The Cure (GB)

About

Also known as: Cure

Few bands have shifted their sound as dramatically as The Cure, and made it stick. Formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst, they started out riding the post punk and new wave wave before going progressively darker with Seventeen Seconds in 1980, a record that helped shape what would become gothic rock. Then, just when you thought you had them figured out, Smith started folding in pop, and by the late '80s and early '90s the band had scored some of the most recognizable songs in alternative rock history. "Just Like Heaven", "Lovesong", "Friday I'm in Love", "Boys Don't Cry": the list goes on. Their 1989 album Disintegration is often cited as a high water mark, balancing the band's darker instincts with genuine emotional sweep. The Cure have sold over 30 million records, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, and in 2024 released Songs of a Lost World, their first album of all new material in 16 years. It topped charts in multiple countries and reminded anyone who needed reminding just how much this band still matters.