The Cureheads are the longest surviving and arguably the most prevalent
tribute band
A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as Elvi ...
dedicated to
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
. The band plays the live music of and dresses as The Cure.
Background
The Cureheads were formed in 1990 by Gary Clarke, vocalist of The Hiram Key and then-lead singer of
Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...
. The band played its first show in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
in July 1990 at Frietzfronten in St. Eriksgatan 89, an underground bar owned by a Swedish political party. In the same year they appeared on
ZTV (Swedish Music TV Channel) playing live from
Stockholm Water Festival
The Stockholm Water Festival ( sv, Stockholms vattenfestival) was an annual street festival held in Stockholm, Sweden, in August from 1991 to 1999. The festival featured many activities in central Stockholm, but was eventually cancelled after the 1 ...
. They played their first large headline show at the
WGT in 1995. Then known as Fat Bob & The Cureheads.
The Cureheads name is taken from the Irish slang term for anyone with that "1980's mop haired 'Gothic' look". They were originally known as "Fat Bob & The Cureheads" until 2000.
When Ita Martin of
Fiction Records
Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...
suggested they should change the name as not to offend The Cure
Since 1990, The Cureheads has played venues including
The Vic Theater
The Vic Theatre is a music venue located in Chicago, Illinois. Vic Theatre can easily accommodate 1,400 people or with a seated capacity of 1,000.
History
Vic Theatre, designed by architect John Eberson, opened in 1912 as the Victoria Theatre. It ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Camden Palace
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage resi ...
in London, The Temple Bar Music Centre in Dublin,
CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
in New York, and
Razzmatazz in Barcelona. In 2010 The Cureheads played to 10,000 people ın
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
at the Teatro Caupolicán in Santiago (the old national basketball stadium of Chile). The show was recorded for national television and covered by national TV news, as The Cure had never played in Chile up until after that point despite having a huge fanbase there.
The band has toured in the UK, the US, continental Europe, and South America, playing festivals, including opening for
Echo and The Bunnymen and
The Pretenders
Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...
at Guilfest, BKK Live in Bilbao (opening for Depeche Mode),
The Isle of Wight Festival (2016,2017 & 2021), Glastonbudget (2017 & 2019), Glastonbarry 2022 and Roskilde Festival in Denmark, The band state that they strive to re-create the experience of seeing a mid to late 1980s concert by The Cure, capturing not only the sound, but also the wardrobe, attitude and staging using lighting and various background video and computer images.
In 2007, The Cureheads were given as a wedding gift by
Charlie Simpson
Charles Robert Simpson (born 7 June 1985) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is a member of multi-BRIT Award-winning rock band Busted and he is also the lead vocalist and the rhythm guitarist in the British post-hardcore band F ...
of
Busted to the bass player of his new band
Fightstar
Fightstar are a British rock band from London that formed in 2003. The band is composed of lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Charlie Simpson, guitarist and co-vocalist Alex Westaway, bassist Dan Haigh and drummer Omar Abidi. Generally c ...
. The band played a 1-hour set and were joined onstage by
Charlie Simpson
Charles Robert Simpson (born 7 June 1985) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is a member of multi-BRIT Award-winning rock band Busted and he is also the lead vocalist and the rhythm guitarist in the British post-hardcore band F ...
for a performance of
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
’s "
Inbetween Days
"In Between Days" (sometimes listed as "Inbetween Days" or "In-Between Days") is a song by the English rock band The Cure, released in July 1985 as the first single from the band's sixth album ''The Head on the Door''.
The song was an internatio ...
". The band claim that Charlie fell off the stage and passed out during the last verse.
In 2012, The Cureheads played in Paraguay and Argentina ahead of The Cure playing there in 2013.
Current and past line-ups are pulled together from various Gothic rock bands such as
Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...
,
Killing Miranda and
The Essence
''Wamp 2 Dem'' is a commercial mixtape by English rapper Giggs. It was released on 6 October 2017 by No BS Music, while the mixtape was distributed by Island Records. It succeeds Giggs' fourth album ''Landlord'' (2016), released a year and t ...
, and
Andy Anderson (an original drummer from The Cure) joined The Cureheads from August 2012. Ron Howe, original Sax player on the Head on The Door album by
the cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
often guests with The Cureheads
Andy Anderson left The Cureheads after he failed to appear at the airport on the morning of their South American tour in November 2012. The Cureheads claim that they haven't heard from Anderson since.
Their set-list consists of songs from the full recorded history of
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
. The Cureheads regularly appear onstage with Ron Howe (the saxophonist from The Cure's Head on The Door Album).
Since 2018, The Cureheads have been opening their shows with an extensive set of songs, tributing
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...
fronted by Ceri Gregory (vocalist with
Elesium & actress featured in
Torchwood
''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing ...
& London’s West End) This "double headline tribute show has been touring as "The Story of Goth"
2022 Record Collector Magazine publish an interview with Gary Clarke in a special edition focussing entirely on The Cure. The interview focuses on the history of The Cureheads & their experiences of the last 32 years.
Members
* Rabbit Schmidt – Vocal and guitars (as
Robert Smith (singer)
Robert James Smith (born 21 April 1959) is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitarist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band the Cure, which he co-founded in 1978. He was also the lead guitarist for the band ...
)
* Borris The Spider – Drums (as
Borris Williams)
* Simone Gulp – Bass Guitar (as
Simon Gallup
Simon Jonathon Gallup (born 1 June 1960) is an English musician and bassist with the alternative rock band The Cure. He is the second longest-serving member of the band after lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Smith.
Early years
Born in Duxhurst ...
)
* Martha McArthur (as
Porl Thompson
Pearl Thompson (born 8 November 1957 as Paul Stephen ThompsonChris Gerrard (2021)The Cure FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Most Heartbreakingly Excellent Rock Band the World Has Ever Known. Backbeat, ISBN 9781493053988, p. 155) is an E ...
), Lead Guitar
* Bones McWigface – Keyboards ( as
Roger O'Donnell
Roger O'Donnell (born 29 October 1955) is an English keyboardist best known for his work with The Cure. O'Donnell has also performed in The Psychedelic Furs, Thompson Twins and Berlin, as well as having an active solo career.
Background
O'Do ...
)
* Ceri Gregory
Elesium – (as
Siouxsie Sioux
Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...
)
Previous members
* Vlad Ivanov - Keyboards 2016–19
*
Andy Anderson – Drums
* Jeff Tan 2002–2010 (as
Lol Tolhurst
Laurence Andrew "Lol" Tolhurst (born 3 February 1959) is a founding member and the former drummer and keyboardist of English band The Cure - he left the Cure in 1989 and was later involved in the band Presence and his current project, Levinhurs ...
) – Keyboards
* Fran Dima – Lead Guitar 2015–17
* Gabrielle Musica – Drums 2016
* Sean Carey 1994–95 (as
Simon Gallup
Simon Jonathon Gallup (born 1 June 1960) is an English musician and bassist with the alternative rock band The Cure. He is the second longest-serving member of the band after lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Smith.
Early years
Born in Duxhurst ...
– Bass guitar)
* Martin Aylward 1994–98 Drums
* Marian Superstar Filarski 2004–2012
Freex Family (as
Simon Gallup
Simon Jonathon Gallup (born 1 June 1960) is an English musician and bassist with the alternative rock band The Cure. He is the second longest-serving member of the band after lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Smith.
Early years
Born in Duxhurst ...
) – Bass guitar
* Billy Freedom 2000–2001
Queen Adreena
Queenadreena was an English alternative rock band that formed in London, England in 1999 by vocalist KatieJane Garside and guitarist Crispin Gray, who had previously collaborated in the celebrated but short-lived band Daisy Chainsaw. Garside a ...
* Julian Shah Taylor 2000–2005
Drink Me
* Belle Star 2007–2016
Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...
* Irish Dave 2012–2013
Killing Miranda
* Sid – 1995–98
The Sisters Of Murphy, Bass
* Jeremy Hayward 2001–2005 – (Guitar tech of
Robert Smith)
* Roi Robertson - Mechanical Cabaret &
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass).
Their first album, ''Ki ...
* Darren Keane - (Now legacy keyboard voice programmer for
Roger O'Donnell
Roger O'Donnell (born 29 October 1955) is an English keyboardist best known for his work with The Cure. O'Donnell has also performed in The Psychedelic Furs, Thompson Twins and Berlin, as well as having an active solo career.
Background
O'Do ...
)
* Darren Bottrill 2002–2013 – Guitars
* Andy Holmes
Rhombus (band)
Rhombus are a dub/drum and bass/reggae/roots band from Wellington, New Zealand.
They were formed in 2001 by Thomas Voyce and Simon Rycroft, later joined by Ahmen Mahal aka Imon Star (who departed from the group in 2007 to pursue his solo pro ...
1995–6 – Guitars
* Rik – 1994–6, Keyboards. Occasional acoustic guitar.
* Andy 1998
Waking Dream
Hypnagogia is the experience of the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep: the ''hypnagogic'' state of consciousness, during the onset of sleep. Its opposite state is described as the transitional state from sleep into wakefulness. Mental ...
, Keyboards
* Simon Briggs 1998
Waking Dream
Hypnagogia is the experience of the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep: the ''hypnagogic'' state of consciousness, during the onset of sleep. Its opposite state is described as the transitional state from sleep into wakefulness. Mental ...
Guitar
References
External links
The Cureheads' Official Website'Gothtronic' International Gothic Fanzine ReviewInterview with TV News Channel in Chile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cureheads, The
Tribute bands
English rock music groups