{"id":5250,"date":"2016-11-28T14:18:56","date_gmt":"2016-11-28T19:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?p=5250"},"modified":"2016-12-14T08:47:10","modified_gmt":"2016-12-14T13:47:10","slug":"cured-by-lol-tolhurst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/cured-by-lol-tolhurst\/","title":{"rendered":"Cured
by Lol Tolhurst"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cured\"<\/a>Growing up in the \u201980s, being a fan of The Cure meant marking yourself as an outsider. Even though by the time the band put out the stellar Head on the Door<\/i> in 1985 \u2014 an album that went to number 59 on the Billboard<\/i> charts \u2014 they were selling out basketball arenas, the group\u2019s massive black-clad fanbase still considered themselves misunderstood individuals withdrawn from mainstream society. Similarly, The Cure were viewed as a band apart, beholden only to their artistic instincts while at the same time selling millions of records.<\/p>\n

As such, one wouldn\u2019t envision The Cure as indulging in the excesses of the rock & roll lifestyle cliche, even though frontman Robert Smith has readily discussed his appetite for mind-altering substances. But cliches exist for a reason and sometimes are almost inescapable depending on time and temperament. Lol Tolhurst, who began as The Cure\u2019s original drummer before eventually switching to keyboards, struggled with alcoholism for his entire time in the band that he and Smith formed while still teenagers in Crawley, a suburban town to the south of London. This struggle is detailed in his recently released memoir, Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys<\/i> (Da Capo Press).<\/p>\n

After first meeting as children, Tolhurst and Smith reconnected as teenagers, sharing the common bonds of being interested in music and wanting to escape the boredom of their nowheresville hometown. Forming The Cure with original bassist Michael Dempsey, the band\u2019s career was a series of misadventures, like playing at a mental institution and signing an ill-fated record contract. However, through a combination of determination and talent, The Cure persevered to eventually become the gothic icons we now know them to be. While other members would come and go (and come and go again), Smith and Tolhurst were the only constants until Tolhurst was asked to leave the band after the recording of Disintegration<\/i>, The Cure\u2019s biggest record.<\/p>\n

But while the book\u2019s title is obviously a nod to the band\u2019s moniker, it\u2019s real meaning has more to do with Tolhurst finally getting over his drinking problem. Indeed, more than anything, this memoir focuses on Tolhurst\u2019s personal struggles rather than the band\u2019s history. Sure, we get to learn about the group\u2019s formative years from a first-hand source and hear tales like the one about Tolhurst pissing on Billy Idol\u2019s leg while the peroxide punk was getting romantic with a pretty young thing, but we learn more about Lol\u2019s rehabilitation than the band\u2019s creative process. Nonetheless, such stories\u2014including several others also involving urination\u2014give the book its character. Similarly, the contrast between Lol\u2019s incommunicative, shellshocked father (who was also an alcoholic) and Smith\u2019s supportive parents reveals the differences in the friends\u2019 upbringings as well as some of the underlying reason behind Tolhurst\u2019s alcoholism.<\/p>\n

That said, it is disappointing that we don\u2019t a clearer picture of Tolhurst\u2019s longtime friend and bandmate. Indeed, there aren\u2019t any great revelations about The Cure frontman, other than his ability to forgive Tolhurst even after Lol took him to court to try to win a greater share of the band\u2019s royalties. (Tolhurst lost.) Tolhurst\u2019s memories come off unbiased, but they are also lacking the detail needed to truly bring them to life, no doubt due to the author\u2019s lack of sobriety at the time. As such, Cured<\/i> isn\u2019t the kind of \u201cofficial\u201d Cure bio for which some might hope, but rather a sometimes insightful and frequently amusing personal tale with the band\u2019s story as backdrop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing up in the \u201980s, being a fan of The Cure meant marking yourself as an outsider. 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