The Cure

Formed in Crawley, England, in 1978 around singer and guitarist Robert Smith, The Cure first emerged from the British post-punk scene before gravitating toward a dark, minimalist strain of gothic rock. The band's early albums - Three Imaginary Boys (1979), Seventeen Seconds (1980), Faith (1981), and Pornography (1982) - established a world of slow tempos, hazy atmospheres, and introspective songwriting. Beginning with The Head on the Door (1985) and then Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (1987), The Cure folded in more pop and new wave elements, alternating between melancholic pieces and more immediate songs driven by melodic guitar lines and prominent keyboards. Disintegration (1989) deepened the group's atmospheric scope, while Wish (1992), Bloodflowers (2000), The Cure (2004), and 4:13 Dream (2008) extended a sound that had become emblematic of alternative rock. Despite numerous lineup changes around Robert Smith - with notable members such as Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst, and Porl Thompson - The Cure remains active onstage, appearing on major international tours and festivals, moving between ethereal ballads and more urgent, nervy tracks.