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Few bands cover as much emotional ground as The Cure. Robert Smith’s band has made bleak, minimal post-punk, gloriously silly pop singles, swirling gothic epics and heartfelt love songs, often within the same year. More than four decades after their debut, they are alternative rock royalty, and their 2024 album Songs of a Lost World showed they can still make some of their best music.
The Cure at a glance
Formed
1976 (as Easy Cure), Crawley, England
Leader
Robert Smith (vocals, guitar, songwriter)
Long-time members
Simon Gallup (bass), Roger O’Donnell (keyboards), Jason Cooper (drums), Reeves Gabrels (guitar)
Founding members
Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey, Lol Tolhurst
Genres
Post-punk, gothic rock, new wave, alternative rock
Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2019
The early years
Smith formed Easy Cure in 1976 with schoolmates including bassist Michael Dempsey and drummer Lol Tolhurst, playing around southern England. By 1978 they had become a trio called simply The Cure and signed with Chris Parry’s new Fiction label. Their debut Three Imaginary Boys (1979) was sparse and wiry, and singles such as “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” built a following.
The dark trilogy
With Simon Gallup on bass, the band turned inward. Seventeen Seconds (1980), with the hypnotic single “A Forest,” Faith (1981) and the crushing Pornography (1982) are bleak, atmospheric and hugely influential on gothic rock.
Going pop
Exhausted by that darkness, Smith deliberately made pop singles: “Let’s Go to Bed” (1982), “The Walk” and the jazzy “The Lovecats” (1983), collected on Japanese Whispers. Director Tim Pope’s playful videos helped make the band MTV favorites.
The classic albums
The Head on the Door (1985)
Pop and darkness in balance, with “In Between Days” and “Close to Me.”
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
A sprawling double album that included “Just Like Heaven,” their first U.S. top-40 hit.
Disintegration (1989)
Their masterpiece: slow, lush and heartbreaking. “Lovesong,” “Pictures of You,” “Lullaby” and “Fascination Street” are all essential, and the album regularly appears on lists of the greatest of all time.
Wish (1992)
Their biggest commercial success, with “Friday I’m in Love” and “High.”
Songs of a Lost World (2024)
Sixteen years after their previous album, The Cure released a powerful meditation on loss and aging. Many critics ranked it alongside their classic work.
Robert Smith
Smith’s smeared lipstick and wild hair made him one of rock’s most recognizable figures, but his songwriting is the real legacy. He has also become an advocate for fans, publicly pushing back against inflated ticket prices.
Why The Cure matter
The Cure helped invent gothic rock, scored new wave hits and became a cornerstone of college radio and alternative music. Their influence can be heard in bands as different as Interpol, Deftones, The 1975 and M83. Our guide to new wave vs. alternative rock explains why they belong to both.
About this article: Written and fact-checked by The Alternative One editorial team, the programmers and music writers behind the station’s on-air shows. Official artist website: www.thecure.com. Last reviewed October 2, 2026. Read our editorial standards or tell us about a correction.
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