The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The lineup has shifted considerably over the decades, but Robert Smith has been the constant — writing, playing guitar and fronting the band throughout. Bassist Simon Gallup has been alongside him for most of that run too, with only a brief gap in the early eighties.
They debuted with Three Imaginary Boys in 1979, landing them squarely in the post-punk and new wave movements that were reshaping British music at the time. Their second album, Seventeen Seconds, pushed things darker and more atmospheric. Robert's stage presence and look became increasingly distinctive, and the band's sound started to define what gothic rock would become.
By 1982, Pornography had taken the darkness about as far as it could go. From there, the band shifted direction and introduced a pop sensibility that brought mainstream success without losing the edge. Their singles compilation Standing on a Beach had sold four million copies worldwide by 1989. Disintegration and Wish followed, both reaching the top of the charts.
The Cure have released 13 studio albums, a handful of EPs and over 30 singles, with total sales exceeding 30 million records worldwide. Their most recent studio album, 4:13 Dream, came out in 2008. In 2019 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn on 29 March.
NME called them a "goth hit machine" in the eighties, crediting them with 19 chart hits. Robert Smith appeared on the cover of NME's 2004 "Originals: Goth" edition. Their influence runs deep across alternative music — Interpol's Paul Banks has cited them as a primary influence, and Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has named them as one of his most important.
Gothic rock as a genre owes a significant debt to The Cure. They were doing it before it had a name, and the subculture that formed around their sound is still very much alive.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3nPiBai66M