# 2,958
Cure, The “Killing an Arab” (1980)
The Cure’s debut single. Robert Smith’s take on Albert Camus’ The Stranger (1942) was exactly that, and never a call to murder Arabs. No surprise here, the states’ 1986 singles compilation Standing On A Beach came with a sticker to clarify The Cure’s true condemnation of racial violence or prejudice, since one of WPRB’s student dee-jays got a little too happy in sending the wrong message. Since then, “Killing An Arab” has brought its’ own bad luck to the outfit and double that during The Gulf War and 9/11. Later on, they changed the title in 2005 to “Kissing An Arab”, and for live versions re-wrote the title and first verse as “Killing Another”.
“Killing An Arab” is usually referred with Siouxsie & The Banshees’ “Hong Kong Gardens” (’78), in which each used ethnic elements in their respective singles.
