"A Letter to Elise" is the third and final single taken from the album Wish from The Cure in 1992. It was made public for the first time on MTV's Cure-"Unplugged" show in 1991 and had very different lyrics from the later version to be released as a 7".
The B-side "The Big Hand" was planned as an A-Side single early in 1993 but the idea was scrapped, largely due to Boris Williams not wanting it to appear on the album but having no qualms about it appearing as a B-side (from KROQ radio interview with the band in 1992). "The Big Hand" is one of the few B-sides to be played live, although very rarely. It was first played in 1991, performed a few times during the Wish Tour in 1992, then revived at the Ultra Music Festival in 2007, and popped up, though rarely, during the band's 4Tour World Tour 2007-08. Letters to Felice by Kafka was a huge influence when Robert Smith wrote the lyrics of the track.
"A Letter to Elise" itself was revived by the band's new Smith/Gallup/Thompson/Cooper lineup in 2005 after being played sparingly, if ever, during the Smith/Gallup/Bamonte/Cooper/O'Donnell era. Like "The Big Hand", it was not played very often, and was usually a pleasant surprise to fans when it popped up in setlists.
Read more about A Letter To Elise: Track Listing, Personnel, Chart Performance, Covers
Famous quotes containing the word letter:
“With the nippers to wheel round the houses
And the hall to paint in his old trousers
And that letter to her mother
Saying Won’t you come for the summer.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)