Presence | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | England |
Genres | Gothic rock, new wave, pop punk |
Years active | 1990–1993 |
Labels | Reality Records, Smash Records, Island Records |
Past members | Gary Biddles Michael Dempsey Lol Tolhurst Chris Youdell Alan Burgess Roberto Soave Rob Steen Paul Redfern Kevin Kipnis |
Presence were a British rock band formed in 1990, best known for its associations with The Cure. They released the album Inside in 1992 and split the following year. [1]
Presence was formed by keyboardist Lol Tolhurst, a founding member of The Cure who had left that band in 1989; and singer Gary Biddles, a former member of Fools Dance who had also served as a member of the Cure's road crew in the early 1980s. Two other former members of the Cure, bassist Michael Dempsey and guitarist Porl Thompson, contributed to Presence's early demo recordings, with Dempsey receiving some songwriting credits. [1]
The band's lineup was eventually completed with bassist Roberto Soave, guitarist Rob Steen, keyboardist Chris Youdell (formerly of Then Jericho), and drummer Alan Burgess. [2] This lineup first released the single "In Wonder", followed by the album Inside in 1992, which despite some favorable reviews was not successful. [1]
A second album titled Closer (produced by John Porter) was recorded during this period, [3] but was not released because Tolhurst decided to end the band for personal reasons. [4] [5] Closer was finally released in 2014, shortly after the death of Gary Biddles. [1]
Following the breakup of Presence, several members remained associated with The Cure. Roberto Soave occasionally filled in for Cure bassist Simon Gallup in the mid-1990s. [6] Soave and Rob Steen were later members of the band Babacar with another former Cure member, Boris Williams. [7] Tolhurst later formed the electronica band Levinhurst. [8]
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, though bassist Simon Gallup has been present for all but about three years of the band's history. Their debut album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979), along with several early singles, placed the band at the forefront of the emerging 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.
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.
"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.
Roger O'Donnell is an English keyboardist best known as a longtime member of The Cure, which he first joined in 1987 and for which he has served three different tenures. O'Donnell has also performed as a touring and session keyboardist for many artists and maintains an active solo career.
Simon Johnathon Gallup is an English musician who is best known as bassist for The Cure, which he first joined in 1979 and for which he has played through most of the band's history. Gallup is the second longest-serving member of the band after group leader Robert Smith.
Pearl Thompson is an English musician and artist. Thompson is best known as a member of the English alternative rock band The Cure from 1983-1993 and 2005-2011, during which he was credited as Porl Thompson and played mainly guitar with occasional keyboards and saxophone. After leaving the Cure he has focused on a successful career as a visual artist.
Michael Stephen Dempsey is an English musician, best known as the bassist for The Cure and The Associates.
Clifford Leon "Andy" Anderson was a British drummer, best known for his work with The Cure and Steve Hillage, as well as a lengthy session career.
Fools Dance were an English rock band active from 1983 to 1987, primarily known for their connections to The Cure.
Laurence Andrew Tolhurst, known professionally as Lol Tolhurst, is an English musician, songwriter, producer, and author. He was a founding member of The Cure, for which he first played drums before switching to keyboards. He left the Cure in 1989 and later formed the bands Presence and Levinhurst. He has also published two books and developed the Curious Creatures podcast.
"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 June 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."
"I'm a Cult Hero" is a single released by an extended lineup of the Cure under the name Cult Hero.
Inside is the debut studio album released by British rock band Presence, released in the UK through Reality Records in 1992, and in the US and Canada through Smash Records, a subsidiary of Island Records, in 1993. Although Inside was well received by critics, it was a commercial failure, and the band dissolved shortly afterwards. Nevertheless, this band does spark interest among some Cure fans because of the involvement of Lol Tolhurst.
Babacar was a short-lived rock supergroup formed in England, featuring former members of Shelleyan Orphan, The Cure, and Presence. The group released a self-titled album in 1998.
Levinhurst is an English electronica band formed by keyboardist/drummer Lol Tolhurst, a founding member of The Cure, and his wife Cindy Levinson on vocals. The band's name is a portmanteau of their surnames. To date, Levinhurst has released three studio albums.
Return of Crystal Karma (often abbreviated to R.O.C.K.) is a studio album by former Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Trapeze vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes. The album was released 19 of June 2000 on SPV and Nippon records.
The Magazine Spies were an English post-punk band from Horley, formed in 1979. The band is best known for featuring future members of The Cure and Fools Dance. They were also known as The Magspies and Mag/Spys, as references to magpies.
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.