“I was driving home, and I thought of this chord sequence. I was about 20 minutes away from the studio. I turned around and went back”: Robert Smith on the flash of inspiration that shaped the Cure's biggest hit

Robert Smith of the Cure performs onstage at the Glastonbury Festival in 1995.

50 years into their career, it can be argued that the Cure have never been a hotter commodity.

Pop giga-star of the moment Olivia Rodrigo has gone far beyond merely citing the goth-rock pioneers as a major influence – she brought Cure frontman Robert Smith out onstage for a pair of duets at her triumphant Glastonbury headlining set last year, and recruited Smith for a guest appearance on What's Wrong with Me, a banner track from her chart-topping new album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.