The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's debut album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979), along with several early singles, placed the band in the post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up 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 subculture that eventually formed around the genre.
Three Imaginary Boys is the debut studio album by English rock band The Cure, released on 11 May 1979 by Fiction Records. It was later released in the United States, Canada, and Australia with a different track listing as a compilation album titled Boys Don't Cry.
Robert James Smith is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer, guitarist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band the Cure, which he co-founded in 1978. He was also the lead guitarist for the band Siouxsie and the Banshees from 1982 to 1984, and was part of the short-lived group the Glove in 1983.
Seventeen Seconds is the second studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 18 April 1980 by Fiction Records. The album marked the first time frontman Robert Smith co-produced with Mike Hedges. After the departure of original bassist Michael Dempsey, Simon Gallup became an official member along with keyboardist Matthieu Hartley. The single "A Forest" was the band's first entry in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
Faith is the third studio album by English rock band The Cure, released on 17 April 1981 by Fiction Records. The album saw the band continuing in the gloomy vein of their previous album Seventeen Seconds (1980), which would conclude with their next album Pornography (1982).
Pornography is the fourth studio album by English rock band The Cure, released on 3 May 1982 by Fiction Records. Preceded by the non-album single "Charlotte Sometimes", it was the band's first album with new producer Phil Thornalley, and was recorded at RAK Studios from January to April 1982. The sessions saw the band on the brink of collapse, with heavy drug use, band in-fighting, and frontman Robert Smith's depression fueling the album's musical and lyrical content. Pornography represents the conclusion of the Cure's early dark, gloomy musical phase, which began with their second album Seventeen Seconds (1980).
Japanese Whispers is the third compilation album by British group The Cure. It was released in late 1983 by Fiction Records.
Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities is a box set of The Cure, released on 26 January 2004, by their former record label Fiction. This box set is a four-disc compilation of B-sides and rarities, digitally remastered by Chris Blair at Abbey Road Studios from their original tapes. The box set includes all B-sides by the band, apart from a number of remixes, as well a number of unreleased songs and songs that had been out of physical circulation for years. Many of the songs had not appeared on CD before. The set includes a booklet with track-by-track commentary and an extensive overview of the band's history up to 2004, followed by an extensive list of The Cure's discography.
Standing on a Beach is a singles compilation album released by English rock band The Cure in May 1986, marking a decade since the band's founding in 1976. The album's titles are both taken from the opening lyrics of the Cure's debut single, "Killing an Arab".
The Cure in Orange is a concert film by British rock group The Cure. It was shot on 35mm film at the Théâtre antique d'Orange in the French countryside, on 8, 9, and 10 August 1986. Band members Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams (Drums), and Lol Tolhurst (Keyboards) make their way through 23 songs, under the direction of Tim Pope.
"A Forest" is a song by the English rock band The Cure. Co-produced by Mike Hedges and the band's Robert Smith, it was released as a single from the band's second album Seventeen Seconds on 28 March 1980. It was their debut entry on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 31. The accompanying music video was first shown on BBC's Top of the Pops programme on 24 April 1980.
Simon Jonathon Gallup is an English musician and bassist with the alternative rock band the Cure. He is the second longest-serving member of the band after lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Smith.
Michael Stephen Dempsey is an English musician and composer, who has played bass as a member of several post-punk and new wave bands, including the Cure and the Associates.
Laurence Andrew "Lol" Tolhurst is a founding member and the former drummer and keyboardist of English band The Cure. He left the Cure in 1989 and was later involved in the band Presence and his current project, Levinhurst. In 2011, he was temporarily reunited with the Cure for a number of shows playing the band's earlier work.
"Boys Don't Cry" is a song by English rock band the Cure. It was released in the UK as a stand-alone single in June 1979, and was included as the title track on Boys Don't Cry, the American equivalent to Three Imaginary Boys.
"The Walk" is a song by English rock band The Cure, released as a stand-alone single in July 1983. It later appeared on the compilation album Japanese Whispers. It was recorded when the band was briefly reduced to the two founding members Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst following the departure of bassist Simon Gallup following the end of the band's previous tour in support of the album Pornography. in May 1982. According to Lol Tolhurst, they chose producer Steve Nye at the time due to his work on the album Tin Drum by Japan. Tolhurst later commented: "It was the first time we had worked with a 'proper' producer, as opposed to doing production with an engineer that we really liked. […] He was able to make electronic instruments sound more natural, and that's what we wanted."
"Charlotte Sometimes" is a song by English rock band the Cure, recorded at producer Mike Hedges' Playground Studios and released as a non-album single on 9 October 1981 by Polydor Records, following the band's third studio album Faith. The titles and lyrics to both sides were based on the book Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer.
"I'm a Cult Hero" is a single released by an extended lineup of the Cure under the name Cult Hero.
The Cure: "Reflections" refers to a set of shows in which The Cure played their first three albums Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds and Faith in full at the VividLive festival at the Sydney Opera House on 31 May and 1 June 2011. All three albums were played in their entirety on both nights, along with several other tracks from the same era.
