Close to Me

The Cure put out "Close to Me" in September 1985 as the second and final single from their sixth album, The Head on the Door. Three versions appeared that year: the original album cut, a 7-inch single mix and a 12-inch extended mix. Both of the new mixes carried a brass section that was absent from the album. The single reached number seven in Australia and number 24 on the UK singles chart.

Tim Pope, the band's frequent video director, wrote and directed the promotional film. It placed the whole band inside a wardrobe on the edge of a cliff at Beachy Head. Following the song's instrumental build-up, nobody played their usual instruments. Boris Williams clapped the beat, Lol Tolhurst worked a tiny handheld keyboard, and Porl Thompson, perched on the top shelf, plucked a comb to mimic the short high-pitched guitar notes. Simon Gallup appeared tied up, with a light bulb in his mouth to create a "lit from within" effect, the cloth hiding the wire. Robert Smith emerged from the back singing, manipulating finger puppets shaped like voodoo dolls of his bandmates. When he shook the dolls violently, the members crashed into the wardrobe walls until the whole thing toppled into the sea.

The clip ended with a band member pushing a rubber duck across the screen. Smith later called the shoot the most uncomfortable 12 hours he had ever spent.