Lol Tolhurst Reveals What Robert Smith Told Him Before Firing Him From The Cure
Lol Tolhurst co-founded the legendary goth/alternative-rock band The Cure with his friend, future frontman Robert Smith. By 1989, however, relationships between Tolhurst and the rest of the band had soured, and the musician was fired from the band.
Coming undone during the making of The Cure’s “Disintegration”
In his phenomenon autobiography, “ Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys,” Tolhurst recalls the events that preceded the dismissal. By his own admission, the multi-instrumentalist had picked up a number of bad habits while touring the world with The Cure.
During the making of the band’s record “Disintegration,” which Alt77 ranked as The Cure’s greatest album, Tolhurst writes in his book that he was frequently inebriated and contributed little creatively. Guitarist Pearl (Porl) Thompson even suggested that his friend check into a medical facility to receive treatment.
What Robert Smith told Lol Tolhurst prior to him being fired from The Cure
The relationship between Lol Tolhurst and the rest of his bandmates risked being permanently severed during the listening session to the album. The musicians proclaimed that: “Half is good, but half is shit! I mean some songs sound like The Cure but some don’t.”
The next day, Tolhurst received a white envelope from Robert Smith, his bandmate and childhood friend. It read:
“This has been one of the hardest letters to write for me. . . . Either I felt it was too hard or too soft. . . . Everybody in the band says if you come on the next tour they won’t be coming. So you should not come on the tour I am planning. . . . Please don’t build a wall between us but don’t try to change my mind as this decision is not changeable . . . “
The firing sent Tolhurst into a downward spiral. It would take years to recover from this, but fortunately, the musician says he found the strength to recover from his alcoholism and even rekindle old relationships.
In 2011, fans of The Cure were treated to a reunion with their former drummer and keyboardist. The band played their landmark albums “Three Imaginary Boys,” “Seventeen Seconds” and “Faith” and joining them, for the first time in 22 years, was Tolhurst.
Lol Tolhurst’s Massive Influence Over The Cure’s Sound and Aesthetic
Lol Tolhurst was, for many years, a driving factor in the band’s evolution and eventual commercial success. Tolhurst, Robert Smith, and Michael Dempsey were schoolmates who formed the band Easy Cure back in their school days.
Tolhurst was credited as co-writer on nearly all of the songs on the band’s legendary debut album, “Three Imaginary Boys” and on singles such as “ The Hanging Garden.” It was he, together with Smith and bassist Simon Gallup, who were largely responsible for The Cure’s innovative 1980s albums, record highly responsible for starting the gothic and post-punk booms.
In fact, even at The Cure’ s commercial zenith, on the album “Disintegration,” Tolhurst received a writing credit on every one of the 12 songs on the record.
The rise of the band’s popularity and their growing touring commitments, sadly, coincided with a particularly rough patch in the musician’s personal life. This led to his dismissal. The musician talks at length about this in his autobiography “Cured.”
Despite this, Lol Tolhurst’s influence in The Cure and over the music scene that the band helped create, cannot be underestimated.