The Cure group. Cure, rock band Cure, history, biography

The Cure - British musical group, whose sound style is quite difficult to define. One of the pioneers of alternative rock and post-punk. The group, despite its alternative focus, has achieved popularity and commercial success - over 50 million copies of their albums have been sold worldwide. The group also had a huge impact on the birth and formation of the goth subculture, creating a great … Read all

The Cure are a British musical group whose sound style is quite difficult to define. One of the pioneers of alternative rock and post-punk. The group, despite its alternative focus, has achieved popularity and commercial success - over 50 million copies of their albums have been sold worldwide. The group also had a huge impact on the birth and formation of the goth subculture, creating a great help for such gothic rock veterans as The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus.

In 1976, seventeen-year-old Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) with classmates Michael Dempsey (bass), Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst (drums) and Porl Thompson (guitar) gathered in Crawley (eng. Crawley, Sussex, England) a group called "The Easy Cure. The group immediately started writing their own songs.

In 1977, The Easy Cure entered into a recording contract with Hansa Records. A year later, the group was renamed The Cure, and as a trio (without Porl Thompson) signed a contract with Fiction Records (distribution was made by Polydor). The first single was released, however, on the label "Small Wonder", and was called "Killing an Arab". In 1979, the first album "Three Imaginary Boys" was released, with which the group was not entirely satisfied (in America, this album was released under the name "Boys Don" t Cry "with a changed tracklist and cover). In the same 1979, the musicians of The Cure under a different name - "Cult Hero" - released a 7" single. Tours followed, in which The Cure played with other post-punk bands such as Joy Division and Siouxsie. and the Banshees. Robert Smith sometimes played side by side with Siouxsie and the Banshees, and with a member of this group, Steven Severin, he created a temporary project "The Glove".

In 1980 they released the minimalist album "Seventeen Seconds", which rose to 20th place in the British charts. The single "A Forest" became The Cure's first UK hit single. In the same year, the group went on their first world tour. The 1981 Faith album was released on a cassette containing the Carnage Visors soundtrack cassette, and peaked at number 14 in the UK. Pornography followed in 1982 (#8 in the UK charts, the band's first Top 10 album), moody and nihilistic. At that time, the band members were constantly taking drugs, and the album gave rise to rumors that Smith was suicidal. After an argument with Smith in a club, one of the band's most important and longtime members, bassist Simon Gallup, left the band for a couple of years. He's putting together a new band, Fools Dance.

In the 1980s, the group released several more albums - "The Top" (1984), "The Head On The Door" (1985), "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me" (1987), "Disintegration" (1989) - and completed several big concert tours. Many subsequent albums and singles by The Cure repeated the success of the previous ones, constantly occupying good positions in the charts. In 1986, The Cure released a compilation of all the singles and B-sides, Standing On A Beach.

In 1990, a collection of remixes of old compositions called "Mixed Up" was released, with the only new song"Never Enough", which became a hit. The band's 1992 album Wish was the highest charting album of all the band's albums, reaching number one in the UK and number two in the US. Musically, this album, in a way, defines the sound of alternative rock in the 1990s. Material from the subsequent Wish Tour formed the basis of the live albums Show (September 1993) and Paris (October 1993). Porl Thompson (guitar), making several appearances on The Cure left the band to join Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

In 1994, Lol Tolhurst, who left the band in 1989, sued Robert Smith and Fiction Records for royalties and the right to the name The Cure. After a long judicial trial he lose.

In 1996, the album Wild Mood Swings was released, in 1997 - a collection of multi-platinum singles "Galore", supplementing the collection "Staring At The Sea" (aka "Standing On A Beach").

2000 saw the release of Bloodflowers, which, according to Smith, is the end of a trilogy begun with Pornography (1982) and Disintegration (1989). Material from these albums was performed at a series of concerts in Berlin, and released on the DVD Trilogy (2003). In 2003 The Cure changed their label to iam Records. In 2004, their old label Fiction Records released the compilation "Join The Dots - The B-Sides & Rarities", 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years), which included 70 The Cure tracks, including previously unreleased and others rarities.

In 2004, an album was released, named the same as the group - "The Cure". It was produced by label owner Ross Robinson. The album turned out with a big bias in guitar rock.

Robert Smith - vocals, guitar, keyboards

Porl Thompson - guitar, keyboards, saxophone

Simon Gallup - bass

Jason Cooper - drums

Discography

"Three Imaginary Boys" (in the USA - "Boys Don "t Cry") (1979)

"Seventeen Seconds" (1980)

"Faith" (1981)

"Pornography" (1982)

"Japanese Whispers" (1983)

"The Top" (1984)

"The Head On The Door" (1985)

"Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me" (1987)

Disintegration (1989)

"Wild Mood Swings" (1996)

"Bloodflowers" (2000)

"The Cure" (2004)

"4:13 Dream" (2008)

The Cure Official Website

An English musical rock band formed in Crawley (eng. Crawley, Sussex, England) in 1976. During the entire time of its existence, the composition of the group has changed several times. Only Robert Smith, as a frontman, vocalist, guitarist and composer, is the only permanent member group, as well as its founder.

The band began their creative activity in the late 70s, recording their first single "Killing an Arab", and a little later, the debut album Three Imaginary Boys (1979), which was released during the boom of post-punk and new wave in the UK, which came to replace punk rock. In the early 80s, The Cure recorded nihilistic, dark and tragic works, gradually moving from post-punk to gothic rock. After the release of Pornography (1982), the band's continued existence was in doubt. Robert Smith decided to take the pressure off and record light, pop-oriented songs. With the release of the single "Let's Go to Bed" in 1982, Smith began to successfully introduce elements of unobtrusive pop music into the group's creations. 40 on the US charts, the band became one of the most popular alternative rock bands in the early 90s, a fact that, as of 2004, combined sales of all albums is 27 million copies. creative activity The Cure have released thirteen studio albums and over thirty singles.

Band formation and early years (1973–1979)

The Cure's first incarnation was The Obelisk, formed by students from Notre Dame Middle School in Crawley, Sussex, England. The only performance took place in April 1973. The band then consisted of Robert Smith (piano), Michael Dempsey (guitar), Lawrence Tolhurst (drums), Marc Ceccagno (lead guitar) and Alan Hill (bass guitar). The first real band was formed in January 1976 when Ceccagno formed Malice, which included Smith, Dempsey and two buddies from St. Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School. Ceccagno soon left the group and founded the Amulet jazz fusion team. when Lawrence Tolhurst and lead guitarist Porl Thompson joined them. The Cure win a German Hansa Records talent competition and earn the right to sign a recording and publishing deal with the group. in March 1978. Years later, Smith stated in an interview, "We were very young. The studio bosses wanted to make us into a pop group and asked us to record arrangements of famous hits, but we weren't interested." Thompson left the group in May, and the remaining trio (Smith/Tolhurst/Dempsey) took the name The Cure, which was suggested by Robert. The same month, the band held their first studio sessions as a trio, and the resulting demo was sent to dozens of major record labels. This had its effect, and in September 1978, producer Chris Perry invited the guys to the newly opened studio Fiction Records, a spin-off record label from Polydor. However, Fiction was not fully equipped and ready to go, so The Cure released their debut single "Killing an Arab" in December 1978 on the Small Wonder Label. "Killing an Arab", containing a provocative title, received a very restrained assessment of the public and the accusation of the group of racism. But, in fact, the song was written under the inspiration from the work French writer Albert Camus story "The Outsider". During the release of the single on Fiction in 1979, the band had to put a note on the cover of the single, denying any racist provocations and connotations. An early statement from NME about the band stated that The Cure is "a breath of fresh Siberian air in an atmosphere of metropolitan grime and grime".

The Cure released their debut album Three Imaginary Boys in May 1979. Seeing the band's little experience in the studio, Perry and engineer Mike Hedges were in complete control of the recording process. The band, especially Smith, were not too happy with their debut. In a 1987 interview, Robert said: “Shallow work – I didn't like it even during the recording. There were a lot of comments that the album sounded too primitive, and I think they were justified. Even when we made it, I still wanted to make certain changes." The second single "Boys Don" t Cry "was released in June. At the same time, as an opening act, The Cure went on tour with Siouxsie & The Banshees to celebrate the release of their latest Join Hands album. The tour lasted from August to October and covered England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The tour was very busy for Smith. He had to perform in two groups at once, as guitarist Banshees, John McKay left the band. The experience had a profound effect on Robert: “The first night I played with The Banshees, I was blown away by how well I can play this kind of music. It was so different from The Cure's music. Up to this point, I wanted us to play something like The Buzzcocks, Elvis Costello or The Beatles punk. Being one of the Banshees has completely changed my outlook." The third single "Jumping Someone Else's Train" was released in October 1979. A little later, Dempsey left the group due to the rejection of the material that Smith provided for recording a new album. Dempsey became a member of the Associates group, and in at the same time, Simon Gallup (bass) and Matthew Hartley (keyboards) of The Magspies joined The Cure.The Associates, as well as The Cure and The Passions under the banner of Fiction Records, made the Future Pastimes Tour in November-December 1979 The Cure, with a new line-up, performed several songs from the forthcoming album.At the same time, the comic group Cult Hero, consisting of Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey, Gallup, Hartley and Thompson, friends and relatives on backing vocals, as well as local postman Frankie Bell released a vinyl single of the same name.

Gothic period in creativity (1980–1982)

Due to some lack of control over the creative flow of the first record, Smith took a closer look at the recording of the band's second album, Seventeen Seconds, which he produced in tandem with Mike Hedges. Seventeen Seconds was released in 1980 and peaked at number 20 on the official UK chart. The album single "A Forest" became the group's first hit, peaking at number 31 on the national chart. The new record was a radical departure from the sound of the previous work. Mike Hedges named new record"frosty, atmospheric, very different from the Three Imaginary Boys." In their review of the album, NME commented "For a band as young as The Cure, it's incredible how they've managed to open up so much space in such a short time." And during the same period, Smith was pressed against the alleged concept of "anti-image". Robert told the press that he was already fed up with any comparisons to the "anti-image" that some attributed to the group, believing that it, in this way, thoughtfully disguises the simplicity of its work. He stated: “We have to tear ourselves away from this “anti-image” that we never created. It feels like we need to be some kind of obscure, misunderstood. We just don't really like the standard clichés in rock music. It's a pity we didn't get it." In the same year, Three Imaginary Boys was released to the American market under the name Boys Don "t Cry. The album changed its cover and added the singles released in 1979. The Cure went on their first world tour in support of new releases. After the tour, Matthew Hartley left the band "I've come to the conclusion that the band is too zealous for suicidal and muddling, and that's not exactly what I'm interested in," Hartley said.

The band, along with Mike Hedges, got together to work on their third album, Faith (1981), which developed on the suffering theme started by Seventeen Seconds. It's worth taking a look at the gray cover. This is a photograph of the paper house that Smith liked to play in when he was a child. For him - dear memories, for the record company - a clear bankruptcy. Against all odds, the album has already reached number 14 in the UK charts. The album's cassettes also featured the soundtrack to the movie Carnage Visors. This animated work was shown before the start of the group's performances during the 1981 Picture Tour. While on tour, news reached them that the mother of Lol Tolhurst, the drummer, had died. The Cure was consumed by feelings of loneliness and defenselessness, dissatisfaction and disappointment. It seemed that if I could believe in something, then all other sorrows would fade into the background. The last, most depressing song had to be as optimistic as possible, giving hope for a good outcome. The environment of despondency and despair, the general tension during the tour, as well as very emotional songs had a strong effect on the band. Smith sings with anguish about a girl drowned because of unhappy love, about dances at a wake. Terrible songs reflected real life. It got to the point that Robert left the stage after the concert, being covered in tears. At the very end of the same year, the single "Charlotte Sometimes" was released. In 1982, The Cure recorded and released Pornography, the third and final album from the "incredibly dejected" trio that established the band as masters of gothic rock. Smith admitted that while working in the studio, he "was in a bit of a mental breakdown. But this had nothing to do with the group, I just moved to a new level, I grew up, and my outlook on life changed. I think I approached the record in my most dejected state. Looking back and listening to the opinions of the people around me, I understand that I was more of a monster in the guise of a man. Gallup commented on the album: "Nihilism took us over [...] We sang 'It doesn't matter if we all die' and that's what we really thought at the time." Chris Perry was interested in the fact that the album does not have a hit song for radio play. He asked Smith and producer Phil Thornalley to prepare the song "The Hanging Garden" for release as a single. Despite being wary of the record's far from mainstream sound, Pornography nonetheless became the band's first entry into the Top 10 in the UK, peaking at number eight. In support of the album, the Fourteen Explicit Moments tour kicked off, during which the band first appeared on stage with impressive hairdos and copious amounts of lipstick on their faces. Several incidents occurred during the tour, including a fight with Robert, which pushed Simon Gallup to leave the band. Gallup and Smith did not speak for eighteen months after their separation.

Increasing commercial success (1983–1988)

Gallup's departure from the band, as well as Smith's collaboration with Siouxsie & the Banshees, provided ample food for rumors that The Cure would cease to exist. In December 1982, Robert remarked in an interview with Melody Maker: “Will The Cure continue to exist? I ask myself this question all the time […] I don't think I can continue to work in the same format. No matter what happens, me, Lawrence and Simon will never be together. I am sure about that".

Perry was very keen to keep his label's top-grossing band. He came to the conclusion that The Cure needed to change their musical style. Perry insistently offered his thought to Smith and Tolhurst; He said "This idea was basically directed at Smith, who wanted to end The Cure at any cost." With Tolhurst retrained as a keyboardist, the duo recorded the single "Let's Go to Bed" at the end of 1982. Smith considered the single as a "stupid" song for the press. The single achieved minor success and took only 44 position in the UK chart. Then, already in 1983, two successful singles followed, the electronic "The Walk" (#12 on the chart) and the jazzy "The Lovecats". a compilation of singles and b-sides to them - Japanese Whispers was released on Christmas Day, which was planned for sale only in Japan, but the record company decided to release it worldwide.Robert Smith finally found his image.Lips crookedly made up with scarlet lipstick, eyes outlined in black pencil , hair tousled - this is exactly the image that satisfies him not only on stage, but also in everyday life. Suspicions are the source of inspiration. After all, it was at this time that Smith was very actively hanging out with Siouxsie & the Banshees, becoming the band's guitarist on Hyaena's albums, Nocturne, and vocalist Susie is known to be a big fan of war paint. Smith dispels all suspicions: it turns out that he painted his lips at school and did not copy Sue, but his own mother. He also co-founded The Glove with The Banshees bassist Stephen Severin and they recorded the Blue Sunshine album. At the same time, Tolhurst produced the band's first two singles and the band's debut album, And Also The Trees. In 1984, The Cure released the album The Top. On this record, the influence of psychedelic rock is clearly traced, Robert played all the instruments, except for the drums, which were taken by Andy Anderson, and the saxophone, which was played by Porl Thompson, who returned to the group. The album reached the top ten in the UK and also became the first The Cure to enter the US national Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 180. Melody Maker praised the album, calling it "timeless psychedelia". The Cure, consisting of Smith, Thompson, Andersen and Phil Thornelly, went on a world tour under title Top tour. As a result of this tour, the first live album Concert was released. Before the end of the tour, Andy Andersen was thrown out of the group for alcoholism and a pogrom in the hotel room where the group stayed. Boris Williams was on drums. Philip Thornelli also left the group, but already because of fatigue and constant travel. Thus the bass position became vacant and Smith forced himself to consider recruiting Gallup back to The Cure, who was playing in Fools Dance at the time. Robert was in awe of Simon's return. In an interview with Melody Maker, he stated, "We're a band again."

In 1985, with a new line-up, the group released the album The Head on the Door. This record manages to combine the melodic and pessimistic aspects of the band from which they have departed earlier and find a happy medium between melancholy and light pop music. The album peaked at number seven in the UK and also became the first album to hit the US Top 75 at number 59. International success also accompanied two singles from the album: "In Between Days" and "Close to Me". And then there was a successful world tour in support of the album and the release of the first compilation of singles Standing on a Beach in 1986. The collection hit the American Top 50 and was marked by the re-release of the singles "Boys Don't Cry" (with a new sound), "Let's Go To Bed" and "Charlotte Sometimes". A compilation album, Staring at the Sea, was also released, which included a selection of music videos for tracks from the main compilation. The tour, which took place in support of the collection, became the basis for a new concert album The Cure in Orange which was recorded in France. During this period The Cure became a very popular group in Europe (particularly in the Benelux countries, France and Germany) and made themselves known in the USA.

In 1987, The Cure released the first album of the "big three" Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, which ranked sixth and thirty-fifth in Britain and the US respectively. The successful first single from the album "Why Can" t I Be You? supported by the huge success of the third album single “Just Like Heaven”, which hits the Billboard Top and becomes one of the most famous and significant works of the group.And the result of the loving album was the marriage of Robert Smith to his first girlfriend, with whom he had been friends since the age of thirteen. the release of the album, The Cure went on the Kissing Tour, during which Tolhurst developed problems with alcohol, and he soon realized that he was not able to fully perform at concerts. Roger O'Donnell was invited to take his place.

Disintegration and worldwide success (1989–2002)

In 1989, one of the most outstanding albums of that time, Disintegration, was released. The record gave off a dark atmosphere of gothic sound in the best traditions of Faith and Pornography. Three singles from the album reached the Top 30 ("Lullaby", "Lovesong" and "Pictures of You"), and the album itself debuted at number three in the UK national chart, and slowly climbed to number 12 on the other side of the Atlantic. The first US-only single, "Fascination Street", peaked at number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, but that success was quickly overshadowed by the group's third single, "Lovesong", which sensationally peaked at number two on the US National Chart. , becoming The Cure's only Top 10 song.

During the recording of Disintegration, the band was forced to give Smith an ultimatum - either Tolhurst left or they did. In February 1989, Tolhurst's departure from the band was officially confirmed by the media. Thus Roger O'Donnell became a full member of the group, and Smith remained the only member of the group who had been in it since its inception. Smith said that Tolhurst had ceased to know the measure of alcohol. Due to the fact that Lawrence was listed as a member of the group during the recording of Disintegration, he was listed on the album booklet as a person playing "other instruments", although it is known that he made absolutely no effort to create the record. The Cure also embarked on the massive Prayer Tour, which was a huge success.

In May 1990, Roger O "Donnell left the group and Perry Bemount took the place of the keyboardist. In November, The Cure released a compilation of remixes Mixed Up. The album was coolly received by the public and did not reach high positions in the charts. The only new song"Never Enough" was released as a single. In 1991 The Cure won the BRIT Award for Best British Band. That same year, Tolhert sued Smith and Fiction Records, alleging that he co-owned the Cure name as well as Robert. The case was dismissed in 1994 in favor of Smith. In 2000, old friends reconciled and Tolhurst even attended some The Cure concerts. Parallel to court cases The band has started recording their new album. Wish went to number one in the UK and number two in the US. Also, two international hits "High" and "Friday I" m in Love" were released from the disc. The Cure once again went on the "Wish Tour" world tour with the Cranes and released, according to its results, two live albums Show (September 1993) and Paris (October 1993).

In the period between the release of Wish and the beginning of the recording of the next album, the band again underwent line-up changes. Thompson left the band to play gigs with the supergroup Page and Plant, which consisted of former Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Boris Williams also left the band and was replaced by Jason Cooper. Recording sessions for the album began in 1994, at that time the band consisted only of Smith and Bemount. A little later, Gallup (who had health problems) joined them and Roger O "Donnell returned, who asked to return to the group at the end of the year. Wild Mood Swings, released in 1996, was not the group's most successful work and put an end to the commercial boom of the previous The Cure played several festivals in South America earlier in the year in anticipation of a world tour.In 1997, Galore's second compilation of singles after Standing on a Beach was released, containing the band's hits from 1987 to 1997 inclusive.The album featured a new song, released as the single "Wrong Number".In 1998, The Cure recorded the soundtrack for the film The X-Files: The Fight for the Future and an arrangement of the song "World in My Eyes" by Depeche Mode.The song took its rightful place on tribute album For the masses. There was a clause in the contract to record one more album. The commercial success of Wild Mood Swings and Galore was lackluster enough that Smith decided that the end of the band was near and he wanted to make an album that would serious test for perception. The Grammy-nominated album Bloodflowers was released in 2000. Work on it has been carried out since 1998. The album was, according to Smith, the last part of an impromptu trilogy that also included the albums Pornography and Disintegration. The group embarked on a ten-month "Dream Tour", with a total audience of over one million attending the band's concerts during this tour. In 2001, The Cure left Fiction and the release of the Greatest Hits compilation was dedicated to this event. In 2002, the band headlined twelve major summer festivals, and played three lengthy shows (one in Brussels and two in Berlin) playing the albums Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers in their entirety and in rotation. Two concerts in Berlin were the basis for the DVD The Cure: Trilogy released in 2003.

Currently (2003–present)

In 2003 The Cure signed with Geffen Records. In 2004, a four-disc compilation called Join the Dots: B-Sides and Rarities, 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years) was released. This collection was a collection of unreleased and rare songs in the amount of seventy positions, as well as a 76-page color booklet containing photographs, history, quotes from the life of the group. The album climbed to number 106 on the US chart. In the same year, the band released their twelfth album on the new label, simply called The Cure. The new album is named after the band - it's like it's a debut, and it really is new stage V The stories Cure. The biggest change is the change of producer. Ross Robinson dreamed of the perfect Qure album. On the record, the venerable musicians of The Cure suffered from a new producer. In order for the musicians to better get used to their own image and suffer naturally, he forced them to play without respite at night until the morning, so that their fingers were wiped into blood, and even rattled Smith's guitar on the drum set.

The result is an emotional and rich album, in which there is not a single passing thing. The album reached the Top 10 charts on both sides of the Atlantic. In support of the album, the band headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in May. From July 24 to August 29, The Cure were main group at Curiosa's own festival in the USA. Two stages were set up. On main stage Smith's favorite bands performed: Interpol, The Rapture, and Mogwai. The other stage featured bands such as Muse, Scarling, Melissa Auf der Maur and Thursday. Curiosa became one of the most successful summer festivals of 2004 in America. In the same year, the group received honorary award MTV Icon and has appeared on television.

The Cure began recording material for their thirteenth album in 2006. Smith actively insisted that it would be a double album. In August, at the very last moment, the band announced that due to work on the album, their autumn North American tour would be rescheduled from autumn 2007 to spring 2008. Titled 4:13 Dream and released in the fall of 2008, the album received mixed reviews from both the press and fans. Before the release of the LP, The Cure released one single every thirteenth from May to August, and in September they released the Hypnagogic States EP, all proceeds from which are donated to the American Red Cross. On October 30, it was announced that The Cure won the Godlike Geniuses category and will perform at the ShockWaves NME Awards 2009 on February 25, 2009 at the O2 Arena in London.

Influence on Russian rock

The work of Smith and company has become the deepest reservoir for the creativity of some Soviet rock bands. The Cure was especially in demand with Konstantin Kinchev (in the world of Panfilov), the frontman of the Alisa group. Following the laws of electricity - follow the path least resistance and taking advantage of the "Iron Curtain", which had just begun to rise in the 80s and still the Soviet people did not hear "The Cure", Kinchev copied the composition Kyoto Song from Smith note for note. Listen for yourself and try to find ten differences. Such groups as "Technology", "Kino" did not disdain to use the work of The Cure.

It has been more than thirty years since the world first heard the British band The Cure. During its existence, the group has released 20 albums, won worldwide recognition and love of several generations of music lovers. And as confirmation of the above - 30 million discs that have been sold throughout the existence of the group.

Implementation of their musical ideas the band members found at the junction of alternatives and the mainstream. Thanks to this combination of musical styles, The Cure's music is unique in its kind and attracts more and more music lovers.

Back in 1976 in the English town of Crawley began the history of the giant of the world music industry - The Cure. At that time, an unknown group Easy Cure began their musical career. The audience immediately began to attract their unusual style of performance. And especially attracted the vocalist Robert Smith, who, in addition to a great performance, behaved on stage not as befits a rock singer. By nature, a very modest young man, he did not follow the old canons of a true rock singer and did not show excessive ceremonial movements on stage. However, thanks to his talent, he could force the audience to attract their attention and hold it until the last chords.

The Easy Cure group at that time included three more people. They were bassist Michael Dempsey (Michael Dempsey), guitarist Pearl Thompson (Porl Thompson) and drummer Lol Tolhurst (Lol Tolhurst). They were all good school friends Robert.

The group quickly began to gain popularity. Their performances became more and more frequent.

Thanks to the victory at the Battle of the Bands music competition, they were noticed by representatives of the German label Ariola-Hansa. But Easy Cure did not succeed in fruitful cooperation with this company. Since the label's management did not believe in the success of the "next pop group". And soon the group parted with this record company, moreover, without releasing a single single.

In 1978, guitarist Pearl Thompson left the band and the band became a trio. In the same year, the group changes its name a little, and The Cure becomes known to all of us. The band records their first demo and sends out cassettes to numerous record companies. And, oh luck, a company called Fiction offers a contract to the group, which is soon signed by both parties. And, as it turned out, in the future, it was a sure step to success. It's been 25 years since then, and The Cure is still collaborating with this label. A few months later, the first single of the group called "Killing an Arab" was presented to the public for evaluation. He was immediately noticed not only by ordinary music lovers, but also by critics of that time. Hard texts were its basis. Their singularity attracted more and more people. A little more time passes and the first full-fledged album called Three Imaginary Boys is born. This event happened already in 1979. The album was immediately acclaimed by numerous critics. The assessments were very different, and it is worth noting that sometimes they were completely opposite. But, nevertheless, the album was a success, though not great. The members of the group did not count on such luck. The company Fiction relied on the semantic component of the texts and the manner of behavior of the band members, and not on the musical skill of the performers. And this played a role. The group, holding performances, began to gather huge halls of the public.

Simultaneously with the release of a new album, disagreements occur in the ranks of the group, which lead to a change in the composition of the group. Bassist leaves the band and is replaced by Simon Gallup. At the same time, keyboardist Matthew Hartley (Matthieu Hartley) joined the group. With this line-up, The Cure released their second album, Seventeen Seconds, in 1980. It organically combined the aggressiveness of text content and English underground music. Due to its unusualness, the album immediately gained popularity. As evidenced by his hit in the Top-20 of English alternative music. After the release of the album, the group decides to go on a world tour: Australia, America and Europe. This was their first tour along this route. However, a busy schedule and hard work forced her keyboardist Matthieu Hartley to leave the band.

Left again as a trio, The Cure begins work on their next album, which was released in 1981. The album, filled with nervousness, expressiveness, takes 14th place in the British chart. Immediately after its release, the trio with their new producer Mike Hedges organized a new world tour (Picture Tour) in support of their album. This time the group visits many cities in Europe and America.

After that, the group decides to take a little vacation for themselves. However, the holidays end with the release of the next album "Pornography", which was released in 1982. It hit the Top 10 immediately and became a classic from The Cure. Although the popularity and success of the group was all right, the disagreements in the team grew every day. Bassist Simon Gallup left the band as a result of these disagreements. In order to somehow resolve the current situation, Robert Smith decides to change the musical style of the group and records the single "Let's Go to Bed". The output is disco-directed music, and not by himself best quality. However, contrary to all expectations, this single becomes one of the most popular in the history of the group. It is followed by two more compositions in the same direction "The Walk" and "The Lovecats". All three tracks were recorded with Wreckless Eric drummer Steve Goulding.

In 1983, the group released their new album Japanese Whispers, which included three previously released themes.

Not having time to enjoy the glory of the new album, frontman Robert Smith begins to create a new album. And soon his offspring called "The Top" is born. This can be said to be Smith's solo album. After all, all the instruments, except for the drums, he recorded himself. Despite the psychedelic direction of the album, it holds a strong position in the British ratings. After the release of this album, The Cure goes on another world tour called Top Tour. It is worth noting that the composition of the group before the trip again underwent some changes. Now it included, in addition to Robert Smith, Andy Anderson (Andy Anderson), Phil Thornelly (Phil Thornalley) and Pearl Thompson. But at the end of the tour, due to various reasons, two people left the group at once - Anderson and Thornelly.

Then in 1985, with the help of co-producer Dave Allen (Dave Allen), the group released their next creation, whose name was "The Head on the Door". This album, full of lively energy and dynamism, immediately took the seventh position in the British charts and entered the American Top 100, taking 59th place in it. And, of course, traditionally after the release of each album, another world tour took place.

The following year, 1986, was marked by the release of the final report for a seven-year career in the form of a collection of hits "Standing on the Beach - The Singles". Due to the popularity of the compositions collected in it, this compilation was sold in huge circulation.

Meanwhile, the band members begin to work on their new album "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me", which is released in 1987. The album was recorded with a new band member - keyboardist Roger O'Donnell (Roger O'Donnell). The melody, ambiguity, lyricism of the texts showed the band members from a completely different side of their creative natures. This album becomes one of the most popular among young people and reaches the Top 50 in America. At this time, the group is actively conducting its concert activities.

The next stage in the development of the group was the release in 1988 of the album "Disintegration". The album instantly occupies the third line in the British charts. And The Cure are going on their next tour, which ends with three concerts in London at Wembley Stadium. In the same year, their drummer Lol Tolhurst left the band. The reason for his departure was, as always, disagreements within the group. In 1990, the group parted ways with another of its members - Roger O "Donnell. He was replaced by Perry Bamont (Perry Bamonte). At this time, she undertakes another tour of Europe. The final stage of this tour is the release of the live album "Entreat". And after a short time, a remix album called “Mixed Up” was presented to music lovers for evaluation, which took the thirteenth position in Britain and 14 in America. Wish "and becoming the most popular group in England. The album" Wish "won first place in sales in England and 2nd in America. The group spent the whole year on tour. While traveling all over Europe, America and even New Zealand. At this time Changes are taking place in the group again: Pearl Thompson and Boris Williams are leaving, and Jason Cooper and Roger O'Donnell are taking their places. At the end of the tour, two live albums "Show" and "Paris" were released, which were recorded in Texas and Paris, respectively. This is a kind of report for music lovers for last year. Both albums have taken their places of honor among a considerable number of the group's works.

The next step is the appearance of the album "Wild Mood Swings". It happened in 1996. The album was received quite warmly by the public. However, the previous excitement was no longer observed. The album, however, hit the Top 10 of the English chart. The group again plunged into the abyss of touring activity. More than a hundred concerts at venues in various countries were played by the group in 1996.

In between tours, intensive work was underway on the creation of an anthology, which appeared in 1997. It includes previously unreleased material.

And again a series of tours and participation in the most popular music festivals in many countries. And at the turn of two millennia in 2000, the band released their 20th anniversary album "Bloodflowers". According to the band members, this is the end of a trilogy that includes "Pornography" and "Disintegration". The album turned out to be a hit. It has everything that so attracts numerous music lovers - both melody, and aggressiveness, and lyricism. And, of course, all this is done to a high standard. professional level. Many critics consider this album one of the best creations of this band.

In 2001, the group prepared a compilation of their best works, which was appreciated by the public. Since then, there has been a lull in The Cure's work. However, the group is a regular participant in many festivals. In addition, the leader of the group, Robert Smith, intends to go solo. Therefore, we will wait for his new creations and the release of the new album of The Cure. And in conclusion, it should be said that the music of The Cure is most of in the history of music. It was on the music of this group that more than one generation grew up. But on early stages few people believed in success of their creativity.

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The Cure is one of the greatest bands modernity, which influenced many modern bands playing post-punk. When you tell someone that this and that kind of band plays "post-punk", the person immediately starts to think that this kind of music has something to do with punk. Of course, there is always an indirect relation to it, but nevertheless, post-punk was a reaction to the stupidity and lack of melody of punk in the face of the Sex Pistols, Ramones and other "intellectuals". Interpol, by the way, are followers of The Cure and travel with them on tour.

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The history of The Cure dates back to 1976, when small town Crawley in the English county of Essex, the attention of a musically preoccupied public began to attract the young, making the very first steps of the group Easy Cure. The main lure for the curious was the 17-year-old vocalist Robert Smith (Robert Smith), an unusually gifted musician and at the same time the most modest young man who defiantly destroyed the stereotype of rock star behavior. Having not overcome natural shyness and resisting all manifestations of excessive ceremony, on stage, however, he knew how to tightly attract the attention of the public and keep the hall in suspense. His teammates were schoolmates: bassist Michael Dempsey, drummer Lol Tolhurst and local guitar hero Porl Thompson.

By winning the national competition Battle of the Bands, Easy Cure got the chance to debut on the German label Ariola-Hansa. However, the label management saw them as just another fresh pop group, and Robert Smith had his own opinion on this matter. The musicians parted ways with their first record company without releasing anything.

1978 finds them already without the word Easy in the title, as well as without guitarist Pearl Thompson. Having become a trio, The Cure send out demo tapes to various labels and sign a contract with Fiction, a new division of Polydor - and for 25 years they have not had to regret this decision. Literally a few months later, the debut single "Killing an Arab" was born, which attracted the attention of music lovers with harsh and even cruel lyrics. In contrast to the single, the musicians called their debut album "Three Imaginary Boys" (1979). The management of the Fiction label highly appreciated the release and decided to publish other works of the group in the future. The album caused a series of favorable reviews (although not without extreme points of view) and even a modest commercial success, which the group did not at first count on. The Fiction label made a bet first of all on the nature of the material and the eccentric behavior of the musicians, and secondly and thirdly - on their musical skills. During long tours of the UK, The Cure had to share the same stage with Wire, Joy Division and The Jam.

At the same time, the first serious disagreements began in the ranks of The Cure, of which there will be many more and which, as a rule, led to more and more personnel changes. Bassist Dempsey left the band and was replaced by Simon Gallup, and then keyboardist Matthieu Hartley joined.

Once again a quartet, The Cure plunge into studio work and spend two weeks experimenting, this time focusing on the darker side of Robert Smith's work. His texts, combining despair and grotesque, were fueled by the exciting atmosphere of the chaotic English underground. The new album "Seventeen Seconds" was released in 1980. From this record it was already possible to ascertain the emergence of one of the strongest bands of the coming decade. Hitting the UK Top 20, the album prompted the band to embark on their first full-scale tour. And immediately the world: Europe, America, Australia. Unfortunately, too busy schedule was beyond Matthew Hartley's strength, and The Cure were left without a keyboardist.

Trinity Smith-Gallup-Tolhurst, having taken Mike Hedges as co-producer, plunges into the world of disappointment and fear, finding simple but expressive colors for these states. Published in 1981, the album "Faith", full of nervous tension, rose to the 14th line of the British chart. And the team went on a Picture Tour, which covered the countries of Europe and America.

Despite the decision to take a break after the tour and gather strength, The Cure soon find themselves back in the studio and in a few months recording new job"Pornography" (released May 1982). The album, full of dark charm and nihilism, turned out to be a true classic from the Cure, rising to the Top 10. Meanwhile, the tension within the band begins to go beyond any limits. Quarrels and spats between Robert Smith and Simon Gallup become a daily reality, in the end, Gallup leaves.

Smith sees the only way out for the group is to take it in a completely different direction. Disguised as a disco not the best single "Let" s Go to Bed "out of the blue becomes a pop hit in America. It is recorded with Steve Goulding (Steve Goulding), drummer of Wreckless Eric, while Lol Tolhurst moves behind the keys. The next surprise in the form of an electronic dance composition is called "The Walk" and will hit the Top 12. And the jazz caricature "The Lovecats" turns out to be The Cure's most successful single at that time with a seventh result in the UK chart.In late 1983, these three experimental singles, along with several b-sides, are combined into the album "Japanese Whispers".

Having succeeded in 82-83. while working with the Banshee band, Smith begins recording a new album, The Cure. The new disc "The Top" actually turned out to be almost exclusively the brainchild of the frontman, who recorded all the instruments except the drums. The album came out rather ambiguous, diverse, with a strong bias towards psychedelia. That did not stop him from getting back into the top ten of the best-selling albums in Britain. The team embarked on a new world race called the Top Tour with a new line-up: Andy Anderson on drums, Phil Thornalley on bass and Pearl Thompson back on guitar. But for various reasons, at the end of the tour, Anderson and Thornelly went to seek their fortune elsewhere, and The Cure added new drummer Boris Williams and returned "prodigal" bassist Simon Gallup.

Inviting Dave Allen as co-producer, the musicians are preparing a long-play "The Head on the Door" (1985), energetic and bursting with enthusiasm. The fans appreciated the efforts of the group and guaranteed the album the 7th line of the British chart. In America, the album peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Top 100 and was followed by another world tour.

Finally, after seven years of a growing career, the group undertakes to compile a selection of compositions. The popularity of the first anthology of singles and b-sides "Standing on the Beach - The Singles" (1986) was caused by the success of all previous releases of the team. The compilation reached the American Top 50, and Robert Smith was among the musical idols of American youth.

In May 1986, The Cure began work on Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. The double disc, released in 1987, was a surprise for the fans, revealing the musical and lyrical possibilities of the group, hidden until now, which knew how to surprise every time with novelty and a variety of styles. From July to December, The Cure are rolling out new material to concert venues around the world, inviting a new keyboardist, Roger O'Donnell (Roger O'Donnell).

Following the departure of drummer Lol Tolhurst, whose position in the band at Lately was rather shaky and uncertain, The Cure prepare and publish the disc "Disintegration" (1988). Starting the fight for a place in the charts immediately from position 3, the album gave life to four singles that hit the Top 20. The magnificent, spectacular Prayer Tour became the top of the tour for the group, and its culmination was three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium.

Roger O'Donnell, who left in 1990, is replaced by the group's longtime friend Perry Bamonte, with whom the musicians travel around Europe, lighting up thousands of crowds of the largest summer festivals. As a result of the tour, the live album "Entreat" was published, and then the Cure prepared a collection of remixes "Mixed Up" (No. 13 in the UK and No. 14 in the US).

In 1991, The Cure finally received official recognition, becoming the best British group according to the Brit Awards. A year later, another attempt at "Wish" (1992) was published, a brilliant album that combined the sunny atmosphere of "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" and the much darker mood of "Disintegration". The album "Wish", which can be considered the creative pinnacle of The Cure, brought the group the greatest commercial success - 1st place in the English sales rating and 2nd place in the American one.

Another triumphant year for the team was spent on many months of tour - from New Zealand to Texas.

A well-executed tour was logically accompanied in 1993 by two live albums: "Show" (a show in Dallas, which sounded the best hits) and "Paris" (an eclectic concert in the French capital). Immediately after the tour, The Cure again said goodbye to guitarist Pearl Thompson, and then drummer Boris Williams also left them. Their places in the group are taken by Jason Cooper and Roger O'Donnell.

After active concerts at the world's leading festivals, both summer and winter, in early 1996 The Cure released "Wild Mood Swings". Although too much stylistic variation somewhat disappointed the fans, the album ended up in the Top 10 in many countries around the world. In the wake of this success, the team played more than a hundred shows in front of crowds of enthusiastic fans on all continents.

Another chapter in the band's discography was the second anthology "Galore" (1997), which included unreleased material.

1998 was spent on the road - which is worth only 12 major European festivals. Finally, in 2000, The Cure released the 20th LP "Bloodflowers" in their discography. It was recorded by five of them - with guitarist Perry Bamont, keyboardist Roger O'Donnell and drummer Jason Cooper. followed up with "Disintegration" in 1989. Critics have already dubbed it the Cure's most accomplished recording to date.As part of the Dream Tour 2000, the band toured the US and Europe.

Back in 1999, Robert Smith threatened that the band would cease to exist after the release of "Bloodflowers" and, although the musicians do not record anything new yet, The Cure is still too early to archive. In September 2001, the band prepared a greatest hits collection by re-recording acoustic versions of several songs for it, and since then they have constantly maintained a good concert form. The frontman, meanwhile, has officially announced that he intends to actively engage in solo work in the near future, and the new Cure studio work will have to wait for the moment when he - maybe - feels that he is ready to replenish the band's discography. Perhaps by the beginning of 2004 The Cure will have something to please the fans, especially since Smith never stopped writing songs.

2003 marks the 25th anniversary of the release of The Cure's first single, which marked the beginning of their vast discography. The grandiose plans of the team celebrating the anniversary include not only a new studio album, but also several live albums, a collection of b-sides and rare recordings, as well as a tour with the participation of all the musicians whom fate brought together with The Cure. It is unlikely to succeed in carrying out the last venture - the group has experienced too many acute conflicts in its history. But to realize everything else is entirely in the hands of the musicians. You just have to want.

The Cure are a British musical group whose sound style is quite difficult to define. One of the pioneers of alternative rock and post-punk. The group, despite its alternative focus, has achieved popularity and commercial success - over 50 million copies of their albums have been sold worldwide. The group also had a huge impact on the birth and formation of the goth subculture, creating a great help for such gothic rock veterans as The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus.

In 1976, seventeen-year-old Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) with classmates Michael Dempsey (bass), Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst (drums) and Porl Thompson (guitar) gathered in Crawley (eng. Crawley, Sussex, England) a group called "The Easy Cure. The group immediately started writing their own songs.

In 1977, The Easy Cure entered into a recording contract with Hansa Records. A year later, the group was renamed The Cure, and as a trio (without Porl Thompson) signed a contract with Fiction Records (distribution was made by Polydor). The first single was released, however, on the label "Small Wonder", and was called "Killing an Arab". In 1979, the first album "Three Imaginary Boys" was released, with which the group was not entirely satisfied (in America, this album was released under the name "Boys Don't Cry" with a changed tracklist and cover). In the same 1979, The Cure under a different name - "Cult Hero" - released a 7" single. Tours followed, in which The Cure played with other post-punk bands, including Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Robert Smith sometimes played side by side with Siouxsie and the Banshees, and with a member of this group, Steven Severin, he created a temporary project "The Glove".

In 1980 they released the minimalist album "Seventeen Seconds", which rose to 20th place in the British charts. The single "A Forest" became The Cure's first UK hit single. In the same year, the group went on their first world tour. The 1981 Faith album was released on a cassette containing the Carnage Visors soundtrack cassette, and peaked at number 14 in the UK. Pornography followed in 1982 (#8 in the UK charts, the band's first Top 10 album), moody and nihilistic. At that time, the band members were constantly taking drugs, and the album gave rise to rumors that Smith was suicidal. After an argument with Smith in a club, one of the band's most important and longtime members, bassist Simon Gallup, left the band for a couple of years. He's putting together a new band, Fools Dance.

In the 1980s, the group released several more albums - "The Top" (1984), "The Head On The Door" (1985), "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me" (1987), "Disintegration" (1989) - and completed several big concert tours. Many subsequent albums and singles by The Cure repeated the success of the previous ones, constantly occupying good positions in the charts. In 1986, The Cure released a compilation of all the singles and B-sides, Standing On A Beach.

In 1990, a collection of remixes of old compositions called "Mixed Up" was released, with the only new song, "Never Enough", which became a hit. The band's 1992 album Wish was the highest charting album of all the band's albums, reaching number one in the UK and number two in the US. Musically, this album, in a way, defines the sound of alternative rock in the 1990s. Material from the subsequent Wish Tour formed the basis of the live albums Show (September 1993) and Paris (October 1993). Porl Thompson (guitar), who made several appearances with The Cure, left the band to join Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

In 1994, Lol Tolhurst, who left the band in 1989, sued Robert Smith and Fiction Records for royalties and the right to the name The Cure. After a lengthy legal battle, he lost.

In 1996, the album Wild Mood Swings was released, in 1997 - a collection of multi-platinum singles "Galore", supplementing the collection "Staring At The Sea" (aka "Standing On A Beach").

2000 saw the release of Bloodflowers, which, according to Smith, is the end of a trilogy begun with Pornography (1982) and Disintegration (1989). Material from these albums was performed at a series of concerts in Berlin, and released on the DVD Trilogy (2003). In 2003 The Cure changed their label to iam Records. In 2004, their old label Fiction Records released the compilation "Join The Dots - The B-Sides & Rarities", 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years), which included 70 The Cure tracks, including previously unreleased and others rarities.

In 2004, an album was released, named the same as the group - "The Cure". It was produced by label owner Ross Robinson. The album turned out with a big bias in guitar rock.

In 2006 - 2007 The Cure are recording new material, and plan to release a new (thirteenth) album on September 13, 2008. The day before, starting from May 13, four singles will be released at intervals of a month.