12. 'Lovecats' - It's a timeless classic, highly evocative of 80's Britain and a staple on any decent indie disco dancefloor. it also has a great Dexys Midnight Runners feel to it. but with that brilliant dark Cure delicious twist.

11. 'Friday I'm In Love' - Surely the ultimate weekend song, 'Friday I'm In Love' puts a tear in your eye and a spring in your step from the moment the jangly guitar riff first kicks in. It's hardly The Cure's most complex lyrical output, but perfectly suited to the song's sheer, almost childlike joy.

10. 'Boys Don't Cry' - With an opening riff so brilliantly recognisable that The Libertines spent an entire career trying to recreate it, 'Boys Don't Cry' drips with irony - an irony no-one could pull off with the same panache as the theatrically androgynous Robert Smith.

9. 'In Between Days': An electrifying drum roll to kick off one of The Cure's most uplifting cuts. Released in 1985, Smith and co channeled the same morose lyricism and poppy instrumental combo that was all the rage at that time. The lyrics don't boast complexity but are teeming with an unmistakable sincerity.

8. '10.15 On A Saturday Night' - This is taken from their debut album which was released in 1979 and it was a b-side to 'Killing An Arab'. It's quite simply one of the greatest post-punk tracks ever, and it's no wonder The Cure keep playing it 37 years later.

7. 'Pictures Of You' - Assured enough of its own brilliance to justify a two and a half minute guitar intro, 'Pictures Of You' is the most tangible example of The Cure's ability to embrace both euphoria and melancholia in a single breath.

 6. 'Lullaby' - This charted at No.5 when it came out in 1989, and it showed the band still had big ambitions. Huge string sections accompany Robert Smith's vocals to sublime effect. A true pop-noir horror story gem.

5. 'Just Like Heave'n: One of the most iconic riffs in The Cure discography, 'Just Like Heaven' is an almost flawless pop song. It has heart and chops, it's so good, in fact, it inspired a thousand great covers and just as many terrible knock-offs that could never do the track justice - looking at you Katie Melua.

4. 'Plainsong': Taken from the classic Disintegration, this is pretty much the perfect opener to any album or gig - crystallizing that oh-so-Cure sense of graceful but aching longing to an elegiac but majestic soundtrack: "Sometimes you make me feel like I am living at the edge of the world".

3. 'Killing An Arab': The title has become somewhat controversial over time with the current climate in world affairs, resulting in the band often writing it on set lists as 'Killing Another' these days, but it is in fact inspired by a scene in Albert Camus' 'The Stranger'. The band's debut single was a short-sharp blast of post-punk energy, full of vim and vigour - setting the template for countless copycats for a generation to come.

2. 'Close To Me': The Cure at their most playful and infectious. Can you name a better pop song? Didn't think so.

1. 'Lovesong': Using a palette of forlorn lyrics and achingly romantic but melancholy sounds that is entirely exclusive to The Cure, 'Lovesong' is proof alone that they are the masters of taking hopeless devotion and searing heartache and turning into such an utterly essential listen.