12. "New Day" (from "Half an Octopuss")

See also

• Galore - The Cure's second decade-spanning singles collection, for the years 1987-1997.

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