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Roger O'Donnell (born 29 October 1955) is an English keyboardist best known as a longtime member of
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
, which he first joined in 1987 and for which he has served three different tenures. O'Donnell has also performed as a touring and session keyboardist for many artists and maintains an active solo career.


Career

O'Donnell was born in East London into a musical family, next to the piano in his parents' home. O'Donnell briefly attended art school but left to pursue a career as a professional musician; his first paying gig was in 1976, backing Arthur Brown. He also played in local bands, primarily in the
jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...
genre, with future Cure bandmate Boris Williams. O'Donnell joined Thompson Twins as touring keyboardist in 1983, playing alongside Williams. During this period he also served as a session and touring keyboardist for
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and
the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...
. O'Donnell began a long association with synthesizers produced by
Sequential Circuits Sequential is an American synthesizer company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer, which was widely used in the music industry. In the ...
, and while performing with the Psychedelic Furs he set a record for having the most Sequential models onstage at one time. In 1987, O'Donnell was recruited to join
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
as touring keyboardist, at the recommendation of Williams who had been the band's drummer since 1984. The Cure needed an additional keyboardist to supplement founding member
Lol Tolhurst Laurence Andrew Tolhurst (born 3 February 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, producer, and author. He was a founding member of the Cure, for which he first played drums before switching to keyboards. He stayed a member of the Cure until ...
, who had become unreliable due to alcohol abuse. O'Donnell joined just before the release of the album '' Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me'' and appeared in the videos for two of that album's singles, though he did not play on the studio recordings. At the end of the ensuing tour, group leader Robert Smith invited O'Donnell to join the Cure as an official member. O'Donnell was a major contributor to their 1989 album '' Disintegration.'' Unhappy with the large stadium-sized shows that the Cure played during that album's tour, and with personal differences among bandmates, O'Donnell left the band for the first time in 1990. O'Donnell self-released the solo album ''Grey Clouds Red Sky'' in 1994. During this period, Smith revamped the lineup of the Cure due to multiple recent departures and invited O'Donnell to rejoin in early 1995. O'Donnell played on the band's next three albums: '' Wild Mood Swings'', '' Bloodflowers'', and ''
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
''. He was dismissed by Smith in 2005 in another revamping of the band's lineup. O'Donnell released three solo albums in the following years, including '' The Truth in Me'', and formed a record label called 99X/10 with longtime partner Erin Lang. He also contributed to a documentary about synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog. In 2011, he and former Cure bandmate Lol Tolhurst discussed a collaboration to commemorate the band's early albums. The Cure themselves had been discussing such a project of their own, and O'Donnell and Tolhurst joined the band onstage at the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
in Australia. O'Donnell then officially rejoined the Cure and remains with the band to the present day. In 2019, O'Donnell was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
as a member of the Cure. Since rejoining the band, he has continued to release solo works regularly, most recently the album ''7 Different Words for Love'' in 2022; he has also composed a classical suite called "Quieter Trees" for orchestral performance.


Personal life

On 1 September 2024, it was revealed that O'Donnell was diagnosed with
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...
the previous year. O'Donnell posted a lengthy thread on X for Blood Cancer Awareness Month, stating: "In September last year I was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. I had ignored the symptoms for a few months but finally went," he wrote, "and after surgery the result of the biopsy was devastating."


Discography


Albums and compositions

*''Grey Clouds, Red Sky'' (1994, re-released 2005) *'' The Truth in Me'' (2006) *''Songs from the Silver Box'' (2009) *''Piano Formations'' (2010) *''Love and Other Tragedies'' (2015) * ''2 Ravens'' (2020) * ''7 Different Words for Love'' (2022)


EPs

* ''Charlie Crow – Trains on Bridges'' (2009)


Songs and scores

* "Another Year Away", song to the film score for the documentary '' Moog'' (2004) * "Another Name" from ''Nothing Concrete – 99X/10 Label Sampler'' (2006) * "Quieter Trees" (2011) * ''Requiem'' (2012) * ''The Bernhard Suite'' (2013)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Roger 1955 births Living people The Cure members English rock keyboardists English rock pianists English electronic musicians English new wave musicians Musicians from London The Psychedelic Furs members English people of Irish descent