SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The English musician Perry Bamonte has died. He was 65 years old. For years, Bamonte played guitar and keyboard in the influential post-punk band The Cure. The band announced his death in a statement, saying Bamonte had suffered a short illness at home. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento has this appreciation.
ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: Perry Bamonte became familiar with The Cure a decade before he actually joined the band. In 1979, the group released its debut album, "Three Imaginary Boys."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GRINDING HALT")
THE CURE: (Singing) No Light. No people. No speak. No people.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Shortly after, a young Bamonte saw The Cure live for the first time. He was with his friend and future Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke. As Bamonte recalled in a later interview with SiriusXM...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PERRY BAMONTE: Vince Clarke and I went to see a Cure concert together, in 1980 it would be...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah.
BAMONTE: ...When Matthieu had just joined the band.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: 1980 then, yeah.
BAMONTE: We drove to the London School of Economics to watch The Cure.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: LSE.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: After playing guitar in several bands, Bamonte scored a job as a roadie and guitar tech for The Cure in 1984. For years, he became intimately familiar with the band's sound and its members.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVESONG")
THE CURE: (Singing) Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: In 1990, after a massive tour in support of the goth-rock album "Disintegration," The Cure's keyboard player left the band. They invited Bamonte to fill his place, just as he was considering quitting music to go to art school. He took piano lessons from lead singer Robert Smith's sister and stepped into the role. Bamonte's first studio album with the band became its biggest commercial success - 1992's "Wish."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE")
THE CURE: (Singing) I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too. Thursday, I don't care about you. It's Friday...
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Bamonte wasn't limited to his new instrument. He also played guitar and six-string bass on the album. In a press kit for "Wish," Robert Smith noted it was a much more guitar-forward sound for the band thanks to Bamonte's contributions.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE")
THE CURE: (Singing) It's Friday, I'm in love. Saturday, wait.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Bamonte stayed with the band for 14 years, playing hundreds of shows around the world and recording several more albums.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE END OF THE WORLD")
THE CURE: (Singing) Go if you want to. I never tried to stop you.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: In 2005, Bamonte left The Cure and pursued other interests, including illustrating and fly fishing. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of The Cure in 2019. In recent years, Bamonte rejoined the band on the road. He played his last show last fall in support of the album "Songs Of A Lost World."
(SOUNDBITE OF THE CURE SONG, "ENDSONG")
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: In a statement, The Cure called Perry Bamonte, quote, "quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative."
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE CURE SONG, "ENDSONG") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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