The Cure

The Cure were one of the longest-lived, most influential, and most successful bands to come out of the late-'70s U.K. post-punk scene. Over the years they managed multiple stylistic shifts without sacrificing their distinctive identity. They actually began playing together as schoolboys in the pre-punk era in various guises, but by 1977 they were performing as Easy Cure with Robert Smith on vocals and guitar, Porl Thompson on guitar, Michael Dempsey on bass, and Lol Tolhurst on drums. In 1978 Thompson was dismissed, and the band released its first single, "Killing an Arab," at the end of the year, now going by The Cure. The following year, The Cure's debut LP, Three Imaginary Boys, appeared, along with singles "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train," spotlighting the band's knack for blending post-punk edge and pop hooks. They made their first significant commercial impact with 1980's Seventeen Seconds and the single "A Forest," which reached the U.K. Top 40. By this time Simon Gallup had replaced Dempsey. The Cure's sound got darker and more atmospheric on early '80s LPs Faith and Pornography, their moody sound and black-clad look making them goth icons forevermore, though they were never really a goth band. Soon after, they began fully embracing their pop side with such hit singles as "Let's Go to Bed" and "The Love Cats." By the mid '80s, singles like "In Between Days" were establishing The Cure as alternative rock heroes in America, a process that reached its zenith with 1989's Disintegration and the hits "Fascination Street," "Lovesong," and "Pictures of You." By this point the band was playing arenas and stadiums worldwide. This peak period of the band's commercial appeal extended to 1992's Wish, which included the hits "Friday I'm in Love" and "A Letter to Elise." While The Cure's subsequent albums saw diminishing returns saleswise, The Cure became even more revered as time passed and their influence on multiple generations and genres became more apparent. Their tours continued to sell out, and in 2019 the band was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.