the Cure

The Cure, English post-punk rock group known for its innovative new-wave style, which rests largely on creating moody songs laced with Gothic imagery that embrace melancholic and lovesick themes. The Cure was formed in 1978 by vocalist and guitarist Robert Smith (b. April 21, 1959, Blackpool, Lancashire, England), bassist Michael Dempsey (b. November 29, 1958, Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia [now Harare, Zimbabwe]), and drummer Lol Tolhurst (b. February 3, 1959, Horley, Surrey). Although later lineups would incorporate other musicians—including bassist Simon Gallup (b. June 1, 1960, Duxhurst, Surrey), guitarist Porl (Pearl) Thompson (b. November 8, 1957, London, England), and Roger O’Donnell (b. October 29, 1955, London)—the Cure’s only constant remains Smith, who serves as the literal face of the band—his visage painted with dark eyeliner and red lipstick and framed by a dark blossom of jet-black hair.

Formation and early years

Smith, Dempsey, and Tolhurst, along with guitarist Thompson, formed Easy Cure at St. Wilfrid’s Catholic secondary school in Crawley, West Sussex, England, in 1976. However, when Thompson departed in 1978, the trio of Smith, Dempsey, and Tolhurst renamed the band the Cure and released its first album, Three Imaginary Boys, in 1979. The record features “10:15 Saturday Night” and other tracks inspired by 1970s punk. Several songs from Three Imaginary Boys (including the one mentioned above) were placed on the band’s first North American release, Boys Don’t Cry (1980), along with the singles “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Jumping Someone Else’s Train,” and the controversial “Killing an Arab,” whose title was taken from an excerpt from The Stranger (1942) by French author Albert Camus.