Perry Bamonte, longtime guitarist and keyboardist for post-punk icons The Cure, passed away at age 65, as announced by the band on Friday. According to a post on The Cure's official website, Bamonte died at home after a brief illness during the Christmas period.

Bamonte's history with The Cure began in 1984 when he joined the touring crew, acting as a personal assistant to Robert Smith and working as a guitar tech. He stepped into a full-time position with the group in 1990 after the departure of keyboardist Roger O'Donnell, contributing on both guitar and keyboards. Bamonte performed on several albums, including Wish, Wild Mood Swings, Bloodflowers, and The Cure, and participated in more than 400 shows throughout his 14-year tenure with the band.

He left the band in 2005 but returned to The Cure in 2022, playing an additional 90 shows up to and including their London show on November 1, 2024. Bamonte, along with the rest of the band, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

The band shared:

It is with enormous sadness that we confirm the death of our great friend and bandmate Perry Bamonte, who passed away after a short illness at home over Christmas.

Quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative, “Teddy” was a warm-hearted and vital part of The Cure story.

“Looking after the band” from 1984 through 1989, he became a full-time member of The Cure in 1990, playing guitar, six-string bass and keyboard on the Wish, Wild Mood Swings, Bloodflowers, Acoustic Hits and The Cure albums, as well as performing more than 400 shows over 14 years.

He 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 London on 1st November 2024.

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