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Perry Bamonte is dead. The Cure’s live guitarist, live bassist and live keyboardist died this Friday (December 26, 2025) at the age of 65 after a “short illness”, as the band announced on their website without mentioning a cause of death.
Although Perry Bamonte was not involved in the creation of their most recent album “Songs of a Lost World” (2024), he played an important role as an on-off member of The Cure. His contributions can be heard on the albums “Bloodflowers” and “Wild Mood Swings”, among others. As the third guitarist, he set accents on the comparatively rocky “Wish” album, as can also be heard on the live albums “Show” and “Paris” and can be seen in the “Show” concert film.
In 2019, he attended The Cure’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the 2022 “Shows of a Lost World” tour, Perry Bamonte returned to The Cure as a live band member – and was perhaps even more celebrated by fans than “the new guy” on second guitar, Reeves Gabrels.
How do The Cure compensate for the loss on stage?
As The Cure mourn the loss of “Teddy,” as they call him on their website, the question arises as to how the band will compensate for the loss on stage. With Perry Bamonte, The Cure appeared as a sextet for the first time this decade. And while some scoffers have already said in 2022 that as a musician he is not essential to the British stage sound, his absence will still be noticeable. Bamonte embellished songs like “Friday I’m In Love” or “Disintegration” with his often freely flourishing playing.
The only thing that seems certain is that Perry Bamonte will not be replaced for the tour. Pearl Thompson could be an alternative, but despite her friendly relationship with Robert Smith, Pearl has stated several times on record that she has ruled out a reunion.
What seems certain is that The Cure will not cancel their 2026 European tour with countless open-air shows, including festival headliner appearances. And if only to honor the memory of Bamonte, who would certainly have wanted Cure to continue without him. The Troxy concert released for home cinema in 2024 remains Bamonte’s legacy.
Robert Smith’s tantrum a year ago
How committed Robert Smith is to all of his band members was shown by his tantrum at X exactly a year ago. On December 24th, the Cure promotional department sent out a digital Christmas card with a Cure photo from the Songs of a Lost World album release concert at London’s Troxy.
However, the digital postcard was cropped on both edges. Perry Bamonte and Roger O’Donnell were missing.Smith was angry: “THIS IS RUBBISH – I DID NOT APPROVE IT – THE CURE LIVE 2024 WAS A SEXTET – X,” the Cure boss posted on X, as usual completely in capitals. “That’s rubbish – I didn’t approve of that – The Cure live 2024 were a sextet – X”.
In two other later posts, Smith acknowledged the show’s photographer and the original design that was supposed to go out to fans.