Roger O'Donnell

Last updated

Roger O'Donnell
The Cure en Chile (8652597964) (cropped).jpg
O'Donnell performing in 2013
Background information
Born (1955-10-29) 29 October 1955 (age 69)
East London, England
Genres Post-punk, gothic rock, dark wave, alternative rock, new wave, synthpop
Occupations
  • Musician
  • composer
Instruments
  • Keyboards
  • tambourine
Years active1976–present
Member of The Cure
Formerly of The Psychedelic Furs
Berlin

Roger O'Donnell (born 29 October 1955) 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.

Contents

Career

O'Donnell was born in East London into a musical family, next to the piano in his parents' home. [1] O'Donnell briefly attended art school but left to pursue a career as a professional musician; his first paying gig was in 1976, backing Arthur Brown. [2] He also played in local bands, primarily in the jazz fusion genre, with future Cure bandmate Boris Williams. [3]

O'Donnell joined Thompson Twins as touring keyboardist in 1983, playing alongside Williams. During this period he also served as a session and touring keyboardist for Berlin and the Psychedelic Furs. [4] O'Donnell began a long association with synthesizers produced by Sequential Circuits, and while performing with the Psychedelic Furs he set a record for having the most Sequential models onstage at one time. [5]

In 1987, O'Donnell was recruited to join The Cure as touring keyboardist, at the recommendation of Williams who had been the band's drummer since 1984. [6] The Cure needed an additional keyboardist to supplement founding member Lol Tolhurst, who had become unreliable due to alcohol abuse. O'Donnell joined just before the release of the album Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and appeared in the videos for two of that album's singles, though he did not play on the studio recordings. [1]

At the end of the ensuing tour, group leader Robert Smith invited O'Donnell to join the Cure as an official member. [1] O'Donnell was a major contributor to their 1989 album Disintegration. [7] [8] Unhappy with the large stadium-sized shows that the Cure played during that album's tour, and with personal differences among bandmates, O'Donnell left the band for the first time in 1990. [1]

O'Donnell self-released the solo album Grey Clouds Red Sky in 1994. During this period, Smith revamped the lineup of the Cure due to multiple recent departures and invited O'Donnell to rejoin in early 1995. O'Donnell played on the band's next three albums: Wild Mood Swings , Bloodflowers , and The Cure . He was dismissed by Smith in 2005 in another revamping of the band's lineup. [1]

O'Donnell released three solo albums in the following years, including The Truth in Me , [9] and formed a record label called 99X/10 with longtime partner Erin Lang. [10] [11] He also contributed to a documentary about synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog. [2] In 2011, he and former Cure bandmate Lol Tolhurst discussed a collaboration to commemorate the band's early albums. The Cure themselves had been discussing such a project of their own, and O'Donnell and Tolhurst joined the band onstage at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. [12] O'Donnell then officially rejoined the Cure and remains with the band to the present day. [1]

In 2019, O'Donnell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cure. [13] Since rejoining the band, he has continued to release solo works regularly, [14] most recently the album 7 Different Words for Love in 2022; [15] he has also composed a classical suite called "Quieter Trees" for orchestral performance. [16]

Personal life

On 1 September 2024, it was revealed that O'Donnell was diagnosed with lymphoma the previous year. O'Donnell posted a lengthy thread on X for Blood Cancer Awareness Month, stating: "In September last year I was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. I had ignored the symptoms for a few months but finally went," he wrote, "and after surgery the result of the biopsy was devastating." [17]

Discography

Albums and compositions

EPs

Songs and scores

Related Research Articles

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The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 by guitarist, lead vocalist, and main songwriter Robert Smith and drummer Lol Tolhurst. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, including stints of guitarist Pearl Thompson and drummer Boris Williams, 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. The band's current line-up features Smith and Gallup alongside longtime members, Roger O'Donnell (keyboards), Perry Bamonte (guitar), Jason Cooper (drums) and Reeves Gabrels (guitar).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Smith (musician)</span> English rock musician (born 1959)

Robert James Smith is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and the co-founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the Cure, a British post punk rock band formed in 1976. His guitar-playing style, singing voice, and fashion sense, often sporting a pale complexion, smeared red lipstick, black eye-liner, unkempt wiry black hair, and all-black clothes, were highly influential on the goth subculture that rose to prominence in the 1980s.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lol Tolhurst</span> British drummer and keyboardist

Laurence Andrew 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. His most recent studio release is the album Los Angeles (2023), in collaboration with Budgie and Jacknife Lee.

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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.

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Los Angeles is a collaborative studio album by Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, and Jacknife Lee. The album was released by PIAS Recordings on 3 November 2023. Tolhurst and Budgie, the drummers of the Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees, respectively, wrote and composed the album with producer Lee in Los Angeles. It was recorded with guest singers and musicians, such as LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, U2 guitarist the Edge, Primal Scream vocalist Bobby Gillespie, and Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock. The album is the solo debut of both Tolhurst and Budgie.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Price, Simon (2023). Curepedia: An A-Z of The Cure. New York, NY: William Morrow. pp. 263–265. ISBN   978-0-06-306864-3.
  2. 1 2 Lennon, Andi (14 October 2016). "Interview: Roger O'Donnell on finding his voice outside of The Cure". collide. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Price, p. 415.
  4. ↑ "Interview with Roger O'Donnell of The Cure". Synth History. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "The Haunting of Roger O'Donnell | An Interview with The Cure Keyboardist and 2 Ravens composer". Post-Punk.com. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "All My Keyboards: Roger O'Donnell". Synth History. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "Making The Cure: Disintegration". Classic Pop Magazine. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  8. ↑ Brown, Jake (6 January 2010). "Recording Disintegration: 20 Years Ago". Glorious Noise. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  9. ↑ Uncut, ed. (2016). "The Cure". The Ultimate Music Guide. p. 144.
  10. ↑ "Roger O'Donnell (The Cure) releases new solo album '7 Different Words For Love' on 18th November on his own label 99X/10". 15 November 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "Ten Questions with Roger O'Donnell". Textura. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "The Cure playing first 3 albums in Sydney with ex-members Lol Tolhurst, Roger O'Donnell". Slicing Up Eyeballs. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  13. ↑ Grow, Kory (30 March 2019). "Read Cure Frontman Robert Smith's Gracious Rock Hall Induction Speech". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  14. ↑ "Roger O'Donnell's album '2 Ravens' is perfect for quiet reflection". 3 September 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  15. ↑ Martin, Ryan (18 November 2022). "The Test Drive: Roger O'Donnell - 7 Different Words For Love". jammerzine.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  16. ↑ Raggett, Ned (3 August 2015). "Love And Other Tragedies: Roger O'Donnell Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  17. ↑ Cain, Sian (3 September 2024). "The Cure's Roger O'Donnell reveals 'rare and aggressive' blood cancer diagnosis". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 5 December 2024.
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