RIP Perry Bamonte of The Cure. He was 65.
Perry Bamonte played guitar and keyboards for The Cure for years. There was a long run from 1990 to 2005 (staring with the Wish album) and then from 2022 to, well, just now. Not bad for a guy who first joined up with the band as a member of the road crew in 1984. (He got that gig through the connections of his brother, Daryl, who worked as The Cure’s road manager.)
He worked his way up to guitar tech and then as Robert Smith‘s personal assistant. Along the way, he was taught to play piano by Janet Smith, Robert’s sister. When Roger O’Donnell, the band’s regular keyboardist, quit, he got the job. This led him to being made a full member of the band.
That job lasted until 2005 when Robert fired him and O’Donnell (he had been rehired by then) because he wanted to reimagine The Cure as a three-piece band. The ensuing years were spent providing illustrations for Fly Culture (a fly-fishing magazine) while continue to make music on the side,
When The Cure was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, Perry was onstage and then quietly rejoined the band for both touring and recording.
He died Christmas Day at home after a short illness.
