Easy Cure

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Easy Cure
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Crawley
Sussex, England
Instruments =
Genre = Punk rock
Post-punk
Years_active = 1977 – 1978
Label = Ariola-Hansa
URL = [http://www.thecure.com/ TheCure.com]
Past_members = Gary X
(March 1977)
Peter O'Toole
(April – September 1977)
Robert Smith
Porl Thompson
Michael Dempsey
Lol Tolhurst

Easy Cure were a British punk rock and post-punk band from Crawley, Sussex formed during the late '70s by former members of Malice. Easy Cure went on to fame when, after several lineup changes, they became The Cure.

History

Robert Smith (guitar), Porl Thompson (lead guitar), Michael Dempsey (bass guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums) began performing together in a late line up of Malice in 1976, after Tolhurst and Thompson replaced Malice's original drummer and lead guitarist. When Malice's vocalist Martin Creasy quit the band, they took the new name "Easy Cure" in January 1977 from a song written by Tolhurst.See references for Malice]

During March 1977 Easy Cure hired and fired a vocalist known only as "Gary X", who by April had been replaced by Peter O'Toole. This lineup gave their first live performance on April 24 at Saint Edward's Hall, Crawley, Sussex, England. On May 5 Easy Cure made the first of many regular live appearances at the Crawley pub then known as "The Rocket". Within the same month, the band recorded a demo in Robert's parent's house, entered and won a talent contest and signed a recording contract with German record label Ariola-Hansa on May 18."Ten Imaginary Years", by L. Barbarian, Steve Sutherland and Robert Smith (1988) Zomba Books ISBN 0-946391-87-4]

In September Peter O’Toole left the group to live on a Kibbutz in Israel, and Robert Smith assumed vocal duties in his place. He has remained the group's frontman (both as Easy Cure and The Cure) up to the present day (30 years in September 2007). The new fourpiece of Robert, Porl, Michael and Laurence recorded their first studio demo sessions as Easy Cure for Hansa at "SAV Studios" in London between October and November 1977."A History of The Cure" in "Melody Maker Magazine" by Steve Sutherland (1990)]

They continued to perform regularly around Crawley (including The Rocket, St. Edward's, and Queen's Square in particular) throughout 1977 and 1978. On February 19 1978 they were joined at The Rocket for the first time by a support band from Horley called Lockjaw, featuring bassist Simon Gallup."Anomolie Magazine" between 1990 and 1992 featured an extensively researched and compiled list of known concert dates by Malice, Easy Cure and The Cure, compiled by Dominique Sureaud, Thierry Michaux, Dimitri Ramage. The same dates (and others) have since been archived online [http://www.cure-concerts.de] . See also Barbarian, Sutherland, Smith (1988) and "The Cure: A Visual Documentary", by Dave Thompson and Jo-Ann Greene (1988) Omnibus Press ISBN 0-7119-1387-0] Hansa was dissatisfied with the group's demos and did not wish to release "Killing an Arab". The label suggested that the band attempt cover versions instead. They refused, and by March 1978 Easy Cure's contract with the label had been dissolved.Sutherland (1990) and Barbarian, Sutherland, Smith (1988)]

Although the band never officially released anything as "Easy Cure", bootlegs of their early demos have been in circulation for a number of years,For example: "Everyone familiar with bootlegs of a skinny 18-year-old Robert Smith and a band called the Easy Cure will recognize the sound" - Nitushe Abebe in "The Cure: Three Imaginary Boys (Deluxe Edition)" review, " [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com Pitchfork Media] " (December 14, 2004); "almost from the start the band was sought out by hardcore fans and tapers, making them one of the most well-documented groups inside or outside the studio around (...) No less than five songs from the band's earliest punk days appear here, back when it was still the Easy Cure; though a couple are amusingly juvenile ("See the Children" is especially goofy), it's still a neat peek into where the band was coming from in the first place." - Ned Ragget reviews a bootleg compilation in "All Music Guide"] and in 2004 the "Deluxe Edition" of The Cure's 1979 album "Three Imaginary Boys" was released with a rarities bonus disc featuring a number of Easy Cure demo and live recordings from 1977 and 1978.

On April 22, 1978, Easy Cure played their last gig at the Montefiore Institute Hall (in the Three Bridges neighbourhood of Crawley)"Anomolie", Sureaud, Michaux, Ramage (1990-'92)] before guitarist Porl Thompson was dropped from the lineup because his lead guitar style was at odds with Smith's growing preference for minimalist songwriting.Sutherland (1990)] The new trio shortened their name to The Cure.

Easy Cure members in The Cure

*Robert Smith has remained frontman for The Cure ever since.
*Porl Thompson has since rejoined The Cure twice; once in 1983 (til 1993) and more recently in 2005. He has remained closely involved with the band in various other capacities; he and his design company "Parched Art" have produced much of The Cure's artwork over the years, he has played in several other bands with former members of The Cure (Cult Hero, The Glove, Shelleyan Orphan and Babacar), and he married Robert Smith's sister Janet.
*Michael Dempsey left The Cure in 1979, Laurence Tolhurst left in 1989.

References