The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert 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, 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. 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. (Full article...)
