Who were the original members of goth rock band The Cure?
Some bands are lucky enough to secure their long-standing lineup on the very first try. The likes of Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine were never subject to lineup changes, unaffected by members deciding to depart or prioritising other projects. But other bands aren’t so lucky. They experience dropouts and restructurings, pick up new instruments and say goodbye to old band members. Gothic post-punk legends The Cure are no exception.
The Cure first formed in the early 1970s while at school, but much like their lineup, their name would be subject to change. They started out performing under the name Malice, which they shrugged off in 1977 for Easy Cure. It was only in 1978 that they chose the name we now know them by, The Cure, and the rest was history.
The Sussex-born band spent the next few decades treading the line between post-punk and gothic subcultures, though their sound often verged upon bright pop. Robert Smith became the face of The Cure as the band’s lead singer, known for his distinctive black eyeliner, his dark, dishevelled hair, his drawn-out vocals, and his jangly guitars.
In fact, The Cure almost became synonymous with Robert Smith, his name and his image, and it’s easy to see why. His songwriting drove the creative direction of the band, from the romance of ‘Just Like Heaven’ to the truly iconic ‘Friday I’m in Love’. His image became the band’s image, and he remains the only constant presence in The Cure. But who were the original members of his band?
So, who were the original members of The Cure?
Smith may be the only band member who has appeared on every release by The Cure and the only founding band member who still remains part of the project, but he couldn’t start the gloomy post-punk outfit alone. When The Cure was just starting out under the name Malice, Smith played piano for the soon-to-be gothic pioneers, and he was joined on stage by a group of his school friends.
Michael Dempsey took up the bass guitar for Malice, also known for his work with The Associates. He would remain with the band until they started work on their sophomore offering, Seventeen Seconds. The album took a sonic direction that Dempsey wasn’t particularly happy with and, as a result, he left the band in 1979.
Other members of Malice included Marc Ceccago and Alan Hill, though neither made it to the inception of The Cure. Drummer Lol Tolhurst experienced a slightly lengthier stint with the band, sitting behind the kit from the 1970s until 1989. His final release with The Cure was Disintegration, their eighth record, which spawned some signature hits in ‘Lullaby’ and ‘Lovesong’.
The members of the band continued to change throughout the years, but when they decided upon the name The Cure, the group was made up of Smith, Tolhurst and Dempsey. This comprises the original lineup of The Cure as we know them now, though it would soon be disrupted by Dempsey’s departure.
Now, Smith’s band is composed of a range of band members picked up across the years, including early bassist Simon Gallup, keyboard player Roger O’Donnell, and drummer Jason Cooper. Perry Bamote accompanies Smith on the guitar, as does Reeves Gabrels. It’s quite a different lineup from the original version of The Cure and, further back, to the lineup of Malice.
