Never Enough (The Cure song)

"Never Enough"
Single by the Cure
from the album Mixed Up
B-side	"Harold and Joe"
Released	17 September 1990 (1990-09-17)
Genre	Alternative rock[1]
Length	4:28
Label	Fiction
Songwriter(s)	Simon Gallup Robert Smith Porl Thompson Boris Williams
Producer(s)	Robert Smith Mark Saunders
The Cure singles chronology
"Pictures of You" (1990) "Never Enough" (1990) "Close to Me" (remix) (1990)

"Never Enough" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as a single in September 1990 from their 1990 remix album, Mixed Up. The song topped the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, reached number three in Finland, and peaked within the top 20 in Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Content

Unlike most other Cure songs of this era, the song was unexpectedly guitar-oriented, featuring no synthesizers. On the album, it is subtitled "Big Mix". Although Perry Bamonte is on the single cover and appears in the music video, he does not have a songwriting credit (as do the other four members). While containing no synthesisers, the song was nonetheless influenced by baggy music.^[2] The song's largely electronic B-side "Harold and Joe" was described by Chris Ott of Pitchfork as a "phenomenally adorable ecstasy tribute."^[3]

Release

Upon release as a single, "Never Enough" topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for three weeks, and reached number 13 in the United Kingdom.^[4] The song was re-recorded using acoustic guitars for the 2001 Acoustic Hits album, which contains re-recordings of songs by the band, and was released as a bonus disc to Greatest Hits.

Track listings

7-inch

1. "Never Enough" – 4:28
2. "Harold and Joe" – 5:05

12-inch

1. "Never Enough" (Big Mix) – 6:07
2. "Harold and Joe" – 5:05
3. "Let's Go to Bed" (Milk Mix) – 7:16

CD and cassette

1. "Never Enough" (Big Mix) – 6:07
2. "Harold and Joe" – 5:05
3. "Let's Go to Bed" (Milk Mix) – 7:16
4. "Never Enough" – 4:28

Personnel

• Robert Smith – vocals, guitar
• Simon Gallup – bass guitar
• Porl Thompson – guitar
• Boris Williams – drums
• Mark Saunders – mixing, remixing

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 22 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 28 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[7] 36 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 3 Germany (GfK)[9] 17 Ireland (IRMA)[10] 6 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 11 Spain (AFYVE)[12] 14 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 22 UK Singles (OCC)[4] 13 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 72 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[15] 1 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[16] with "Let's Go to Bed" 6 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[17] with "Let's Go to Bed" 25 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[18] 33

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[19] 27

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	17 September 1990	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD cassette	Fiction	[20]
Japan	10 December 1990	Mini-CD	Polydor Fiction	[21]

See also

• Number one modern rock hits of 1990

References

1. "Ranking: Every Alternative Rock No. 1 Hit From Worst to Best". March 28, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
2. Nightingale, Jo. "The Cure – Disintegration, Deluxe Edition". The Manchester Review. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
3. Ott, Chris. "The Cure Join the Dots: B-Sides and Rarities 1978-2001: The Fiction Years". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
4. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
5. "The Cure – Never Enough". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
6. "The Cure – Never Enough" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
7. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 44. 3 November 1990. p. IV. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
8. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
9. "The Cure – Never Enough" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Never Enough". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
11. "The Cure – Never Enough". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
12. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
13. "The Cure – Never Enough". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
14. "The Cure Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
15. "The Cure Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
16. "The Cure Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
17. "The Cure Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
18. "The Cure Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
19. "The Year in Music 1990: Top Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. YE-47.
20. "New Singles". Music Week. 15 September 1990. p. 31.
21. "ネバー・イナフ | Cure" [Never Enough | Cure] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 6 February 2024.

External links

• "Never Enough" at Discogs (list of releases)