The Cure

An emblematic band of the new wave and gothic rock period, The Cure has been associated with its leader Robert Smith throughout a long and successful career. Formed in Crawley, Sussex, in 1976 by guitarist, singer and songwriter Robert Smith (born in Blackpool on April 21, 1959), the trio was completed by Michael Dempsey (bass) and Lawrence "Lol" Tolhurst (drums) under the name Easy Cure. After recording their first single, named after Albert Camus' novel L'Étranger, "Killing an Arab" (1978), the band, signed to Chris Parry's Fiction Records, made a name for themselves with their minimalist post-punk style on the album Three Imaginary Boys (1979), which reached No. 44 in the UK and led to a joint tour with Siouxsie & the Banshees. Dempsey, who had left to join The Associates, gave way to Simon Gallup on Seventeen Seconds (1980), an album that reached No. 20 in the U.K. and No. 20 worldwide, thanks to its cold-wave atmosphere and the lead single "A Forest" (No. 31), released shortly after the Boys Don't Cry demo compilation. The Cure's audience continued to grow throughout the decade, which saw the release of the albums Faith (No. 14 in 1981), Pornography (No. 8 in 1982), The Top (No. 10 in 1984), The Head on the Door (No. 7 in 1985), the double Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (No. 6 in 1987) and Disintegration (No. 3 in 1989). From an inspiration of dark themes cultivated through gothic imagery, the music evolves into a psychedelic pop that finds favor with a wide audience with the titles "The Lovecats" (no. 7), "In Between Days" (no. 15), "Close to Me" (no. 24), "Why Can't I Be You?" (no. 21) and "Lullaby " (no. 5). Just as popular in the U.K. as in the U.S., as evidenced by the remix album Mixed Up (1990), at No. 8 and No. 14 respectively, The Cure achieved its first U.K. No. 1 with the album Wish (1992, No. 2 on the Billboard 200), supported by the singles "High" (No. 8) and "Friday I'm in Love" (No. 6). Despite constant changes of musicians, the band manages to maintain a high level of popularity with the following albums: Wild Mood Swings (No. 9 in 1996) and its main hit "The 13th" (No. 15), Bloodflowers (No. 14 in 2000), The Cure (No. 8 in 2004) and 4:13 Dream (No. 33 in 2008). In all, the band, fronted by Robert Smith, sole original member since 1984 (Simon Gallup), Roger O'Donnell (keyboards), Perry Bamonte and Reeves Gabrels (guitars), and Jason Cooper (drums), has racked up a total of 34 top-hundred hits. Veterans of the alternative rock scene, The Cure continue to tour extensively and have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Robert Smith's band returns in November 2024 with their fourteenth studio album Songs of a Lost World, led by the single "Alone ".