Perry Archangelo Bamonte, a guitarist, keyboardist, and multi-instrumentalist who has been the face of the British band The Cure for many years, has passed away aged 65. The band, in a statement, confirmed his death, saying Bamonte died at home following a short illness over the Christmas holiday. The members of The Cure, remembering him as a warm-hearted, highly imaginative person who was absolutely instrumental not only in the band's sound but also in its live development, said his death is a big loss to them.
London, born Perry Bamonte (September 3, 1960), entered the inner circle of The Cure in the mid-80s. He was initially a guitar technician and a roadie. After the departure of keyboardist Roger O'Donnell, Bamonte was invited to join the band in 1990 and thus became a full-time member during one of the band's most influential periods. He didn't take long to prove himself a versatile musician by playing guitar, keyboards, and six-string bass in both the studio and on tour.
Bamonte was the main performer for several major Cure albums, such as Wish (1992), which had global hits such as Friday I'm in Love and High; besides this, he also performed on Wild Mood Swings (1996), Bloodflowers (2000), and The Cure (2004). In his first 14 years, he was on stage for over 400 live shows, and through his powerful yet modest manner of performance, he became one of the fans' favourite and well-known figures.
In 2005, Bamonte was dropped from the band during a lineup change led by the frontman Robert Smith. However, his work was still one of the main elements of The Cure's heritage. Later, he collaborated with the band Love Amongst Ruin and also worked on other creative projects. In 2019, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Cure, which was a formal way of saying that he is part of rock history.
Bamonte came back to The Cure in 2022 for the Shows of a Lost World tour, and they played almost 90 concerts around the globe. The last time he made a big appearance was in London in November 2024 during a filmed concert for the release of Songs of a Lost World, the band's first studio album in 16 years.
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