Simon Gallup

Lore & Background

Gallup was born in Duxhurst, Surrey, and his family soon moved to Horley. Starting in 1976, he frequented the music scene in nearby Crawley, where his older brother Ric worked in a record shop and knew many local musicians. In 1977, Gallup formed the punk band Lockjaw, which later evolved into the post-punk band the Magazine Spies. Those bands frequently played and socialized with early versions of The Cure. In late 1979, Gallup participated in the short-lived Cure side project Cult Hero. A short time later, original Cure bassist Michael Dempsey left the band, and Gallup was recruited as his replacement. During the tour supporting Pornography in 1982, band relations became contentious. After a performance in Strasbourg, France, on 27 May 1982, Gallup and Robert Smith got into a fistfight reportedly over a disputed bar tab. The tour continued, and at another performance in Brussels, Belgium, on 11 June, the band invited roadie Gary Biddles on stage to sing one song, during which Biddles criticized the other members Smith and Lol Tolhurst. Gallup soon left the Cure and did not speak to Robert Smith again for about eighteen months. He formed a new band called The Cry, which evolved into Fools Dance by 1983. In late 1984, Biddles brokered a reconciliation between Gallup and Smith. The Cure was in need of a bassist after the departure of Phil Thornalley, and Smith invited Gallup to rejoin the band. Gallup has remained with the Cure ever since, except for a medical leave of absence in 1992 due to pleurisy, which caused him to miss several dates of the tour for the Wish album, with bassist Roberto Soave filling in temporarily. In 2019, Gallup was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cure. In an unexplained incident in August 2021, Gallup announced on Facebook that he had left the Cure after 37 years, stating that he 'just got fed up of betrayal.' The Cure made no official statement, and he later deleted the post. In October 2021, Gallup issued another Facebook post to clarify that he is still a member of the band.

Reader's Guide

Simon Gallup joined The Cure in late 1979 as the replacement for original bassist Michael Dempsey. He played on the albums Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography; on Faith he began to occasionally play keyboards in addition to bass. After leaving the Cure in 1982 following a fistfight with Robert Smith in Strasbourg, Gallup formed The Cry, which evolved into Fools Dance by 1983. He sang lead vocals on the tracks 'The Ring' and 'Happy Families Waiting (At the Skylab Landing Bay)', the only released recordings in which he ever performed lead vocals. In late 1984, Gary Biddles brokered a reconciliation, and Gallup rejoined the Cure after Phil Thornalley's departure. In 1992, Gallup was stricken with pleurisy and took a medical leave of absence for several months, missing several dates of the Wish tour; Roberto Soave filled in temporarily. Gallup's son Eden became a member of the Cure's road crew and has occasionally filled in during gigs when his father was unable to appear for personal reasons. In August 2021, Gallup announced on Facebook that he had left the Cure after 37 years, stating he 'just got fed up of betrayal,' but later deleted the post and clarified in October 2021 that he is still a member. Gallup has played on all albums by the Cure except Three Imaginary Boys (1979), Boys Don't Cry (1980), Japanese Whispers (compilation, 1983), The Top (1984), and Concert: The Cure Live (1984).

Did You Know?

• In 1988, Gallup was best man at Robert Smith's wedding.
• Gallup's second wife Sarah died in 2019 of pancreatic cancer.
• In 2004, Gibson created a special red Thunderbird bass for Gallup to celebrate his 25th year as the bassist for the Cure.