The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous line-up changes since the band’s formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band’s debut album was Three Imaginary Boys (1979) and this, along with several early singles, placed the band in the post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up in the United Kingdom. Beginning with their second album, Seventeen Seconds (1980), the band adopted a new, increasingly dark and tormented style, which, together with Smith’s stage look, had a strong influence on the emerging genre of gothic rock as well as the subculture that eventually formed around the genre.
After the release of the band’s fourth album, Pornography (1982), Smith introduced a greater pop sensibility into the band’s music. Songs such as “Let’s Go to Bed” (1982), “The Love Cats” (1983), “Inbetween Days” (1985), “Close to Me” (1985), “Just Like Heaven” (1987), “Lovesong” (1989), and “Friday I’m in Love” (1992) aided them in receiving commercial popularity. The Cure have released 13 studio albums, two EPs, over 30 singles, and have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.