The Cure guitarist Perry Bamonte has died aged 65, it has been announced on Boxing Day.
The band’s official website confirmed the sad news that the musician passed away over Christmas following a short illness.
In a statement, they said: ‘It is with enormous sadness that we confirm the death of our great friend and bandmate Perry Bamonte who passed away after a short illness at home over Christmas.
‘Quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative, ‘Teddy’ was a warm hearted and vital part of the cure story. ‘Looking after the band’ from 1984 through 1989, he became a full time member of the cure in 1990, playing guitar, six string bass and keyboard on the Wish, Wild Mood Swings, Bloodflowers, acoustic hits and The Cure albums, as well as performing more than 400 shows over 14 years.
‘He rejoined The Cure in 2022, playing another 90 shows, some of the best in the band’s history, culminating with the show of a lost world concert in London 1st November 2024.
‘Our thoughts and condolences are with all his family. He will be very greatly missed.’
The Cure guitarist Perry Bamonte has died aged 65
Pictured left to right in Australia, in 1992: Perry Bamonte, Simon Gallup, Robert Smit
Perry became a fulltime member of the band after Roger O’Donnell left and was due to perform on The Cure’s UK and European tour in 2026.
Shows are scheduled for cities such as Cardiff, Dublin, Berlin, Edinburgh and Manchester.
Following news of his passing, fans took to social media to pay tribute, with one writing: ‘R.I.P. Perry Bamonte, your music with The Cure changed my life’;
‘Rest in peace, Perry Bamonte. His work helped shape a defining era of The Cure’;
‘Gutted about Perry Bamonte most liveliest member of The Cure’;
‘Rest in peace Perry Bamonte The Cure fans all around the world are grieving today.’
The band’s current line-up comprises of Robert Smith, 65, Simon Gallup, 64, Roger O’Donnell, 69, Jason Cooper, 57, and Reeves Gabrels, 68.
Initially formed in 1978, The Cure has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has headlined Glastonbury Festival four times.
Inductees Michael Dempsey, Pearl Thompson, Perry Bamonte, Boris Williams, Lol Tolhurst of The Cure attend the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
They were also inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 and are considered to be one of the most influential bands to ever come out of the UK.
Last year, The Cure celebrated a huge win as they scored their first number one album in 32 years.
16 years in the making, Songs Of A Lost World outsold the rest of the top five combined to reach the summit and earned the group a 23rd Top 40 album overall.
Upon hearing the exciting news, The Cure’s frontman Robert told the Official Charts that he is grateful to everyone who has bought the album and supported them over the years.
He said: ‘It is enormously uplifting, genuinely heartwarming to experience such a wonderful reaction to the release of the new Cure album.’
‘To everyone who has bought it, listened to it, loved it, believed in us over the years – THANK YOU!’
Songs Of A Lost World also tops the Official Vinyl Albums Chart, the week’s biggest seller on wax, and the Official Record Store Chart, proving the most popular LP in independent UK record shops.
The cover art for their latest album features Bagatelle, a 1975 sculpture by Janez Pirnat, while Cure’s longtime collaborator Andy Vella handled the artwork and design.
The tracks were recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, and as well as a single LP and CD, the new album will also be available as a Miles Showell Abbey Road half-speed master 2LP.
More to follow…
