Simon Gallup - The Cure

The Cure

Gallup first joined The Cure in 1979, replacing Michael Dempsey on bass guitar. He also has been credited for occasionally playing the keyboard, particularly after Matthieu Hartley's departure in 1980; he took over keyboard lines for many of the songs that Hartley played. Examples of songs he played keyboard on live include "At Night", "A Forest", "A Strange Day" and "Pornography". During "Cold" he multi-tasked playing bass guitar and bass pedals. On the Swing Tour in 1996, he played acoustic 12-string guitar on "This is a Lie". On the Dream Tour in 2000 he played a Fender Bass VI on "There Is No If". He is also credited with singing lead vocals for a demo for "Violin Song." Gallup first performed on the Cure albums that make up "The Dark Trilogy": Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography.

During the Pornography Tour in 1982, a series of incidents prompted Gallup to leave The Cure, including an incident when he got into a fist fight with Robert Smith at a nightclub reportedly over a bar-tab. Gallup left the band and started The Cry with Gary Biddles and Matthieu Hartley. Their first gig was at the Covent Garden Rock Garden on 19 April 1983. They later changed their name to Fools Dance, which released two EPs - Fools Dance and They'll Never Know. Biddles sang most of the songs that were released by this band, Gallup sang on one called "The Ring". When asked why he left The Cure, he said, "It's just basically that Robert and I are both really arrogant bastards, and it got to such an extreme. I suppose you just can't have two egocentrics in a band, and Robert was sort of 'the main man.'"

In 1984, Smith asked Gallup to return to The Cure, an offer which he accepted. Since then, the two of them have remained on good terms. Gallup also served as best man at Smith's wedding in 1988.

In late 1992, Gallup again took a brief break from the band during the Wish Tour after he had to be transported to hospital, suffering from pleurisy after being ill for several months. During this time, he was replaced on bass by former Associates and Shelleyan Orphan member Roberto Soave.

Gallup is the second longest serving member of The Cure, which has led to him being referred to as Robert Smith's right-hand man. He performed on every album except Three Imaginary Boys/Boys Don't Cry, Japanese Whispers, The Top, and Concert.