Perry Bamonte, guitarist and keyboardist for the Cure, dies aged 65

Perry Bamonte, longtime guitarist and keyboard player for the Cure, has died aged 65. Perry Bamonte performing with the Cure at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, in 2000.Photograph: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images The musician, known affectionately as Teddy, passed away after a short illness over Christmas, the band announced on their website. The band described the musician as “quiet, intensive, intuitive, constant and hugely creative”, calling him a “vital part of the Cure story”. “Looking after the band from 1984 through 1989, he became a full member of the Cure in 1990, playing guitar, six-string bass and keyboard on the Wish (1992), Wild Mood Swings (1996), Bloodflowers (2000), Acoustic Hits (2001), and the Cure (2004) albums,” the band wrote on their website. Formed in 1976 by lead singer Robert Smith and drummer Lol Tolhurst, the Cure are known for their influence on goth, post-punk and indie music. Bamonte, who was due to play on the Cure’s UK and European tour in 2026, first joined the band as part of their road crew in 1984 through his brother, Daryl, who was the band’s tour manager at the time. He became a full-time member of the band after the departure of keyboardist Roger O’Donnell in 1990. Over the next 14 years, he performed more than 400 shows, playing on some of the band’s best-known tracks, such as Friday I’m in Love, High and A Letter to Elise. Bamonte, who was born in September 1960 in London, left the Cure in 2005 after the band was reconfigured as a trio. In 2019, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the Cure. “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 on 1 November 2024,” the band wrote on their website, adding: “Our thoughts and condolences are with all his family. He will be very greatly missed.” Bamonte was also the bass player in supergroup Love Amongst Ruin, alongside former Placebo drummer Steve Hewitt and Julian Cope collaborator Donald Ross Skinner. The group have released two studio albums, their self-titled 2010 debut, and Lose Your Way, released in 2015. The musician was also interested in fly fishing and built a career as an illustrator, contributing to the magazine Fly Culture. In a tribute on Instagram, Bamonte’s former bandmate, drummer Lol Tolhurst, wrote: “So sad to hear about Perry Bamonte passing. Cindy (Tolhurst’s wife) and I send our condolences to all that knew him. Farewell Teddy.”

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