Longtime the Cure guitarist/keyboardist Perry Bamonte, who played on such iconic albums as 1992’s Wish and was onstage with the U.K. band for nearly 500 shows over the past 35 years, has died at the age of 65 after a short illness.
A London native, the left-handed player had a brief stint working in a London furniture store before catching on the Cure’s road crew in 1984 with the encouragement of his brother Daryl, who at the time was their tour manager. From there, he served both as frontman Robert Smith’s personal assistant and guitar tech, and when keyboardist Roger O’Donnell exited the band in 1990, he joined as a full performing member.
His contributions later enlivened a host of beloved Wish songs, including six-string bass work on “Friday I’m in Love” and “A Letter to Elise.” In that era, he performed on the live albums Paris and Show, plus the studio efforts Wild Mood Swings, Bloodflowers and a 2004 self-titled affair. Photography also played a substantial role in Bamonte’s creative vision, as he often snapped stunning images of the Cure’s journeys around the world.
Bamonte left the Cure in 2005 and focused on a career as an illustrator, but he returned in 2022 and remained ever since. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
“Quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative, ‘Teddy’ was a warm hearted and vital part of the Cure story,” the band said in a statement. They added that the 90 shows following Bamonte’s 2022 return were “some of the best in the band’s history, culminating with The Show of a Lost World concert in London [on Nov. 1, 2024]. Our thoughts and condolences are with all his family. He will be very greatly missed.”
The Cure are planning an extensive European summer tour next year, beginning the first week of June with a headlining performance at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound festival. It is unknown who will replace Bamonte on those dates.
Beforehand, Smith is curating the annual Teenage Cancer Trust charity concert series at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which begins March 23 and will feature My Bloody Valentine, Garbage, CHVRCHES and Manic Street Preachers.
