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The Cure



 
 
The Cure are an English rock
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
 band formed in Crawley
Crawley

Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in England and Wales in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001....
, West Sussex
West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial counties of England until 1974 and the coming into force of the Local Government...
 in 1976. The band has experienced several lineup changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith
Robert Smith (musician)

Robert James Smith is an England guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is the lead singer and principal songwriter of the Rock music band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976....
 being the only constant member.

The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s with their debut album Three Imaginary Boys
Three Imaginary Boys

Three Imaginary Boys is England rock band The Cure's debut album, released in May 1979 by Fiction Records. It was later released in the United States with a slightly different song line-up as Boys Don't Cry ....
 (1979); this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of the post-punk
Post-punk

Post-punk was a popular musical movement with its roots in the mid to late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the early 1970s....
 and New Wave
New Wave music

New Wave is a genre of rock music which originated from the late 1970s. It emerged from punk rock as a reaction against the popular music of the 1970s....
 movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock
Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock....
 revolution in the United Kingdom.






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Encyclopedia


The Cure are an English rock
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
 band formed in Crawley
Crawley

Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in England and Wales in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001....
, West Sussex
West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial counties of England until 1974 and the coming into force of the Local Government...
 in 1976. The band has experienced several lineup changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith
Robert Smith (musician)

Robert James Smith is an England guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is the lead singer and principal songwriter of the Rock music band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976....
 being the only constant member.

The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s with their debut album Three Imaginary Boys
Three Imaginary Boys

Three Imaginary Boys is England rock band The Cure's debut album, released in May 1979 by Fiction Records. It was later released in the United States with a slightly different song line-up as Boys Don't Cry ....
 (1979); this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of the post-punk
Post-punk

Post-punk was a popular musical movement with its roots in the mid to late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the early 1970s....
 and New Wave
New Wave music

New Wave is a genre of rock music which originated from the late 1970s. It emerged from punk rock as a reaction against the popular music of the 1970s....
 movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock
Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock....
 revolution in the United Kingdom. During the early 1980s the band's increasingly dark and tormented music helped form the gothic rock
Gothic rock

Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes....
 genre. After the release of Pornography
Pornography (album)

Pornography is the fourth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, originally released in 1982 and re-mastered and re-released in 2005. Recorded with the group on the brink of collapse, it represents the conclusion of the musical phase which began with Seventeen Seconds and Faith ....
 (1982), the band's future was uncertain and Smith was keen to move past the gloomy reputation his band had acquired. With the 1982 single "Let's Go to Bed" Smith began to inject more of a pop sensibility into the band's music. The Cure's popularity increased as the decade wore on, especially in the United States where the songs "Just Like Heaven
Just like Heaven (song)

"Just Like Heaven" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Cure. The group largely wrote the song during recording sessions in Southern France in 1987....
", "Lovesong" and "Friday I'm in Love
Friday I'm in Love

"Friday I'm in Love" is the second single taken from the album Wish from The Cure. It is among the band's most well-known songs....
" entered the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
 charts. By the start of the 1990s, The Cure were one of the most popular alternative rock
Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. Alternative rock consists of various subgenres that have emerged from the independent music scene since the 1980s, such as Grunge music, Britpop, gothic rock, and indie pop....
 bands in the world, and although their profile has lessened in more recent years, they are estimated to have sold 27 million albums as of 2004. The Cure have released thirteen studio albums and over thirty singles during the course of their career.

History


Formation and early years (1973–1979)

The first incarnation of what became The Cure was The Obelisk, a band formed by students at Notre Dame Middle School
Schools in Crawley, West Sussex

Education in Crawley, West Sussex is co-ordinated by West Sussex County Council. Since 2004, provision for compulsory education has been made wholly through primary and secondary schools, following the closure of the town's Middle schools earlier that year....
 in Crawley, Sussex
Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Su?seaxe , is a Historic counties of England in South East England England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex....
. The band made their public debut in a one-off performance in April 1973, and featured Robert Smith (piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
), Michael "Mick" Dempsey
Michael Dempsey

Michael Dempsey is a bassist from England, who has performed as a member of several post-punk and New Wave music bands including The Cure and the The Associates ....
 (guitar
Electric guitar

An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickup to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker....
), Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst
Laurence Tolhurst

Laurence Andrew Tolhurst , better known as Lol Tolhurst, is a founding member and former drummer and keyboardist of United Kingdom gothic rock band The Cure....
 (percussion), Marc Ceccagno (lead guitar
Lead guitar

Lead guitar refers to the use of a guitar to perform melody lines, fill , and guitar solos within a song structure.In rock music, heavy metal music, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop music contexts as well as others, the lead guitar lines are usually supported by a second guitarist who plays rhythm guitar, which consists of accompan...
) and Alan Hill (bass guitar
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
). The first real incarnation though came in January 1976 when Ceccagno formed Malice
Malice (band)

Malice were a short-lived British punk rock band from Crawley, Sussex, who performed together between January and December of 1976. Members of the group later formed Easy Cure in 1977, who in turn became The Cure in 1978....
 with Smith and Dempsey along with two other classmates from St. Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School
St Wilfrid's Catholic School, Crawley

St Wilfrid's Catholic School is a Voluntary aided school Comprehensive school Roman Catholic Church secondary school in Crawley, West Sussex, England for pupils aged 11 to 18....
, with Ceccagno on lead, Smith now also on guitar and Dempsey switching to bass. Ceccagno soon left, however, to form a jazz-rock fusion band called Amulet. Increasingly influenced by the emergence of punk rock
Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock....
, Malice's remaining members became known as Easy Cure
Easy Cure

Easy Cure were a United Kingdom punk rock and post-punk band from Crawley, Sussex formed during the late '70s by former members of Malice . Easy Cure went on to fame when, after several lineup changes, they became The Cure....
 in January 1977. Smith and Dempsey had, by this time, been joined by Lol Tolhurst from The Obelisk on drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
, and new lead guitarist Porl Thompson
Porl Thompson

Porl Thompson is an English people musician best known for his work with The Cure....
. Both Malice and Easy Cure also trialed several unsuccessful vocalists before Smith finally assumed the role of Easy Cure's frontman in September 1977.

That year, The Easy Cure won a talent competition with the German label Hansa Records
Hansa Records

Hansa Records was a record label founded in the 1960s based in Berlin, Germany. The label's most successful act commercially was German based band Boney M....
, and received a recording contract
Recording contract

A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote....
. Although the band recorded tracks for the company, none were ever released. Following disagreements in March 1978 over the direction the band should take, the contract with Hansa was dissolved. Smith later recalled "We were very young. They just thought they could turn us into a teen group. They actually wanted us to do cover versions and we always refused." Thompson was dropped from the band that May, and the remaining trio (Smith/Tolhurst/Dempsey) was soon renamed The Cure by Smith. Later that month the band recorded their first sessions as a trio at Chestnut Studios in Sussex which were distributed as a demo tape to a dozen major record labels. The demo found its way to Polydor Records scout Chris Parry, who signed The Cure to his newly formed Fiction
Fiction Records

Fiction Records is a record label that was founded in 1978 by Chris Parry as a home for The Cure. The record label went on to be shared by Chris Parry, Robert Smith of The Cure, and Ita Martin....
 label—distributed by Polydor—in September 1978. However, as a stop-gap while Fiction finalised distribution arrangements with Polydor, in December 1978 The Cure released their debut single "Killing an Arab
Killing an Arab

"Killing an Arab" was the first single by The Cure. It was recorded at the same time as their first LP in the UK, Three Imaginary Boys but not included on the album....
" on the Small Wonder label. "Killing an Arab" garnered both acclaim and controversy: while the single's provocative title led to accusations of racism
Racism

Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that Race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race....
, the song is actually based on French existentialist Albert Camus
Albert Camus

Albert Camus was an Algerian-born France author, Philosophy, and journalist who won the Nobel Prize in 1957. He is often associated with existentialism, but Camus refused this label....
' novel The Stranger
The Stranger (novel)

The Stranger, The Outsider, , by Albert Camus, is one of the most famous French novels of the twentieth century and is among the best literary expositions of the absurdity of human existence in an indifferent universe....
. The band placed a sticker label that denied the racist connotations on the single's 1979 reissue on Fiction. An early NME
NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, which first appeared in the 14 November 1952 edition....
 article on the band wrote that The Cure "are like a breath of fresh suburban air on the capital's smog-ridden pub and club circuit" and noted "With a John Peel
John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, Order of the British Empire , known professionally as John Peel, was an England disc jockey, radio presenter and journalist....
 session and more extensive London gigging on their immediate agenda, it remains to be seen whether or not The Cure can retain their refreshing joie de vivre."

The Cure released their debut album Three Imaginary Boys
Three Imaginary Boys

Three Imaginary Boys is England rock band The Cure's debut album, released in May 1979 by Fiction Records. It was later released in the United States with a slightly different song line-up as Boys Don't Cry ....
 in May 1979. Due to the band's inexperience in the studio, Parry and engineer Mike Hedges
Mike Hedges

Mike Hedges is a British audio producer/engineer....
 took control of the recording. The band, particularly Smith, were unhappy with their debut, and in a 1987 interview he admitted that "a lot of it was very superficial – I didn't even like it at the time. There were criticisms made that it was very lightweight, and I thought they were justified. Even when we'd made it, I wanted to do something that I thought had more substance to it". The band's second single "Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry (song)

"Boys Don't Cry" was the second single to be released by The Cure, released in June 1979. It was released in the UK as a stand-alone single but was included as the title track on Boys Don't Cry , the American equivalent to Three Imaginary Boys....
" was released in June. The Cure then embarked as the support band for Siouxsie & The Banshees
Siouxsie & the Banshees

Siouxsie & the Banshees were a British Rock music band formed in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin, the only constant members....
' Join Hands
Join Hands

Join Hands is the second album released by Siouxsie & the Banshees. Polydor Records released it in the UK in September 1979. It is also the last album on which band members McKay and Morris appeared....
 promotional tour of England, Northern Ireland and Wales between August and October. The tour saw Smith pull double duty each night by performing with The Cure and as the guitarist with The Banshees when John McKay
John McKay (musician)

John McKay was the first studio guitarist of Siouxsie and the Banshees.He was member of the band from July 1977 until September 1979. He played on the albums The Scream and Join Hands....
 quit the group. That musical experience had a strong impact on him: "On stage that first night with the Banshees, I was blown away by how powerful I felt playing that kind of music. It was so different to what we were doing with The Cure. Before that, I'd wanted us to be like The Buzzcocks or Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello is an England musician and singer-songwriter. Costello came to prominence as an early participant in London's Pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres, before establishing his own unique voice in the 1980s....
, the punk Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
. Being a Banshee really changed my attitude to what I was doing."

The Cure's third single "Jumping Someone Else's Train
Jumping Someone Else's Train

"Jumping Someone Else's Train" is a single by The Cure. The song was covered by the Brooklyn-based band "Luff" for the 2008 American Laundromat Records tribute album "Just Like Heaven - a tribute to The Cure" and by Army Navy on Manimal Vinyl's tribute Perfect As Cats : a tribute to The Cure....
" was released in early October 1979. Soon afterwards, Dempsey was sacked from the band due to his cool reception to material Smith had written for the upcoming album. Dempsey joined the Associates
Associates

The Associates were a Scotland post-punk and New Wave band of the early 1980s. They were well known for the operatic voice and theatrical antics of peacockian singer Billy Mackenzie who committed suicide in 1997....
, while Simon Gallup
Simon Gallup

Simon Jonathon Gallup is an England musician and bassist of the post-punk band The Cure....
 (bass) and Matthieu Hartley
Matthieu Hartley

Matthieu Hartley is an England musician born in Smallfield, England. He is best known as the original keyboardist for The Cure, but before that he and Simon Gallup were involved in two other bands called Lockjaw and The Magazine Spies....
 (keyboards) from The Magspies joined The Cure. The Associates toured as support band for The Cure and The Passions
The Passions

The Passions were a United Kingdom pop music band which formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1983. They were archetypal one-hit wonders with their misty, trance-like pop song, "I'm in love with a German film star"....
 on the Future Pastimes Tour of England between November and December—all three bands were on the Fiction Records roster—with the new Cure lineup already performing a number of new songs for the projected second album. Meanwhile, a spin-off band comprising Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey, Gallup, Hartley and Thompson, with backing vocals from assorted family and friends, and lead vocals provided by their local postman Frankie Bell released a 7 inch
Gramophone record

A gramophone record is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc....
 single in December under the assumed name of Cult Hero.

Gothic phase (1980–1982)


Wary due to the band's lack of creative control on the first album, Smith exerted a greater influence on the recording of the second album Seventeen Seconds
Seventeen Seconds

Seventeen Seconds is the second studio album by The Cure, released in April 1980 by Fiction Records. It is the only Cure album to feature keyboardist Matthieu Hartley....
, which he co-produced with Mike Hedges. Seventeen Seconds was released in 1980 and reached number 20 on the UK charts
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
. The album single "A Forest
A Forest

"A Forest" is a single by the British rock band The Cure, released on March 28, 1980 as the only single from their second album Seventeen Seconds....
" became the band's first UK hit single, reaching number 31 on the singles chart. The album was a departure from The Cure's sound up to that point, with Hedges describing it as "morose, atmospheric, very different to Three Imaginary Boys." In its review of Seventeen Seconds the NME said "For a group as young as The Cure, it seems amazing that they have covered so much territory in such a brief time." At the same time Smith was pressed concerning the concept of an alleged "anti-image". Smith told the press he was fed up with the anti-image association that some considered to be "elaborately disguising their plainness", stating, "We had to get away from that anti-image thing, which we didn't even create in the first place. And it seemed like we were trying to be more obscure. We just didn't like the standard rock thing. The whole thing really got out of hand." That same year Three Imaginary Boys was repackaged for the American market as Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry (album)

Boys Don't Cry is an album by The Cure, released in August 1980 . It is the U.S. version of their UK debut album, Three Imaginary Boys, differing slightly in track order and missing three of that album's songs while adding others ....
, with new artwork and a modified tracklist. The Cure set out on their first world tour to promote both releases. At the end of the tour Matthieu Hartley left the band. Hartley said, "I realised that the group was heading towards suicidal, sombre music—the sort of thing that didn't interest me at all."

The band reconvened with Hedges to produce their third album Faith
Faith (The Cure album)

Faith is the third album by Great Britain band The Cure, released in April 1981....
 (1981), which furthered the mood of misery present on Seventeen Seconds. The album peaked at number 14 on the UK charts. Included with cassette copies of Faith was an instrumental soundtrack for Carnage Visors, an animated film shown in place of an opening act for the band's 1981 Picture Tour. In late 1981, The Cure released the non-album single "Charlotte Sometimes
Charlotte Sometimes (song)

"Charlotte Sometimes" is a 1981 single by The Cure, which was based on the Charlotte Sometimes . The single peaked at number forty-four in the UK Singles Chart....
". By this point the somber mood of the music was having a profound effect on the attitude of the band. The band would refuse requests for older songs in concert, and sometimes Smith would be so absorbed by the persona he projected onstage he would leave at the end in tears.

In 1982 The Cure recorded and released Pornography
Pornography (album)

Pornography is the fourth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, originally released in 1982 and re-mastered and re-released in 2005. Recorded with the group on the brink of collapse, it represents the conclusion of the musical phase which began with Seventeen Seconds and Faith ....
, the third and final album of an "oppressively dispirited" trio that cemented the Cure's stature as purveyors of the emerging gothic rock genre. Smith has said during the recording of Pornography he was "undergoing a lot of mental stress. But it had nothing to do with the group, it just had to do with what I was like, my age and things. I think I got to my worst round about Pornography. Looking back and getting other people's opinions of what went on, I was a pretty monstrous sort of person at that time". Gallup described the album by saying, "Nihilism took over [. . .] We sang 'It doesn't matter if we all die' and that is exactly what we thought at the time." Parry was concerned that the album did not have a hit song for radio play and instructed Smith and producer Phil Thornalley
Phil Thornalley

Phil Thornalley is a songwriter-producer and occasional bassist and vocalist who has worked in the music industry since 1978. Best known for co-writing and producing the song "Torn " for Cutler and Preven's band Ednaswap, which Natalie Imbruglia later covered to great success for her debut album, Left of the Middle....
 to polish the track "The Hanging Garden
A Single

A Single was the first limited edition release by The Cure. It was released as a gatefold double pack of 7" singles with a total of four tracks....
" for release as a single. Despite the concerns about the album's uncommercial sound, Pornography became the band's first UK Top 10 album, charting at number eight. The release of Pornography was followed by the Fourteen Explicit Moments tour, where the band finally dropped the anti-image angle and first adopted their signature look of big, towering hair and smeared lipstick on their faces. The tour also saw a series of incidents that prompted Simon Gallup to leave The Cure at the tour's conclusion. Gallup and Smith did not talk to each other for eighteen months following his departure.

Increasing commercial success (1983–1988)


With Gallup's departure from The Cure and with Smith's work with Siouxsie & the Banshees, rumors spread that The Cure had broken up. In December 1982, Smith remarked to Melody Maker
Melody Maker

Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was 1926 in music as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 in British music it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express....
, "Do The Cure really exist any more? I've been pondering that question myself [. . .] it has got to a point where I don't fancy working in that format again." He added, "Whatever happens, it won't be me, Laurence, and Simon together any more. I know that."

Parry was concerned at the state of his label's top band, and became convinced that the solution was for The Cure to reinvent its musical style. Parry managed to convince Smith and Tolhurst of the idea; Parry said, "It appealed to Robert because he wanted to destroy The Cure anyway." With Tolhurst now playing keyboards instead of drums, the duo released the single "Let's Go to Bed" in late 1982. While Smith played the single off as a throwaway "stupid" pop song to the press, it became a minor hit in the UK, reaching number 44 on the singles chart. It was followed in 1983 by two more successful songs: the synth-based "The Walk
The Walk (The Cure song)

"The Walk" is the name of a 1983 single by The Cure. It later appeared on their album Japanese Whispers. "The Walk" is known to be the only Cure song that Robert Smith's mother liked up to that point....
" (number 12), and the jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
-influenced "The Lovecats
The Lovecats

"The Lovecats" is a 1983 single by The Cure. It was the band's first Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at number 7, and also hit number 6 in Australia....
", which became the band's first British Top 10 hit, reaching number seven. The group released these studio singles and their b-sides as the compilation album Japanese Whispers
Japanese Whispers

Japanese Whispers: The Cure Singles Nov 82:Nov 83 is a compilation album by United Kingdom new wave music musical group The Cure. It was released in late 1983 by their record company, Fiction Records....
, designed by Smith for the Japanese market only, but released worldwide on the decision of the record company. The same year, Smith also recorded and toured with Siouxsie & the Banshees
Siouxsie & the Banshees

Siouxsie & the Banshees were a British Rock music band formed in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin, the only constant members....
, contributing as guitarist on their Nocturne
Nocturne (album)

Nocturne is a live double-album by Siouxsie & the Banshees, released in 1983, which features performances recorded at two shows at the Royal Albert Hall on September 30 and October 1, 1983, featuring Robert Smith on guitar....
 live video and their Hyaena
Hyaena (album)

Hy?na is the sixth studio album by Siouxsie & the Banshees, released in 1984. It is the only record guitarist Robert Smith of The Cure composed and recorded with the Banshees....
 studio album. Meanwhile, he recorded the Blue Sunshine
Blue Sunshine

Blue Sunshine is the only album by the British supergroup The Glove, which was first released in 1983. This album mainly served as a diversion for Robert Smith and Steve Severin when both of them were under heavy stress in their respective bands The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees....
 album with Banshees bassist Steven Severin
Steven Severin

Steven Severin , sometimes written Steve Severin, is a musician, composer, bassist and founding member of Siouxsie & the Banshees.After dabbling with the names "Steve Spunker" and "Steve Havoc" he took the name "Severin", from the Leopold von Sacher-Masoch Venus in Furs that is the subject of the Velvet Underground song "Venus in Furs...
 as The Glove
The Glove

The Glove is a supergroup that was a side project of Steven Severin and Robert Smith from United Kingdom Rock music bands Siouxsie & the Banshees and The Cure, respectively....
, while Lol Tolhurst produced the first two singles and debut album of the English band And Also The Trees
And also the trees

And Also The Trees are a Rock music band formed in 1979 in the United Kingdom. They are most notable for their poetic lyrics and evocative music which is strongly influenced by their native English countryside....
.

In 1984 The Cure released The Top
The Top (album)

The Top is the fifth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, released in 1984....
, a generally psychedelic album on which Smith played all the instruments except the drums –played by Andy Anderson– and the saxophone –played by returnee Porl Thompson. The album was a Top 10 hit in the UK ,and was their first studio album to break the Billboard 200
Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling Albums and extended play in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine....
 in the U.S., reaching number 180. Melody Maker praised the album as "psychedelia that can't be dated", while pondering, "I've yet to meet anyone who can tell me why The Cure are having hits now of all times." The Cure then embarked on their worldwide "Top Tour" with Thompson, Anderson, and producer-turned-bassist Phil Thornalley
Phil Thornalley

Phil Thornalley is a songwriter-producer and occasional bassist and vocalist who has worked in the music industry since 1978. Best known for co-writing and producing the song "Torn " for Cutler and Preven's band Ednaswap, which Natalie Imbruglia later covered to great success for her debut album, Left of the Middle....
 on board. Released in late 1984, The Cure's first live album
Live album

A live album – commonly contrasted with a studio album – is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances. Live albums may be recorded at a single concert, or combine recordings made at multiple concerts....
, Concert
Concert (album)

Concert: The Cure Live is the first live album of the England rock band The Cure. It was recorded in 1984 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London and in Oxford....
 consisted of performances from this tour. Near the tour's end, Anderson was fired for destroying a hotel room and was replaced by Boris Williams
Boris Williams

Boris Peter Bransby-Williams is an England drummer best known for his extensive work with The Cure . He had previously worked with various artists, including Thompson Twins, Kim Wilde, Strawberry Switchblade and Tomato City....
. Thornalley also left due to the rigors of the road. However, the bassist slot was not vacant long, for a Cure roadie named Gary Biddles had brokered a reunion between Smith and former bassist Simon Gallup, who in the meantime had been playing in the band Fools Dance
Fools Dance

Fools Dance was a short-lived British rock band formed by Simon Gallup after he left The Cure due to a conflict with Robert Smith in 1982. Although Fools Dance recorded a number of songs and played a number of gigs in their brief existence, they never released a full-length album....
. Soon after reconciling, Smith asked Gallup to rejoin the band. Smith was ecstatic about Gallup's return and declared to Melody Maker, "It's a group again."

In 1985, the new lineup—Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Thompson, and Williams—released The Head on the Door
The Head on the Door

The Head on the Door is the sixth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, released in 1985. The album is the first to feature drummer Boris Williams, it also features the return of Simon Gallup and is Porl Thompson's first album as an official member....
, an album which managed to meld the melodic and pessimistic aspects of the band they had previously shifted between. The Head on the Door reached number seven in the UK and was the band's first entry into American Top 75 at number 59, a success partly due to the international impact of the LP's two singles, "In Between Days
In Between Days

"In Between Days" is a song by the England alternative rock band The Cure. The song was released as the first single from the band's 1985 album The Head on the Door....
" and "Close to Me". Following the album and further world tour, the band released the singles compilation Standing on a Beach
Standing on a Beach

Standing on a Beach is a singles compilation released by the British rock band The Cure in May, 1986, marking a decade since the band's founding in 1976....
 in three formats (each with a different track listing and a specific name) in 1986. This compilation made the US Top 50
Top 50

The Top 50 refers to a list of weekly hit singles, or albums. It is similar to the top 40, but with 10 extra places.In the United Kingdom when Record Retailer launched its charts in 1960 to rival the existing chart compilers, it choose to list a top 50, making it the largest chart ever printed in that country at the time....
, and saw the re-issue of three previous singles: "Boys Don't Cry" (in a new form), "Let's Go To Bed" and later "Charlotte Sometimes". This release was accompanied by a VHS or LaserDisc called Staring at the Sea, which featured videos for each track on the compilation. The Cure toured to support the compilation and released a live concert VHS
VHS

The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard developed by JVC and launched in Europe and Asia in September 1976, and the United States in June 1977....
 of the show, filmed in the south of France called The Cure in Orange
The Cure in Orange

The Cure in OrangeRating: NRRunning Time: 113 MinutesDirected by: Tim Pope...
. During this time, The Cure became a very popular band in Europe (particularly in France, Germany and the Benelux
Benelux

The Benelux is an union in Western Europe that comprises three neighboring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg , which lie in the north western European region between France and Germany....
 countries) and increasingly popular in the U.S.

In 1987, The Cure released the double LP Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me is the seventh studio album by British alternative rock band The Cure. Released in 1987, this album helped put The Cure into the American mainstream, becoming their first album to reach the Billboard Top 40....
, which reached number six in the UK and number 35 in the U.S. (where it was certified platinum), due to the combination of the band's rising popularity and the success of lead single, "Why Can't I Be You?
Why Can't I Be You?

Why Can't I Be You? is a 1987 single by The Cure from their album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me....
". The album's third single, "Just Like Heaven
Just like Heaven (song)

"Just Like Heaven" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Cure. The group largely wrote the song during recording sessions in Southern France in 1987....
" was the band's most successful single to date in the US, being their first to enter the Billboard Top 40. After the album's release, the band embarked on the successful Kissing Tour. During the European leg of the tour, Lol Tolhurst's alcohol consumption was interfering with his ability to perform so Psychedelic Furs
Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs are an England Rock music band founded in 1977....
 keyboardist Roger O'Donnell
Roger O'Donnell

Roger O'Donnell is an England keyboardist best known for his work with The Cure. O'Donnell has also performed in Psychedelic Furs, the Thompson Twins and Berlin , as well as an active solo career....
 was frequently called upon to stand in for him.

Disintegration and worldwide success (1989–2002)


In 1989 The Cure released the album Disintegration
Disintegration

Disintegration is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock band The Cure, released in May 1989 by Fiction Records. The record marks a return to the introspective and gloomy gothic rock style the band had established in the early 1980s....
, which saw a return to the gothic atmospheres of earlier releases like Faith and Pornography. It became their highest charting album in the UK to date, entering at number three and featuring three Top 30 singles in the UK and Germany ("Lullaby", "Lovesong" and "Pictures of You
Pictures of You

"Pictures of You" is the fourth and final single from The Cure's 1989 album Disintegration. The track was given to lead vocalist and guitarist Robert Smith by Everett Hall....
"). Disintegration also reached number twelve on the US charts. The first single stateside, "Fascination Street", reached number one on the American Modern Rock chart, but was quickly overshadowed when its third US single, "Lovesong", reached number two on the American pop charts (the only Cure single to reach the US Top 10). By 1992 Disintegration had sold over three million copies worldwide.

During the Disintegration sessions, the band gave Smith an ultimatum that either Tolhurst would have to leave the band or they would. In February 1989 Tolhurst's exit was made official and announced to the press; this resulted in Roger O'Donnell becoming a full-fledged member of the band and left Smith as The Cure's only remaining founding member. Smith attributed Tolhurst's dismissal to an inability to exert himself and issues with alcohol, concluding, "He was out of step with everything. It had just become detrimental to everything we'd do." Because Tolhurst was still on the payroll during the recording of Disintegration, he was credited in the album's liner notes as playing "other instrument", however it has since been revealed that he contributed nothing to the album in either performance or songwriting. The Cure then embarked on the Prayer Tour, which saw the band playing stadiums in America.

In May 1990, Roger O'Donnell quit and was replaced with the band's guitar tech Perry Bamonte
Perry Bamonte

Perry Archangelo Bamonte is an Anglo-Italian musician best known for his work with The Cure....
. That November, The Cure released a collection of remixes called Mixed Up. The album was not well-received and quickly slid down the charts. The one new song on the collection, "Never Enough", was released as a single. In 1991 The Cure were awarded the BRIT Award
Brit Awards

The BRIT Awards, often simply called The BRITs, are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of British or Britannia, but has subsequently become a "backronym" for British Record Industry Trust....
 for Best British Band. That same year Tolhurst filed a lawsuit against Robert Smith and Fiction Records in 1991 over royalties payments, and claimed joint ownership of the name "The Cure" with Smith; the verdict was handed out in September 1994 in favor of Smith. In respite from the lawsuit the band returned to the studio to record their next album. Wish
Wish (album)

Wish is the ninth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, released in 1992.This is the last studio album featuring Boris Williams and the first featuring Perry Bamonte, as well as being the last album featuring Porl Thompson for sixteen years....
 reached number one in the UK and number two in the US and yielded the international hits "High" and "Friday I'm in Love
Friday I'm in Love

"Friday I'm in Love" is the second single taken from the album Wish from The Cure. It is among the band's most well-known songs....
". The Cure also embarked on the "Wish Tour" with Cranes
Cranes (band)

Cranes are a Great Britain music group. Their music has frequently been described as incorporating elements of gothic rock, dream pop, and shoegazing....
 and released the live albums Show
Show (album)

Show is a live album by England alternative rock band The Cure, released in 1993 and recorded live over two nights at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan in 1992, during the successful Wish tour....
 (September 1993) and Paris
Paris (The Cure album)

Paris is a live album recorded by The Cure at Le Z?nith in Paris, in October 1992 during their Wish tour, but released in 1993.Paris was released at the same time as Show , which was recorded in the United States....
 (October 1993). As a promotional exercise with the Our Price music chain in the UK, a limited edition EP was released consisting of instrumental outtakes from the Wish sessions. Entitled Lost Wishes, the proceeds from the four track cassette tape went to charity.

In the years between the release of Wish and the start of sessions for The Cure's next album, the band's lineup shifted again. Thompson left the band once more during 1993 to play with Robert Plant
Robert Plant

Robert Anthony Plant Order of the British Empire , is an England Rock and Roll singer and songwriter, famous for his membership in the former rock band Led Zeppelin as the lead vocalist, as well as for his successful solo career....
 and Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page

James Patrick Page Order of the British Empire is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he co-founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin....
 of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock music band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal music bands....
, and Bamonte took over as lead guitarist. Boris Williams also left the band, and was replaced by Jason Cooper
Jason Cooper

Jason Toop Cooper is an England musician best known for his work with The Cure....
 (formerly of My Life Story
My Life Story

My Life Story are a United Kingdom indie pop musical ensemble who peaked in the mid to late 1990s, when they were regarded as part of the Britpop movement....
). The album sessions began in 1994 with only Smith and Bamonte present; the pair were later joined by Gallup (who was recovering from physical problems), and Roger O'Donnell, who had been asked to rejoin the band at the end of 1994. Wild Mood Swings
Wild Mood Swings

Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, released in 1996 ....
, finally released in 1996, was poorly compared to previous albums and marked the end of the band's commercial peak. Early in 1996 the Cure played festivals in South America, followed by a world tour in support of the album. 1997 saw the release of Galore, the follow-up to The Cure's multi-platinum singles collection, Standing on a Beach. Galore contained all of the Cure's singles released between 1987 and 1997, as well as the new single "Wrong Number
Wrong Number (song)

Wrong Number is the name of a single released by the United Kingdom group the Cure in 1997. The single was the new song on the Galore singles compilation 1987 - 1997....
". which featured longtime David Bowie
David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
 guitarist Reeves Gabrels
Reeves Gabrels

Reeves Gabrels is an United States of America guitarist, best known for his long partnership with British singer David Bowie, working together regularly from 1987 to 2000....
. Gabrels also accompanied the Cure on a brief American radio festival tour as an onstage guest guitarist for "Wrong Number". In 1998 The Cure contributed to the soundtrack album for The X-Files
The X Files (film)

The X-Files is a 1998 in film science fiction film based on The X-Files.Fight the Future, the film's tagline, is sometimes used promotionally as an unofficial subtitle, but it does not appear as part of the film's copyrighted on-screen title....
 feature film as well as the Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode is an electronic music band formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex, England. The group's original line-up was Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andrew Fletcher and Vince Clarke ....
 tribute album For the Masses
For the Masses

For the Masses is a 1998 tribute album to Depeche Mode, specifically the works of Martin Gore; the fact that no songs by Vince Clarke or Alan Wilder were chosen was not a coincidence....
, with their cover of "World in My Eyes
World in My Eyes

"World in My Eyes" is Depeche Mode's twenty-sixth United Kingdom single, released on September 17, 1990, and the fourth and final single for the album Violator ....
".

With only one album left in their record contract and with commercial response to Wild Mood Swings and the Galore compilation lacklustre, Smith once again considered that the end of The Cure might be near and thus wanted to make an album that reflected the more serious side of the band. The Grammy-nominated album Bloodflowers
Bloodflowers

Bloodflowers is the eleventh album by England band The Cure, released in 2000 in music. The album is seen as a somber return to form by critics and fans alike....
 was released in 2000 after being delayed since 1998. The album was, according to Smith, the third of a trilogy along with Pornography and Disintegration. The band also embarked on the nine-month Dream Tour, attended by over one million people worldwide. In 2001 The Cure left Fiction and released their Greatest Hits album and DVD, which featured the music video
Music video

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a pop music or rock music song with lyrics. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings....
s for a number of classic Cure songs. In 2002 the band headlined twelve major summer music festivals, and also played three extended concerts (one in Brussels, two in Berlin) in which they performed the albums Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers in their respective entireties each night. The Berlin performances were released on DVD as The Cure: Trilogy
The Cure: Trilogy

The Cure: Trilogy is a double live album video by The Cure, released on two double layer DVD-9 discs. It documents The Trilogy Concerts, in which the three albums, Pornography , Disintegration and Bloodflowers were played live in their entirety one after the other each night, the songs being played in the order in which the...
 in 2003.

Recent years (2003–present)

In 2003, The Cure signed with Geffen Records
Geffen Records

Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group....
. In 2004, they released a new four-disc boxed set on Fiction Records titled Join the Dots: B-Sides and Rarities, 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years)
Join the Dots: B-Sides and Rarities, 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years)

Join the Dots: B-sides and Rarities is a box set of The Cure, released in January 27, 2004 by their former record label Fiction . This box set is a four-disc compilation of B-sides and rarities, digitally remastered from their original tapes....
. The compilation includes seventy Cure songs, some previously unreleased, and a 76-page full-colour book of photographs, history and quotes, packaged in a hard cover. The album peaked at number 106 on the Billboard 200 album charts. The band released their twelfth album The Cure
The Cure (album)

The Cure is the eponymous twelfth studio album by England Rock music band The Cure. The album was released on 28 June 2004 by Geffen Records....
 on Geffen Records in 2004, which was produced by Ross Robinson
Ross Robinson

Ross Robinson is a music producer, who has worked with acts such as Machine Head , Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot , The Cure, Sepultura, Glassjaw and many others....
. It made a top ten debut on both sides of the Atlantic in July 2004 and debuted in the top 30 in Australia. To promote the album, the band headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival organized by Goldenvoice held at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California, California....
 that May. From 24 July to 29 August, The Cure headlined the Curiosa
Curiosa

Curiosa is the name of a 2004 concert tour in the United States and Toronto , organized by Robert Smith of The Cure. It began with a concert in West Palm Beach, Florida on July 24 and ended in Sacramento, California on August 29....
 concert tour of North America. The concert had two stages and featured Smith favourites Interpol
Interpol (band)

Interpol are an American band formed in 1997 in New York City.The band's line-up is Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Sam Fogarino ....
, The Rapture
The Rapture

The Rapture is a dance punk rock band based in New York City. The band mixes influences from many genres including post-punk, acid house, disco, electronica and rock music....
, and Mogwai
Mogwai

The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Yue Chinese word ?? meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon"....
 on the main stage and bands such as Muse
Muse (band)

Muse are an English rock music band that was formed in Teignmouth, Devon, England in 1994. Since their inception, the band has comprised Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard ....
, Scarling.
Scarling.

Scarling. is a Rock music band from Los Angeles, whose core members are Jessicka and Christian Hejnal- Addams. The band's music combines a massive guitar-based sound with elements of noise rock, goth rock, shoegaze, psychedelic rock, indie rock....
, Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur

Melissa Auf der Maur is a Canada rock musician of France-Switzerland ancestry from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her career has included 5 years as Bass guitar with the band Hole and she later toured with The Smashing Pumpkins for their 2000 tour....
 and Thursday
Thursday (band)

Thursday is a post-hardcore band from New Brunswick, New Jersey that Thursday discography five studio album. The band's most recent release, Common Existence, is out now on Epitaph Records....
 on the second stage. While attendances were lower than expected, Curiosa was still one of the more successful American summer festivals of 2004. The same year the band was honoured with an MTV Icon
MTV Icon

MTV Icon was an annual tribute show held by MTV, running from 2001 to 2004. Each year bands inspired by the Icon at hand performed some of the Icon's songs....
 television special.

In May 2005, Roger O'Donnell and Perry Bamonte were fired from the band. O'Donnell claims Smith informed him he was reducing the band to a three-piece. Previously O'Donnell had only found out about the band's upcoming tour dates via a fan site and added, "It was sad to find out after nearly 20 years the way I did but then I should have expected no less or more." The remaining members of the band—Smith, Gallup and Cooper—made several appearances as a trio before it was announced in June that Porl Thompson
Porl Thompson

Porl Thompson is an English people musician best known for his work with The Cure....
 would be returning for the band's 2005 Festival summer shows, as well as their set at Live 8
Live 8

Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and 31st G8 summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6-8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid....
 in Paris on 2 July. Later that year, the band recorded a cover of John Lennon's "Love" for Amnesty International
Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London, England in 1961, AI draws its attention to human rights abuses and...
's charity album Make Some Noise. It is available for download on the Amnesty website, while the album was released on CD in 2006. On 1 April 2006 The Cure appeared at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
 on behalf of the Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust

Teenage Cancer Trust is a charity that focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer, leukaemia, Hodgkin?s and related diseases by providing specialist teenage units in National Health Service hospitals....
. It was their only show through to the end the year. In December a live DVD, entitled The Cure: Festival 2005
The Cure: Festival 2005

Festival 2005 is a Live album by The Cure released in late 2006. It was shot during the band's headlining shows at 9 European music festivals in the summer of 2005....
 including 30 songs of their 2005 Festival tour was released.

The Cure began writing and recording material for their thirteenth album in 2006. Smith initially stated it would be a double album. The Cure announced a last-minute postponement of their Fall 2007 North American 4Tour
4Tour

4Tour is the name of The Cure's 2007-2008 concert tour. It began with their first concert in Japan in over 22 years at the Fuji Rock Festival on July 27, 2007 and ended at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on June 21, 2008....
 in August in order to continue working on the album, rescheduling the dates for Spring 2008. Titled 4:13 Dream, the album was released in October 2008. The group released four singles and an EP—"The Only One
The Only One (The Cure song)

"The Only One" is a single by the United Kingdom band The Cure which was released on 13 May 2008 on Geffen Records in the United Kingdom. The single was released in the United States on 20 May 2008....
", "Freakshow
Freakshow (The Cure song)

"Freakshow" is a single by the United Kingdom band The Cure which was released on June 13, 2008 on Geffen Records in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the single was released three days early, on June 10 because of the tradition of releasing songs on a Tuesday....
", "Sleep When I'm Dead
Sleep When I'm Dead

"Sleep When I'm Dead" is a single by the United Kingdom band The Cure released on July 13, 2008 on Geffen Records in the United Kingdom. It was pushed back to July 15 in the United States to comply with the tradition of releasing songs on a Tuesday....
", "The Perfect Boy
The Perfect Boy

"The Perfect Boy" is a single by the United Kingdom band The Cure which was released on 13 August 2008 on Geffen Records in the United Kingdom and on 12 August in the United States to follow the tradition of releasing the singles on a Tuesday....
" and Hypnagogic States
Hypnagogic States

Hypnagogic States is an Extended play by The Cure, released on 13 September 2008. It contains remixes of the first four singles off of the band's album, 4:13 Dream: "The Only One ", "Freakshow ", "Sleep When I'm Dead" and "The Perfect Boy"....
 respectively—on or near to the 13th of each month, in the months leading up to the album's release.

Musical style

The Cure are often identified with the gothic rock subgenre of alternative rock, and are viewed as one of the form's definitive bands. However, the band has routinely rejected classification, particularly as a gothic rock band. Robert Smith said in 2006, "It's so pitiful when 'goth' is still tagged onto the name The Cure", and added, "We're not categorisable. I suppose we were post-punk when we came out, but in total it's impossible [...] I just play Cure music, whatever that is." Smith has also expressed his distaste for gothic rock, describing it as "incredibly dull and monotonous. A dirge really." While typically viewed as producers of dark and gloomy music, The Cure have also yielded a number of upbeat songs. Spin has said "The Cure have always been an either/or sort of band: either [...] Robert Smith is wallowing in gothic sadness or he's licking sticky-sweet cotton-candy pop off his lipstick-stained fingers."

The Cure's primary musical traits have been listed as "dominant, melodic bass lines; whiny, strangulated vocals; and a lyric obsession with existential, almost literary despair." Most Cure songs start with Smith and Gallup writing the drum parts and basslines. Both record demos at home and then bring them into the studio for fine-tuning. Smith said in 1992, "I think when people talk about the 'Cure sound,' they mean songs based on 6-string bass, acoustic guitar, and my voice, plus the string sound from the Solina
ARP String Ensemble

The ARP Instruments, Inc. String Ensemble, produced by Solina from 1974 to 1981, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard....
." On top of this foundation is laid "towering layers of guitars and synthesizers". Keyboards have been a component of the band's sound since Seventeen Seconds, and their importance increased with the instrument's extensive use on Disintegration.

Music videos

The Cure have been making music videos for their singles since the video for "A Forest" in 1980. The band's early videos have been described as "dreadful affairs" and have been maligned for their poor quality, particularly by the band itself. Lol Tolhurst said, "Those videos were unmitigated disasters; we weren't actors and our personalities weren't coming across." It was with the video for "Let's Go to Bed", their first collaboration with director Tim Pope
Tim Pope

Timothy Michael Pope is a film director most famous for his music videos, having directed film, and for a brief pop music career....
, that The Cure would become noted for their videos. Pope added a playful element to the band's videos; the director insisted in a 1987 Spin interview, "I think that side of them was always there, but was never brought out." Pope would go on to direct the majority of The Cure's videos, and his videos, which became synonymous with the band, helped expand The Cure's audience during the 1980s. Pope explained the appeal of working with The Cure by saying, "The Cure is the ultimate band for a filmmaker to work with because Robert Smith really understands the camera. His songs are so cinematic. I mean on one level there's this stupidity and humour, right, but beneath that there are all [Smith's] psychological obsessions and claustrophobia."

Legacy

The Cure were one of the first alternative bands to have chart and commercial success in an era before alternative rock had broken into the mainstream. In 1992 the NME
NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, which first appeared in the 14 November 1952 edition....
 declared The Cure had during the 1980s become "a goth hit machine (19 to date), an international phenomenon and, yep, the most successful alternative band that ever shuffled disconsolately about the earth". Smith has noted he looks at Cure-influenced bands Interpol
Interpol (band)

Interpol are an American band formed in 1997 in New York City.The band's line-up is Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Sam Fogarino ....
 and My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance is an American rock band formed in 2001 in Jersey City, New Jersey. The band consists of five members that are Gerard Way, Mikey Way, Frank Iero, Ray Toro and Bob Bryar....
 with affection, adding, "I also think [Interpol bassist] Carlos D.
Carlos Dengler

Carlos Dengler , previously known as Carlos D., is an United States musician best known as the bassist for the band Interpol ....
's obsession with Simon Gallup
Simon Gallup

Simon Jonathon Gallup is an England musician and bassist of the post-punk band The Cure....
 is sweet."

Several references to The Cure and their music have been made in popular culture. A number of films have used the title of a Cure song as the film's title, including Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry (film)

Boys Don't Cry is a 1999 in film independent film drama film based on the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transman who was raped and murdered on December 31, 1993 by his male friends after they found out he had vagina....
 (1999) and Just Like Heaven (2005). The Cure's gloomy image has been the subject of parody at times. In series two of The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh

The Mighty Boosh, colloquially referred to as The Boosh, is the collective name for the creators of the British comedy written by and starring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding....
, The Moon sings the chorus to 'The Lovecats'. At another point in the series, a powerful gothic hairspray, Goth Juice, is said to be "The most powerful hairspray known to man. Made from the tears of Robert Smith." The Mary Whitehouse Experience
The Mary Whitehouse Experience

The Mary Whitehouse Experience was a United Kingdom topical sketch comedy show produced by the BBC in association with Spitting Image Productions....
 often featured brief clips of the stars of the show performing comical songs and nursery rhymes as The Cure in a morose style. Robert Smith appeared in the final episode of the first series of The Mary Whitehouse Experience, punching the character Ray (played by Robert Newman) whilst uttering Ray's catch-phrase "Oh no what a personal disaster". Robert Smith was also portrayed on an episode of South Park
South Park

South Park is an United Statesn animation situation comedy, notorious for its toilet humour, surrealism, and often black comedy, which satirizes Subject matter in South Park including religion, politics, violence, abuse, sexuality, and mental disorder....
 where he transforms into the form of Mothra
Mothra

is a kaiju, a type of fictional monster who first appeared in the novel The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Takehiko Fukunaga. Since her film d?but in the 1961 film Mothra , she has appeared in several Toho tokusatsu films....
 and battles Mecha-Streisand
Mecha-Streisand

Mecha-Streisand is episode 12 of Comedy Central's List of animated television series South Park. It was originally broadcast in its first season, on February 18, 1998....
 to save the day and Kyle shouts "Disintegration
Disintegration

Disintegration is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock band The Cure, released in May 1989 by Fiction Records. The record marks a return to the introspective and gloomy gothic rock style the band had established in the early 1980s....
 is the best album ever!".

Discography


Studio albums

  • Three Imaginary Boys
    Three Imaginary Boys

    Three Imaginary Boys is England rock band The Cure's debut album, released in May 1979 by Fiction Records. It was later released in the United States with a slightly different song line-up as Boys Don't Cry ....
     (1979)
  • Seventeen Seconds
    Seventeen Seconds

    Seventeen Seconds is the second studio album by The Cure, released in April 1980 by Fiction Records. It is the only Cure album to feature keyboardist Matthieu Hartley....
     (1980)
  • Faith (1981)
  • Pornography
    Pornography (album)

    Pornography is the fourth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, originally released in 1982 and re-mastered and re-released in 2005. Recorded with the group on the brink of collapse, it represents the conclusion of the musical phase which began with Seventeen Seconds and Faith ....
     (1982)
  • The Top
    The Top (album)

    The Top is the fifth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, released in 1984....
     (1984)
  • The Head on the Door
    The Head on the Door

    The Head on the Door is the sixth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, released in 1985. The album is the first to feature drummer Boris Williams, it also features the return of Simon Gallup and is Porl Thompson's first album as an official member....
     (1985)
  • Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
    Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

    Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me is the seventh studio album by British alternative rock band The Cure. Released in 1987, this album helped put The Cure into the American mainstream, becoming their first album to reach the Billboard Top 40....
     (1987)
  • Disintegration
    Disintegration

    Disintegration is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock band The Cure, released in May 1989 by Fiction Records. The record marks a return to the introspective and gloomy gothic rock style the band had established in the early 1980s....
     (1989)
  • Wish
    Wish (album)

    Wish is the ninth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, released in 1992.This is the last studio album featuring Boris Williams and the first featuring Perry Bamonte, as well as being the last album featuring Porl Thompson for sixteen years....
     (1992)
  • Wild Mood Swings
    Wild Mood Swings

    Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by Great Britain band The Cure, released in 1996 ....
     (1996)
  • Bloodflowers
    Bloodflowers

    Bloodflowers is the eleventh album by England band The Cure, released in 2000 in music. The album is seen as a somber return to form by critics and fans alike....
     (2000)
  • The Cure
    The Cure (album)

    The Cure is the eponymous twelfth studio album by England Rock music band The Cure. The album was released on 28 June 2004 by Geffen Records....
     (2004)
  • 4:13 Dream (2008)


Members


  • Robert Smith
    Robert Smith (musician)

    Robert James Smith is an England guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is the lead singer and principal songwriter of the Rock music band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976....
     – lead vocals, guitar
    Rhythm guitar

    Rhythm guitar is the use of a guitar to provide rhythmic chord al accompaniment for a singer or other instruments in a musical ensemble. In ensembles or "bands" playing within the country music, blues music, rock music or Heavy metal music genres , a guitarist playing the rhythm part of a composition supports the melodic lines and solos play...
    , keyboards, six-string bass (1976–present)
  • Simon Gallup
    Simon Gallup

    Simon Jonathon Gallup is an England musician and bassist of the post-punk band The Cure....
     – bass guitar
    Bass guitar

    The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
    , keyboards (1979–1982, 1985–present)
  • Porl Thompson
    Porl Thompson

    Porl Thompson is an English people musician best known for his work with The Cure....
     – guitar
    Guitar

    The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
    , keyboards (1976–1978, 1983–1993, 2005–present)
  • Jason Cooper
    Jason Cooper

    Jason Toop Cooper is an England musician best known for his work with The Cure....
     – drums
    Drum kit

    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
    , percussion (1995–present)


Past members
  • Lol Tolhurst – drums, percussion, keyboards, drum machine
    Drum machine

    A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. Drum machines are very useful instruments for a wide variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music....
    , other instruments (1976–1989)
  • Michael Dempsey
    Michael Dempsey

    Michael Dempsey is a bassist from England, who has performed as a member of several post-punk and New Wave music bands including The Cure and the The Associates ....
     – bass guitar, vocals (1976–1979)
  • Matthieu Hartley
    Matthieu Hartley

    Matthieu Hartley is an England musician born in Smallfield, England. He is best known as the original keyboardist for The Cure, but before that he and Simon Gallup were involved in two other bands called Lockjaw and The Magazine Spies....
     – keyboards (1979–1980)
  • Phil Thornalley
    Phil Thornalley

    Phil Thornalley is a songwriter-producer and occasional bassist and vocalist who has worked in the music industry since 1978. Best known for co-writing and producing the song "Torn " for Cutler and Preven's band Ednaswap, which Natalie Imbruglia later covered to great success for her debut album, Left of the Middle....
     – bass guitar (1983–1984)
  • Andy Anderson
    Andy Anderson

    Andy Anderson is a drummer, notably for the band The Cure. He was born in West Ham, East London, England, England on 30 January 1951....
     – drums, percussion (1983–1984)
  • Boris Williams
    Boris Williams

    Boris Peter Bransby-Williams is an England drummer best known for his extensive work with The Cure . He had previously worked with various artists, including Thompson Twins, Kim Wilde, Strawberry Switchblade and Tomato City....
     – drums, percussion (1984–1994)
  • Roger O'Donnell
    Roger O'Donnell

    Roger O'Donnell is an England keyboardist best known for his work with The Cure. O'Donnell has also performed in Psychedelic Furs, the Thompson Twins and Berlin , as well as an active solo career....
     – keyboards, percussion (1987–1990, 1995–2005)
  • Perry Bamonte
    Perry Bamonte

    Perry Archangelo Bamonte is an Anglo-Italian musician best known for his work with The Cure....
     – keyboards, guitar, six-string bass (1990–2005)


Sources

  • Apter, Jeff. (2006). Never Enough: The Story of the Cure. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-827-1


Further reading

  • Ten Imaginary Years, by L. Barbarian, Steve Sutherland and Robert Smith
    Robert Smith (musician)

    Robert James Smith is an England guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is the lead singer and principal songwriter of the Rock music band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976....
     (1988) Zomba Books ISBN 0-946391-87-4
  • The Cure: A Visual Documentary, by Dave Thompson and Jo-Ann Greene(1988) Omnibus Press ISBN 0-7119-1387-0
  • The Cure: Songwords 1978–1989 S. Hopkins, Robert Smith and T. Foo (1989) Omnibus Press ISBN 0-7119-1951-8
  • In Between Days: An Armchair Guide To The Cure by Dave Thompson, Helter Skelter Publishing (October 2005) ISBN 1-905139-00-4
  • The Cure - Greatest Hits (songbook containing 20 of their best, transcribed note-for-note with tab, chord symbols and complete lyrics), Hal Leonard Corporation (May 2002) ISBN 0-634-04667-5
  • Robert Smith: "The Cure" and Wishful Thinking by Richard Carman (2005) Independent Music Press (UK) ISBN 9-78095-497041-3


External links