The Cure
Biography
Out of all the bands that emerged in the immediate aftermath of punk rock in the late '70s, few were as enduring and popular as the Cure. Led through numerous incarnations by guitarist/vocalist Robert Smith (born April 21, 1959), the band became notorious for its slow, gloomy dirges and Smith's ghoulish appearance, a public image that often hid the diversity of the Cure's music. At the outset, the Cure played jagged, edgy pop songs before slowly evolving into a more textured outfit. As one of the bands that laid the seeds for goth rock, the group created towering layers of guitars and synthesizers, but by the time goth caught on in the mid-'80s, the Cure had moved away from the genre. By the end of the '80s, the band had crossed over into the mainstream not only in its native England, but also in the United States and in various parts of Europe. The Cure remained a popular concert draw and reliable record-seller rhroughout the '90s, and their influence could be heard clearly on scores of new bands during the new millenium, including many that had little to do with goth.
Originally called the Easy Cure, the band was formed in 1976 by schoolmates Smith (vocals, guitar), Michael Dempsey (bass), and Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst (drums). Initially, the group specialized in dark, nervy guitar pop with pseudo-literary lyrics, as evidenced by the Albert Camus-inspired "Killing an Arab." A demo tape featuring "Killing an Arab" arrived in the hands of Chris Parry, an A&R representative at Polydor Records; by the time he received the tape, the band's name had been truncated to the Cure. Parry was impressed with the song and arranged for its release on the independent label Small Wonder in December 1978. Early in 1979, Parry left Polydor to form his own record label, Fiction, and the Cure was one of the first bands to sign with the upstart label. "Killing an Arab" was then re-released in February of 1979, and the Cure embarked on its first tour of England.
The Cure's debut album, Three Imaginary Boys, was released in May 1979 to positive reviews in the British music press. Later that year, the group released the non-LP singles "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train." That same year, the Cure embarked on a major tour with Siouxsie and the Banshees. During the tour, the Banshees' guitarist, John McKay, left the group and Smith stepped in for the missing musician. For the next decade or so, Smith would frequently collaborate with members of the Banshees.
At the end of 1979, the Cure released a single, "I'm a Cult Hero," under the name the Cult Heroes. Following the release of the single, Dempsey left the band to join the Associates; he was replaced by Simon Gallup at the beginning of 1980. At the same time, the Cure added a keyboardist, Mathieu Hartley, and wrapped up production on the band's second album, Seventeen Seconds, which was issued during the spring of 1980. The addition of a keyboardist expanded the group's sound, was which now more experimental and often embraced slow, gloomy dirges. Nevertheless, the band still wrote pop hooks, as demonstrated by the group's first U.K. hit single, "A Forest," which peaked at number 31. After the release of Seventeen Seconds, the Cure launched its first world tour. Following the Australian leg of the tour, Hartley exited the lineup and his former bandmates chose to continue without him, releasing their third album in 1981 (Faith) and watching it peak at number 14 in the charts. Faith also spawned the minor hit single "Primary." The Cure's fourth album, the doom-laden, introspective Pornography, was released soon after in 1982. Pornography expanded their cult audience even further and cracked the U.K. Top Ten. After the Pornography tour was completed, Gallup quit the band and Tolhurst moved from drums to keyboards. At the end of 1982, the Cure released a new single, the dance-tinged "Let's Go to Bed."
Smith devoted most of the beginning of 1983 to Siouxsie and the Banshees, recording the Hyaena album with the group and appearing as the band's guitarist on the album's accompanying tour. That same year, Smith also formed a band with Banshees bassist Steve Severin; after adopting the name The Glove, the group released its only album, Blue Sunshine. By the late summer of 1983, a new version of the Cure -- featuring Smith, Tolhurst, drummer Andy Anderson, and bassist Phil Thornalley -- had assembled and recorded a new single, a jaunty tune named "The Lovecats." The song was released in the fall of 1983 and became the group's biggest hit to date, peaking at number seven on the U.K. charts. The new lineup of the Cure released The Top in 1984. Despite the pop leanings the number 14 hit "The Caterpillar," The Top was a return to the bleak soundscapes of Pornography. During the world tour supporting The Top, Anderson was fired from the band. In early 1985, following the completion of the tour, Thornalley left the band. The Cure revamped their lineup after his departure, adding drummer Boris Williams and guitarist Porl Thompson; Gallup returned on bass. Later in 1985, the Cure released their sixth album, The Head on the Door. The album was the most concise and pop-oriented record the group had ever released, which helped send it into the U.K. Top Ten and to number 59 in the U.S., the first time the band had broken the American Hot 100. "In Between Days" and "Close to Me" -- both pulled from The Head on the Door -- became sizable U.K. hits, as well as popular underground and college radio hits in the U.S.
The Cure followed the breakthrough success of The Head on the Door in 1986 with the compilation Standing on a Beach: The Singles. Standing on a Beach reached number four in the U.K., but more importantly it established the band as a major cult act in the U.S.; the album peaked at number 48 and went gold within a year. In short, Standing on a Beach set the stage for 1987's double album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. The album was eclectic but it was a hit, spawning four hit singles in the U.K. ("Why Can't I Be You," "Catch," "Just Like Heaven," "Hot Hot Hot!!!") and the group's first American Top 40 hit, "Just Like Heaven." Following the supporting tour for Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, the Cure's activity slowed to a halt. Before the Cure began working on their new album in early 1988, the band fired Tolhurst, claiming that relations between him and the rest of the band had been irrevocably damaged. Tolhurst would soon file a lawsuit, claiming that his role in the band was greater than stated in his contract and, consequently, he deserved more money.
In the meantime, the Cure replaced Tolhurst with former Psychedelic Furs keyboardist Roger O'Donnell and recorded their eighth album, Disintegration. Released in the spring of 1989, the album was more melancholy than its predecessor, but it was an immediate hit, reaching number three in the U.K. and number 14 in the U.S., and spawning a series of hit singles. "Lullaby" became the group's biggest British hit in the spring of 1989, peaking at number five. In the late summer, the band had its biggest American hit with "Love Song," which climbed to number two. On the Disintegration tour, the Cure began playing stadiums across the U.S. and the U.K. In the fall of 1990, the Cure released Mixed Up, a collection of remixes featuring a new single, "Never Enough." Following the Disintegration tour, O'Donnell left the band and the Cure replaced him with their roadie, Perry Bamonte. In the spring of 1992, the band released Wish. Like Disintegration, Wish was an immediate hit, entering the British charts at number one and the American charts at number two, as well as launching the hit singles "High" and "Friday I'm in Love." The Cure embarked on another international tour after the release of Wish. One concert, performed in Detroit, was documented on a film called Show and on two albums, Show and Paris. The movie and the albums were released in 1993.
Thompson left the band in 1993 to join Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's band. After his departure, O'Donnell rejoined the lineup as a keyboardist, and Bamonte switched from synthesizer duties to guitar. During most of 1993 and early 1994, the Cure were sidelined by an ongoing lawsuit from Tolhurst, who claimed joint ownership of the band's name and also sought to restructure his royalty payments. A settlement (ruling in the band's favor) eventually arrived during the fall of 1994, and the Cure shifted their focus to the task at hand: recording a follow-up album to Wish. However, drummer Boris Williams quit just as the band prepared to begin the recording process. The group recruited a new percussionist through advertisements in the British music papers; by the spring of 1995, Jason Cooper had replaced Williams. Throughout 1995, the Cure recorded their tenth proper studio album, pausing to perform a handful of European musical festivals in the summer. The album, titled Wild Mood Swings, was finally released in the spring of 1996, preceded by the single "The 13th."
A combination of pop tunes and darker moments that lived up to its title, Wild Mood Swings received a mixed reception critically and commercially, slowing but not halting the momentum gained by Wish. Galore, the Cure's second singles collection focusing on the band's hits since Standing on a Beach, appeared in 1997 and featured the new song "Wrong Number." The Cure spent the next few years quietly -- giving a song to the X-Files soundtrack, Robert Smith appearing in a memorable episode of South Park -- re-emerging in 2000 with Bloodflowers, their last album of original material for Fiction. Designed as the final installment in a heavy goth trilogy that stretched all the way back to Pornography and included Disintegration, Bloodflowers was well received and a respectable success, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. The next year, the Cure closed out their contract with Fiction with the career-spanning Greatest Hits, which was also accompanied by a DVD release of their most popular videos. During 2002, they spent some time on the road, capping off their tour with a three-night stand in Berlin, where they played each album of their "goth trilogy" on a different night; the event was documented on the home video release Trilogy.
The Cure signed an international deal with Geffen Records in 2003 and then launched an extensive reissue campaign in 2004 with the rarities box set Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years); double-disc expanded editions of their earliest albums soon followed. Also in 2004, the band released its first album for Geffen, an eponymous effort recorded live in the studio. Heavier but not necessarily harder -- and certainly not gloomier than Bloodflowers -- The Cure was partially designed to appeal to a younger audience familiar with the Cure through their influence on a new generation of bands, many of which were showcased as opening acts on the band's supporting tour for the album. The Cure underwent another lineup change in 2005, as Bamonte and O'Donnell left the group and Porl Thompson came back for his third stint. This new, keyboard-less lineup debuted in 2005 as the headlining act at the benefit concert Live 8 Paris, then headed out on the summer festival circuit, highlights of which were captured on the 2006 DVD release Festival 2005. The Cure popped up on various festivals over the next two years, playing a more extensive European tour in early 2008, as they completed their 13th album. Originally conceived as a double album, the record was split in two prior to its release, with the lighter, poppier material released first as 4:13 Dream in October 2008. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Selected Discography

The Perfect Boy (Cd Single)
2008

Hypnagogic States Ep
2008

4:13 Dream
2008

The Head On The Door
2006

The Top
2006

Seventeen Seconds (2005 Remaster Deluxe Edition)
2005

Faith (2005 Remaster Deluxe Edition)
2005

Join The Dots: B-Sides & Rarities 1978>2001
2004

The Cure
2004

Three Imaginary Boys
2004

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
1990

Disintegration
1989

Pornography
1982

Boys Don't Cry
1980

All Kinds Of Stuff (Radio Single)
This band is so utterly amazing! The lyrics and beats just move me. I can't get enough of The Cure. I influenced my self with this music. One of my favorite songs is "lets go to bed".
Just Wicked! |
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Love the cure??? Check these guys out
WWW.MYSPACE/ D O W N F A L L F U N E R A L :) |
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yea the cure is totally awesome!
but i cant help to think about those lil goth kids from south park haha |
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Ever since I was a kid I used to listen to The Cure because my uncle is a big fan of them. Their music bring me memories of my childhood in such a good way, that when I went to their concert and they played Just like heaven I just couldn't stop myself from crying of happiness.
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good basslines and a deep message, they're ugliness makes them even more hard core
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Joining the dots fills in a lot of the holes. Also, all the remastered albums have a lot of studio tracks never released before. I've also had good luck at some college town music stores. Look up "The Glove", it was a side project of Robert Smiths
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the cure has been my favorite band for over 30 years. i have all of their albums(songs ) a n d have seen them in concert. my favorite album is "the top" and my favorite song is "a few hours after this".
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i have seen hundreds of shows and the few times i saw the cure were all the best shows ive seen. robert smith is a amazing
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Thats such a shame reeree. That is because all the radio stations in the 80's played was Michael Jackson, Phil Collins and Huey Lewis & the News all the while Robert & the Cure were creating this awesome sound. The Cure was so far ahead of their time!
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i really hope to see them before they either quit, or they dont come to arizona, thats why i hope to a car soon soo i can see them soo damn bad!!! Because they are just beautiful. and to the people who dont like them dont you thinks its kind of pointless to say that a band sucks because all your asking for is attention soo you can argue with somebody your point, sooo that doesnt mean you can change other peoples minds on their type of music and how they are!!
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BEST DAMN BAND EVER!!
ROBERT SMITH IS GOD!! LOVE YOU ROBERT!!! I HOPE TO SEE THEM FOR TEH FIRST TIME!!!!! |
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My, what an interesting variety of comments. The Cure DOES still have it after all this time. You rock, Cure.
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We have alot to be thankful for what the cure has birthed for music since the 80s. great band, what can i say...its the CURE!
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Nothing but real music..... I find it funny how a band is labeled. I for one, is not for compartmenta l i z i n g aspects of life...espec i a l l y not music. If it moves you...so be it. The Cure moves.
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they're amazing... but i don't think i'd call them goth, altho goth people do love them... (in fact, i used to moniker goths as "diseased" cos they need the cure so bad...) but they're more a dark new wave. and fun to dance to. and have GREAT lyrics. tho they're vids just make me laugh now... thanks to being brought up by mtv. lmao
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I was never really a Cure fan until I saw them live about ten years ago. The show didn't change my life or anything but I was able to see past the "gothiness" image and actually enjoy the sound. In essence it was all the Cure fans around me that was ruining it for me not the music itself. Granted I still don't like all of it but I like them a lot more now than I used to.
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Makes me want to put on eyeliner and look pouty which clashes with my back hair but what the hey. Tell me, tell me, tell me how you do that trick.......
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amanda, the cure will go down as one of the greatest bands of all time...the "stuff" that you listen to is cool to people who wear white gloves to clubs so they can follow their hands in the blacklights and smoke while they dance to a song that is 14 minutes long and has no words...
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THE CURE ARE THE BEST BAND OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 1
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Yes, they are homo-sapiens .
Ha ha. That's a good come back. I'm pretty proud of that one. |
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I really dig the Cure...and just about anything or anyone that came out of the fabulous Wave generation of the 80's. No trolling here...just kudos to good bands!
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Seems like most comment posters (not all) are a real drag in these forums. Either they love a band, but want to slap anyone else who loves them also because they feel that they alone hold the keys to the band in question and are the only ones who truly "get it". Or they are here to leave lame/hate You-Tube like posts that could pretty much be cut/paste from any other forums of any other topic. To those who just love The Cure regardless of the trolls , cheers... you are not alone.
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The one thing that I hate about the The Cure is that every time somebody says that they like them it's as if they are pulling out an insisputable "cool card." Well, I'm here to say that just because you like the The Cure doesn't mean you're cool OR hip. So suck on that.
That being said, the The Cure rules. |
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All I have to say is that The Cure kicks a**. They are the best group!Every time I hear Pictures of you I thin about the time I seen them in San Diego at the Curiosa Festival and heard that song live! I brings tears to my eyes. Robert Smith voice is so great! I cant wait to see them live again.I hope they will play Plainsong!!
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