Versions of tracks were recorded and a single, "Walking Through Houses", released before Smith was felled by a disastrous combined heart attack and stroke, leaving him unable to continue.

Having become close friends with Smith, the band felt unable to replace him and complete the album sessions, later admitting "we simply couldn't go back to these recordings without him and recoiled to contemplate what to do next.

"[1] The Morricones reworked and rewrote the songs as new versions, then recorded them in new sessions at 2fly Studios in Sheffield produced by Alan Smyth (Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Richard Hawley and others).

Cursed was also the most expansively-arranged Scaramanga Six album for many years, with the Morricone brothers’ saxophones bolstered by trumpet and trombone (recorded at the original Smith sessions), live strings, and additional keyboards played by former member Chris Catalyst.

Manchester Music dubbed Cursed "a worthy contender for anyone’s album of the year", commenting "whilst it’s missing the important infusion of Smith’s dark art, the band have enough of their own musical black magic, as has Smyth... Just feel the writhing, scratching intro and satisfying bass growl of "Damned If You Don't, Damned If You Do" – like all the tracks here the skilled pop infusions and progressive nuances complete a perfect recipe... Their long standing punk sensibility hasn't been lost on them either with "Trouble" (and later on in the proceedings via the catchy and impossibly addictive "The Repo Man").