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  • Deadpan Robert Smith interview resurfaces as The Cure singer celebrates 64th birthday

Deadpan Robert Smith interview resurfaces as The Cure singer celebrates 64th birthday

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It’s Robert Smith‘s birthday so, naturally, fans of the singer are sharing what is commonly believed to be one of his greatest moments.

The musician, who is the frontman of The Cure, turns 64 today (Friday 21 April).

In 2019, he became a viral sensation on Twitter thanks to his hilariously deadpan response to an excitable reporter.

Smith was in attendance at that year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where The Cure were being inducted alongside Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson, Def Leppard, The Zombies, Radiohead and Roxy Music.

The singer approached a chipper interviewer at Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre, who said to him: “Congratulations, The Cure – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees 2019! Are you as excited as I am?”

Smith, without missing a beat, replied: “Um, by the sounds of it, no.”

The interviewer, brushing off the response, laughed in response, and asked him: “Oh, no, what are we going to do?”

Smith continued: “I’m sure we’ll get there eventually. It’s a bit early, isn’t it?”

The clip, which has been viewed more than 10m times, has been shared on social media to mark Smith’s birthday.

“One of my absolute favourite Twitter clips of all time. Perfect!” one Twitter user wrote in response.

In March, Smith hit out at Ticketmaster after fans sent him screenshots of the high fees they were being charged when buying tickets to see The Cure live.

The Cure singer Robert Smith
The Cure singer Robert Smith (Getty Images For The Rock and Ro)

The frontman used Twitter to express his frustration at the pricing system by the ticket site, which he says artists cannot “limit”.

“We had final say in all our ticket pricing for this upcoming tour, and didn’t want those prices instantly and horribly distorted by resale,” he wrote.

“We didn’t agree to the ‘dynamic pricing’ / ‘price surging’ / ‘platinum ticket’ thing…,” wrote Smith on the new higher tier system Ticketmaster has been trialling.

He later detailed what he meant by the tweet, writing: “I had a separate conversation about ‘platinum’ to see if I had misunderstood something… but I hadn’t!”

“All artists have the choice not to participate… If no artists participated, it would cease to exist,” he added.

However, when tickets went on sale, fans were reportedly hit by large fees that meant the cost of tickets was more than doubled.

Samith then announced that Ticketmaster would issue partial refunds to fans.

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  • AL99 sees the future in new Aisha Hall featuring single “Addictive Visions”

AL99 sees the future in new Aisha Hall featuring single “Addictive Visions”

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AL99 (pronounced “Al nine-nine”) is an artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist on a mission to do more than just make music for people to listen to. He wants people to get inspired and motivated by it. He wants to be an example for young people and show them that being authentic leads to success. His latest track, “Addictive Visions" features Aisha Hall of Yapp City Music/Ghostface of Wu Tang, and demonstrates his desire for new experiences by achieving his goals through not only his music but all of his entrepreneurial endeavors. 

Written in 2025, “Addictive Visions” is a laidback rap track with an entrancing melody where AL99 and Aisha Hall bring different flows but both discuss what they want and what they’re trying to achieve. AL’s flow is more relaxed but still confident as he slides from his verse to the hook. Meanwhile, Aisha Hall brings her confidence to the forefront with her verse which packs a punch but keeps the relaxed atmosphere of the track intact.

“I’m trying to see things I’ve never seen before. I’m trying to go places I’ve never been before. And I want to do that through the music path I’m on.” he said. 

AL99 wants to lead by example through the authenticity in his music. And with that authenticity, comes diversity in the booth and in the boardroom. He’s earned degrees in Audio Production and Music Business and releases music through his company, TPC (To Progress the Culture) Music Production, whom he has a distribution deal with via Universal Music Group/Bungalo. He wants people to see that he’s an example of how to navigate the music world on your own terms by making the business decisions that are best for your music and everyone else on your team.

The diversity continues on the music side too with AL99 being a fan of music of all kinds and wanting young people to be inspired to live their truth and be themselves. As a multi-instrumentalist he plays the guitar, drums, and keyboard, giving himself a wide-ranging musical ear. This comes in handy not only when he produces his music but when he mixes and sometimes masters it too.

AL sees himself as a voice for those who may not have one because he himself was once the child that was interested in things that were not as popular with his peers. With age came the confidence to fully embrace these interests and now he’s built a career on musical diversity. 

“I’m trying to bring something new to the industry. I feel like today people are more open to that in the rap world because people are starting to stray away from what we’ve been seeing for years. They’re embracing the new creative ways people are doing things and I’m a part of that.” he said. 

With AL99 pursuing multiple paths that branch out from his music, motivation to keep moving forward is key. Motivation comes from his love of music and his love for sharing his journey in real time while people witness it with him. He feels as he grows in life his audience is growing along with him and they’re navigating life together. And the through line for this is his aforementioned authenticity and accountability. 

AL99 has big plans for the future which include expanding his TPC brand and making movies since he already takes a cinematically intentional approach to his music. In addition to more music, he’s also got something special and unique planned to truly illustrate his story but listeners will have to stay tuned to see more about that.

“Addictive Visions” by AL99 featuring Aisha Hall is available on streaming services now. 

You can see more of AL99’s authenticity and journey by keeping up with him on these platforms.

LinkTree | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok

The Starlight PR Team thanks AL 99 for taking the time to speak with us. 

Tap in and stream “Addictive Visions” now!

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