During the writing process, Robert Smith became convinced that he had inadvertently stolen the chord progression from somewhere, and this led him to a state of paranoia where he called everyone he could think of and played the song for them, asking if they had heard it before. None of them had, and Smith realised that the melody was indeed his. "It's always been paradoxical that it's pushed down people's throats that we're a goth band," Smith observed. "Because, to the general public, we're not. To taxi drivers, I'm the bloke that sings 'Friday I'm in Love'. I'm not the bloke who sings 'Shake Dog Shake' or 'One Hundred Years'." The song was written to be a slower number than its upbeat final rendition. While the track was recorded in D major, the commercially released version sounds a quarter-tone higher than D major due to Robert Smith forgetting to turn off the vari-speed on the tape after toying with it before recording. When played live, the song is played in its original intended key as opposed to the one heard on the record. The track was produced by David M. Allen and The Cure.
Music video
The video, directed by Tim Pope, features the band performing the song in front of various backdrops on a soundstage, in homage to French silent filmmaker Georges Méliès. Throughout the video, the band play around with various props and costumes while several extras wander about, causing chaos and ultimately trashing the set. Tim Pope makes a cameo in the beginning, riding a rocking horse and yelling out high-pitched stage directions through a plastic megaphone after inhaling helium from a balloon. The final shot is of bassist Simon Gallup crouching and peering into the camera while wearing a bridal veil and holding some champagne. The producer of "Friday, I'm in Love", Dave M. Allen, makes an appearance in the background, holding up props as well. Another oddity is the band's name on the drum - a scrawled "The Cures" rather than the band's singular name.
Release
"Friday I'm in Love" was the second single taken from the band's ninth studio album, Wish, released on 11 May 1992. The single was a number 6 hit in the UK and reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the band's last American Top 40 hit to date. It was also the band's last song to top the BillboardModern Rock Tracks chart, matching the success of their previous single, "High", with a four-week stint at number 1.
