Perry Bamonte, guitarist and keyboardist for The Cure, dead at 65
Perry Bamonte, the guitarist and keyboardist for The Cure, has died at the age of 65.
Bamonte, who had two stints with The Cure after returning to the group in 2022, died during Christmas after battling a short illness. The Cure confirmed Bamonte’s death via a statement issued to the band’s official website.
“It is with enormous sadness that we confirm the death of our great friend and bandmate Perry Bamonte, who passed away after a short illness at home over Christmas,” the official statement begins.
“Quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative, ‘Teddy’ was a warm-hearted and vital part of the Cure story,” the Cure adds.
The statement continued: “‘Looking after the band’ from 1984 through 1989, he became a full time member of the Cure in 1990, playing guitar, six string bass and keyboard on ‘The Wish,’ ‘Wild Mood Swings,’ ‘Bloodflowers,’ acoustic hits and the Cure albums, as well as performing more than 400 shows over 14 years.
“He rejoined the Cure in 2022, playing another 90 shows, some of the best in the band’s history, culminating with ‘The Show of a Lost World’ concert in London 1st November 2024”.
Concluding, “Our thoughts and condolences are with all his family. He will be very greatly missed.”
Bamonte was born in London back in 1960 and first got involved with The Cure in the mid-1980s. It was all a something of a family affair at the time, given that his brother Daryl was already working as the band’s tour manager, which helped him land a spot on the road crew in 1984.
At first, Bamonte was very much behind the curtain, handling guitar tech duties and acting as Robert Smith’s right-hand man. But by 1990, he’d stepped up, taking over on keyboards after Roger O’Donnell moved on.
Bamonte was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Cure in 2019, and fast-forward to 2022, he found himself back in the fold full-time for The Cure’s Shows of a Lost World world tour.
Those dates kicked off in Latvia that October and carried on right through to the end of 2023. Later, he was back on stage with them again for their big UK night at London’s Troxy in November 2024, and, tragically, he was set to join them for even more international shows running into 2026.
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