Perry Archangelo Bamonte (born 3 September 1960) is an English musician and artist, best known as a guitarist/keyboardist for
The Cure from 1990 to 2005,[1] and again since 2022.[2] He is also the bassist of
Love Amongst Ruin.[3][4]
Biography
Bamonte was born in
London, England. His older brother
Daryl worked as a tour manager for
The Cure and
Depeche Mode,[5] and via this connection Perry joined the Cure's road crew in 1984.[6] He eventually became the guitar tech and personal assistant for group leader
Robert Smith.[7] Already a guitarist, during this period Bamonte was taught to play piano and keyboards by Smith's sister Janet.[8][9] When keyboardist
Roger O'Donnell left the Cure in 1990, Bamonte was promoted to a full member of the band, playing both keyboards and guitar regularly, as well as
six-string bass and percussion occasionally.[7]
Bamonte's first album with the Cure was Wish in 1992, and he remained with the band for their next three albums. Due to the departure of guitarist
Porl Thompson and the return of Roger O'Donnell during this period, Bamonte's duties for the band shifted to a stronger focus on guitar and less on keyboards.[10] In 2005, Bamonte and O'Donnell were dismissed by Smith, who reportedly wanted to reinvent the band as a three-piece.[11][12] Despite the abrupt dismissal and the lack of an official statement describing the reason, Bamonte and Smith remained on amicable terms.[13]
Bamonte kept a low profile for several years, devoting his time to
fly fishing and a career as an illustrator.[7] He continues to contribute content and illustrations for the magazine Fly Culture.[14] In 2012 he joined the supergroup
Love Amongst Ruin as bassist and appeared on their 2015 album Lose Your Way.[15] In 2019, Bamonte joined fellow members of the Cure, past and present, for their induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[16] In a move that had not been previously announced, Bamonte rejoined the Cure in 2022 for the first performance of their extensive Lost World Tour, and has remained with the band since.[17]