The Cure

This article is about the band. For the album, see The Cure (The Cure album). For other uses, see Cure (disambiguation).

The Cure
The Cure performing in August 2007. From left to right: Jason Cooper (on drums), Porl Thompson, Robert Smith, and Simon Gallup.
The Cure performing in August 2007. From left to right: Jason Cooper (on drums), Porl Thompson, Robert Smith, and Simon Gallup.
Background information
Also known as
  • Malice (1976–1977)
  • Easy Cure (1977–1978)
OriginCrawley, West Sussex, England
Genres
DiscographyThe Cure discography
Years active1976–present
Labels
Spinoffs
Members
Past members
Websitethecure.com

The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 by guitarist, lead vocalist, and main songwriter Robert Smith and drummer Laurence Tolhurst.[1] Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, including stints of guitarist Porl Thompson and drummer Boris Williams, Smith has remained the only constant member, though bassist Simon Gallup has been present for all but about three years of the band's history. The band's current line-up features Smith and Gallup alongside longtime members, Roger O'Donnell (keyboards), Perry Bamonte (guitar), Jason Cooper (drums) and Reeves Gabrels (guitar).

Their debut album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979), along with several early singles, placed the band at the forefront of the emerging post-punk and new wave movements that were gaining prominence in the United Kingdom. Beginning with their second album, Seventeen Seconds (1980), the band adopted a new, increasingly dark and tormented style, which, together with Smith's stage look, had a strong influence on the emerging genre of gothic rock as well as the goth subculture that eventually formed around the genre.

After the release of the band's fourth album, Pornography (1982), Smith introduced a greater pop sensibility into the band's music, and they subsequently garnered worldwide mainstream success. Their singles compilation Standing on a Beach (1986) sold four million copies worldwide by 1989,[2] and they reached their commercial peak with the albums Disintegration (1989) and Wish (1992). The Cure have released 14 studio albums, two EPs, and over 40 singles, and have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.[3] Their most recent album, Songs of a Lost World, was released on 1 November 2024. The Cure were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.[4][5]

  1. ^ "The Cure's Lol Tolhurst: 'Goth is about being in love with the melancholy beauty of existence'". The Guardian. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  2. ^ Pareles, Jon (21 May 1989). "RECORDINGS; The Cure Provides Company for Misery". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  3. ^ "The Cure | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Class of 2019 inductees". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  5. ^ Doyle, Patrick (30 March 2019). "The Cure's Robert Smith on Rock Hall Induction and 'F-cking Great' New Album". Rolling Stone.