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Perry Bamonte

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Perry Bamonte
Bamonte in 2023
Bamonte in 2023
Background information
Born
Perry Archangelo Bamonte

(1960-09-03)3 September 1960
London, England
Died24 December 2025(2025-12-24) (aged 65)
England
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • keyboards
  • bass
Formerly of

Perry Archangelo Bamonte (3 September 1960 – 24 December 2025) was an English musician and artist, best known as a guitarist and keyboardist for the Cure from 1990 to 2005,[1] and again from 2022 to 2025.[2] He was also the bassist for Love Amongst Ruin.[3][4]

Life and career

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Bamonte (second from left) with Love Amongst Ruin in 2015

Bamonte was born in London, England, on 3 September 1960.[5] He was known as Teddy.[6] He spent his early childhood in Basildon and grew up on the coast of Essex.[7]

His younger brother Daryl worked as a tour manager for the Cure and Depeche Mode,[8] and via this connection Perry joined the Cure's road crew in 1984.[9] He eventually became the guitar technician and personal assistant for group leader Robert Smith.[10] Already a guitarist, during this period Bamonte was taught to play piano and keyboards by Smith's sister Janet.[11][12] When keyboardist Roger O'Donnell left the Cure in 1990, Bamonte was promoted to a full member of the band, playing both keyboards and guitar regularly, as well as six-string bass and percussion occasionally.[10]

His first album with the Cure was Wish in 1992, and he remained with the band for their next three albums. Due to the departure of guitarist Pearl Thompson and the return of Roger O'Donnell during this period, Bamonte's duties for the band shifted to a stronger focus on guitar and less on keyboards.[13] In 2005, Bamonte and O'Donnell were dismissed by Smith, who reportedly wanted to reinvent the band as a three-piece.[14][15] Despite the abrupt dismissal and the lack of an official statement describing the reason, Bamonte and Smith remained on amicable terms.[16] He performed in 400 shows over 14 years during his stint with the Cure.[17]

Bamonte kept a low profile for several years, devoting his time to fly fishing and a career as an illustrator.[10] He continued to contribute content and illustrations for the magazine Fly Culture.[18] He lived in Devon with his wife Donna, who rehabilitated and retrained racehorses.[7] They also ran a retirement home for elderly horses.[19]

In 2012 he joined the supergroup Love Amongst Ruin as bassist and appeared on their 2015 album Lose Your Way.[20] In 2019, Bamonte was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cure.[21][22] In a move that had not been previously announced, Bamonte rejoined the Cure in 2022 for their extensive Shows of a Lost World tour.[23]

Bamonte died after a short illness at home in the South West of England, on 24 December 2025, at the age of 65. He was survived by his wife, Donna.[5][6]

Discography

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Bamonte's albums with the Cure include:[5]

References

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  1. ^ Peter Buckley (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough GuidesMusic/Songbooks. ISBN 1-84353-105-4.
  2. ^ Trendell, Andrew (6 October 2022). "The Cure debut new songs and welcome Perry Bamonte back to band as they kick off 2022 tour". NME. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  3. ^ Cummins, James (5 May 2015). "INTERVIEW: Steve Hewitt (Love Amongst Ruin)". Gigslutz. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  4. ^ Lach, Stef (14 April 2015). "Love Amongst Ruin unveil Lose Your Way". louder. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Pilley, Max. "Perry Bamonte, guitarist and keyboardist with The Cure, dies aged 65". NME. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  6. ^ a b Levenson, Michael (26 December 2025). "Perry Bamonte, Guitarist and Keyboardist in the Cure, Dies at 65". New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  7. ^ a b Youens, Arabella (19 November 2018). "For sale: the Devon country house of the former guitarist of The Cure". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  8. ^ Benitez-Eves, Tina (21 October 2021). "Permafrost Revisit Pre-Pandemic Songs and a Depeche Mode Tour on "Restore Us"". American Songwriter. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  9. ^ "The Cure". The Ultimate Music Guide. 2016. pp. 94–97.
  10. ^ a b c Price, Simon (2023). Curepedia: An A-Z of The Cure. New York, NY: William Morrow. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-06-306864-3.
  11. ^ Apter, Jeff. Never Enough: The Story of The Cure, (2009) Omnibus Press, p. 250; ISBN 978-1-84772-739-8
  12. ^ Phillips, Shaun. "Making Up The Cure", VOX, November 1992
  13. ^ "The Cure Cut Two, Ending 10-Year Run With Same Lineup". MTV.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Update: Two Members Exit The Cure". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  15. ^ "The Cure / News : Line-Up Change". 2 June 2005. Archived from the original on 2 June 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  16. ^ TCDB (18 March 2023). The Cure – Robert Smith Responds to Discussion of "Disintegration" ~ Volume ~ 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2024 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Levenson, Michael (26 December 2025). "Perry Bamonte, Guitarist and Keyboardist in the Cure, Dies at 65". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  18. ^ "Who we are". Fly Culture Magazine. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  19. ^ "The Devon Home Of Horse Retirement". LiveryList. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  20. ^ Lach, Stef (14 April 2015). "Love Amongst Ruin unveil Lose Your Way". Louder. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  21. ^ Smith, Troy L. (30 March 2019). "How The Cure owned the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductions". cleveland. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  22. ^ Blais-Billie, Braudie; Minsker, Evan (13 December 2018). "Radiohead, the Cure, Janet Jackson Inducted Into Rock Hall of Fame". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  23. ^ Trendell, Andrew (6 October 2022). "The Cure debut new songs and welcome Perry Bamonte back to band as they kick off 2022 tour". NME. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
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