The Cure — Just Like Heaven

JUL 01 1987 · 12:00

The Cure — Just Like Heaven (1987) Director: Tim Pope Era: Late MTV Golden Age (1987) - Peak of UK post-punk crossover into mainstream American alternative; goth-pop aesthetics transitioning toward wider commercial viability via glossy studio-constructed naturalism High curatorial value as a canonical text of the UK alternative crossover era. The video encapsulates the aesthetic tension between goth subculture authenticity and mainstream accessibility that defined The Cure's commercial peak. Its documented production history, confirmed director, and clear autobiographical provenance make it an exemplary research object. As one of The Cure's most-seen videos — included in the 1997 Galore compilation — it functions both as a standalone artwork and as an index of late-80s MTV visual grammar. Context: Released in October 1987 as the third single from Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, 'Just Like Heaven' marked The Cure's breakthrough into the American mainstream, reaching No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video arrived at the height of MTV's cultural dominance, when visual storytelling could propel a British alternative act into US chart territory. The studio-fabricated Beachy Head setting — constructing an English coastal idyll on a Pinewood soundstage — exemplifies the era's willingness to use artifice in service of emotional authenticity. The song's origins in Robert Smith's memories of a seaside trip with his future wife lend the video an autobiographical warmth unusual in goth-adjacent visual culture, softening the subculture's typically bleak aesthetics into accessible romantic dreaminess. Director notes: Confirmed directed by Tim Pope (IMDB tt8085212, IMVDb, Wikipedia). Filmed at Pinewood Studios, England, in October 1987, with the cliff-edge setting being a studio recreation. Beachy Head coastal footage was repurposed from The Cure's 1985 'Close to Me' video. The video intercuts the band performing in all-black attire with a dream narrative sequence featuring a woman in white dancing with Robert Smith at the cliff's edge. Per Wikipedia and American Songwriter, Pope constructed the video to visually recreate the personal memories described in the song's lyrics. The video later appeared in the 1997 compilation 'The Cure: Galore — The Videos 1987–1997'.