Perry Bamonte, the renowned guitarist of The Cure, has passed away at the age of 65, as revealed on Boxing Day.

The band shared the heartbreaking news on their official website, stating that Bamonte died over the Christmas period after battling a brief illness.

In their announcement, they expressed, “With profound sadness, we confirm the passing of our dear friend and colleague Perry Bamonte, who left us after a short illness at home during Christmas.”

Describing him as “quiet, intense, intuitive, constant, and immensely creative,” the band fondly remembered “Teddy” as a cherished and essential figure in their journey. From 1984 to 1989, he diligently supported the band and officially joined The Cure as a full-time member in 1990. During his tenure, he played guitar, six-string bass, and keyboards on albums such as Wish, Wild Mood Swings, Bloodflowers, Acoustic Hits, and The Cure. His contribution spanned more than 400 performances over 14 years.

After rejoining The Cure in 2022, Bamonte played an additional 90 shows, marking some of the band’s most memorable performances, culminating in a concert in London on November 1, 2024, which was part of the “show of a lost world” series.

‘Our thoughts and condolences are with all his family. He will be very greatly missed.’

The Cure guitarist Perry Bamonte has died aged 65, it has been announced on Boxing Day (pictured in 2023) 

The band’s official website confirmed the sad news that the musician passed away over Christmas following a short illness (Pictured L-R in 1992: Perry, Simon Gallup and Robert Smith)

Perry became a full time member of the band after Roger O’Donnell left and was due to perform on The Cure’s UK and European tour in 2026.

Shows are scheduled for cities such as Cardiff, Dublin, Berlin, Edinburgh and Manchester.

Following news of his passing, fans took to social media to pay tribute, with one writing: ‘R.I.P. Perry Bamonte, your music with The Cure changed my life’;

‘Rest in peace, Perry Bamonte. His work helped shape a defining era of The Cure’;

‘Gutted about Perry Bamonte most liveliest member of The Cure’;

‘Rest in peace Perry Bamonte The Cure fans all around the world are grieving today.’ 

The band’s current line-up comprises of Robert Smith, 66, Simon Gallup, 65, Roger O’Donnell, 70, Jason Cooper, 58, and Reeves Gabrels, 69.

Initially formed in 1978, The Cure has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has headlined Glastonbury Festival four times.

Inductees Michael Dempsey, Pearl Thompson, Perry Bamonte, Boris Williams and Lol Tolhurst of The Cure attend the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony

Perry rejoined The Cure in 2022, playing another 90 shows, some of the best in the band’s history, culminating with the show of a lost world concert in 2024 (pictured in 2004)

They were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 and are considered to be one of the most influential bands to ever come out of the UK.

Last year, The Cure celebrated a huge win as they scored their first number one album in 32 years. 

16 years in the making, Songs Of A Lost World outsold the rest of the top five combined to reach the summit and earned the group a 23rd Top 40 album overall.

Upon hearing the exciting news, The Cure’s frontman Robert told the Official Charts that he is grateful to everyone who has bought the album and supported them over the years. 

He said: ‘It is enormously uplifting, genuinely heartwarming to experience such a wonderful reaction to the release of the new Cure album.’

‘To everyone who has bought it, listened to it, loved it, believed in us over the years – THANK YOU!’

Songs Of A Lost World also tops the Official Vinyl Albums Chart, the week’s biggest seller on wax, and the Official Record Store Chart, proving the most popular LP in independent UK record shops.  

The cover art for their latest album features Bagatelle, a 1975 sculpture by Janez Pirnat, while The Cure’s longtime collaborator Andy Vella handled the artwork and design.

The tracks were recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, and as well as a single LP and CD, the new album will also be available as a Miles Showell Abbey Road half-speed master 2LP.