The Cure
Formed
January 1976, Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Members
Robert Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Michael Dempsey (bass, vocals, 1976-79), Marc Ceccagno (guitar, 1976), Lol Tolhurst (drums, keyboards, 1976-89), Martin Creasy (vocals, 1976), Gary X (vocals, 1977), Peter O'Toole (vocals, 1977), Porl Thompson (guitar, keyboards, saxophone, 1977-78, 1983-93, 2005-10), Matthieu Hartley (keyboards, 1979-80), Simon Gallup (bass, 1980-82, 1985-present), Andy Anderson (drums, 1983-84), Phil Thornalley (bass, 1983-84), Boris Williams (drums, 1984-94), Roger O'Donnell (keyboards, 1987-90, 1995-2005, 2011-present), Perry Bamonte (guitar, keyboards, 1990-2005, 2022-present), Jason Cooper (drums, 1994-present), Reeves Gabrels (guitar, 2012-present)
Related Artists
Also Known As
Malice [1976-77], Easy Cure [1977-78], Cure
Genres
Share
Follow
63,660 followers
ADVERTISEMENT
Album
Showing all (16)
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
ADVERTISEMENT
Live Album
Showing 5 of 9
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
EP
Showing all (10)
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
Single
Showing 18 of 79
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
Music video
Showing 3 of 40
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
Appears On
Showing 11 of 99
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
Compilation
Showing 3 of 14
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
V/A Compilation
Showing 6 of 262
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
Bootleg / Unauthorized
Showing 5 of 292
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
Video
Showing 3 of 22
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
Additional release
Showing 4 of 8
Issues
Reviews
Title
/
Release Date
15
-
-
sergegrone
"The story of The Cure is the story of the continuous struggle between Robert Smith and his desire to remain unaware that there is light at the end of the tunnel. You can feel that there's always a luminous element among all the gothic, gloomy darkness that surrounds their songs. It could be the overall tenderness on "Pictures Of You", the beautiful layered guitars on "A Forest", the innocent beauty of the melodies on "Boys Don't Cry" or the bittersweet hope on the lyrics of "Friday I'm In Love". The band has covered (and sometimes, pioneered) many of the most representative phases of the British '80s underground scene, and even made a definitive impact on the visual aesthetic of an entire generation of music fans. Their first works are a milestone among post-punk, gothic rock music and are the archetype for tons of bands that came later. The same goes for their college rock mid-'80s period and the guitar pop exercises of their most popular years. Their albums and singles were always a lesson in melody mastery and emotional lyricism, despite the fact that Smith was, actually, expressing his own angst feelings through the songs themselves. This particular combination of honesty and musical beauty has made The Cure one of the most iconic bands of a particular decade and one of the best products the British Isles have ever brought us."
RYM Rough Guide for The Cure
Biography
The group made their recording debut with the single, "Killing an Arab / 10:15 Saturday Night", in 1978. The following year they released their debut album Three Imaginary Boys, which was a moderate success. In 1980, the album Boys Don't Cry was released in the US, featuring the latest singles of the band (including the title track, which was their biggest hit to date) as well as songs from Three Imaginary Boys.
In 1980, Michael Dempsey left, and was replaced by Simon Gallup. They also added keyboard player Matthieu Hartley and released Seventeen Seconds and the accompanying single "A Forest / Another Journey by Train". As Siouxsie and the Banshees did that same year, they began to display a more gothic sound, which would develop into the genre Gothic Rock. "A Forest" would be their last substantial hit for a couple of years. Matthieu Hartley left the following year.
The albums that followed, Faith (1981) and Pornography (1982), did not receive any great commercial or critical success, but instead helped in developing a devoted cult following. However, there were tensions in the band and Gallup exited in 1982. When Smith joined the Banshees in 1983, The Cure were briefly inactive, with Smith also collaborating on an album with Banshees' Steve Severin under the name of The Glove.
The band regrouped later in 1983, adding Andy Anderson on drums (as Tolhurst moved to keyboards) and Phil Thornalley on bass. That year they released a handful of singles, later compiled in Japanese Whispers, and a critically panned album, The Top, the following year. These releases showed the band pursuing a poppier sound, reflected in their chart success in the UK, with "The Lovecats" becoming their first top 10 hit.
In 1985, with a new line up featuring Boris Williams on drums, Porl Thompson as an additional guitarist and a returning Simon Gallup on bass, The Cure built on their commercial success with the album The Head on the Door, and its singles "In Between Days / The Exploding Boy" and "Close to Me / A Man Inside My Mouth", which also were their first minor hits in America.
Their crossover success was solidified by their 1986 singles compilation Staring at the Sea: The Singles, and by their first US top 40 single, "Just Like Heaven / Snow in Summer", still one of the band's most popular tunes, which also appeared on the successful 1987 double album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me.
Prior to the recording of their following album, growing tensions between Smith and an increasingly unreliable Tolhurst prompted the latter's exit from the band. He was replaced by Roger O'Donnell.
Disintegration, released in 1989, made them almost superstars on the strength of their single "Lovesong / 2 Late", even if the album was dark and not as catchy as their previous "mainstream" albums. They tried to capitalize that success releasing the mix album Mixed Up, and an accompanying new single, "Never Enough / Harold and Joe", which showed prevailing dancefloor influences. However, even if it sold respectably, it wasn't well received.
By now, O'Donnell had left and been replaced by Perry Bamonte and this was the line-up that recorded Wish in 1992. By this time, they were as close as ever to the mainstream audience, as the success of the single "Friday I'm in Love / Halo" evidenced. As a result, Wish was a commercial success, but it wasn't well received by the critics.
Shortly after the release of the live albums Paris and Show, the band began to splinter with the exit of Williams and Thompson (the latter to Page & Plant's band), and legal conflicts with Lol Tolhurst. So, by the time of the recording of the new album, a new drummer, Jason Cooper, was added, and Roger O'Donnell returned, so Bamonte moved to guitar. The first album of the new line-up, 1996's eclectic Wild Mood Swings, was widely seen as a disappointment, with none of the singles gaining any significant exposure.
After releasing the singles compilation Galore: The Singles 1987-1997, they returned in 2000, after rumours of disbanding, with Bloodflowers, a calculated return to their "classic" sound which received better reviews than its predecessor and was appreciated by fans, but was not a great commercial success probably due to the lack of singles or promotion.
After more rumours of disbanding, a Greatest Hits, a B-sides compilation, Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities 1978>2001 - The Fiction Years, and a change of labels, they finally released The Cure, which sold considerably better than their other late efforts, but still received mixed reviews, although the accompanying tour had enthusiastic reviews.
From 2004 on, the band started to re-release their back catalogue in 2CD remastered deluxe editions with plenty of demos, live tracks and obscure moments not already included in Join the Dots (B-sides - an obvious inclusion for these kind of reissues - were all already collected in this box set).
1,938 Lists
Shows
- No upcoming shows
ADVERTISEMENT
Contributions
Log in to submit a correction to this page.