Festivals, Reunions — May 5, 2011 at 8:23 am

The Cure playing first 3 albums in Sydney with ex-members Lol Tolhurst, Roger O’Donnell

The Cure: Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst

Ousted keyboardist Lol Tolhurst will rejoin The Cure after 22 years when the band performs its first three albums — 1979’s Three Imaginary Boys, 1980’s Seventeen Seconds and 1981’s Faith — in their entirety on May 31 and June 1 at the Vivid Live Festival at Australia’s famed Sydney Opera House.

Dubbed “The Cure Reflections,” the two concerts — first reported today by the  Sydney Morning Herald — also will feature the return of on-again, off-again keyboard player Roger O’Donnell for part of the performance. Notably absent is another frequent sideman: guitarist Porl Thompson, who has been back with the band since about 2005. Although since the early albums weren’t as guitar-heavy, perhaps his services weren’t needed.

According to the Cure’s site, Robert Smith will perform with: The Cure Trio, with Smith (vocals, guitar), Simon Gallup (bass) and Jason Cooper (drums), will play Three Imaginary Boys; The Cure Quartet, with Smith, Gallup and Cooper joined by O’Donnell (keyboards), will play Seventeen Seconds; and The Cure Quintet, with Smith, Gallup and Cooper, plus O’Donnell and Tolhurst (both on keyboards/percussion), will play Faith.

Smith tells the NME (via Chain of Flowers) that the Sydney shows will be filmed:

“We have played a lot of memorable shows in Australia, we first performed here in 1980, and this will be our seventh trip — but it will be our first time onstage in the Sydney Opera House. We want to do something unique to mark the occasion … combining The Cure members past and present in a live filmed interpretation of our first three albums. Feels to me like it should do the trick.”

The Sydney performances will be the band’s first live gigs since an infamous headlining slot at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in April 2009 that had festival organizers pulling the plug mid-song after the band blew past curfew with an epic, 32-song set.

The only other Cure performance on the books right now is a headlining slot at the U.K.’s Bestival on the Isle of Wight on Sept. 10.  When that show was announced last December, Smith called it the band’s “only European festival performance” of 2011 — which left fans wondering at the time whether a European tour was in the works — while Bestival’s organizers simply said it’s the band’s “only European show” of 2011.

Tickets for the Sydney concerts go on sale May 12. Details here.

See the Cure’s ‘Reflections’ lineups after the jump…

The Cure “Reflections” at Vivid Live Festival, Sydney, Australia; May 31-June 1

The Cure, 'Three Imaginary Boys'

Three Imaginary Boys (1979)
The Cure Trio: Robert Smith (voice & guitar), Simon Gallup (bass), Jason Cooper (drums)

The Cure, 'Seventeen Seconds'

Seventeen Seconds (1980)
The Cure Quartet: Robert Smith (voice & guitar), Simon Gallup (bass), Jason Cooper (drums), Roger O’Donnell (keys)

The Cure, 'Faith'

Faith (1981)
The Cure Quintet: Robert Smith (voice & guitar), Simon Gallup (bass), Jason Cooper (drums), Roger O’Donnell (keys & percussion), Laurence Tolhurst (keys & percussion)

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13 Comments

  1. There’s more to the story, and it will be posted soon. But so very happy about this! So good to see Lol in The Cure again!

  2. It would be interesting, given the number of people that have played in The Cure at this point, to do a big one off with as many former members as would agree to it. Mick Dempsey, Mathieu Hartley, etc. And wouldn’t it be fantastic to hear Boris Williams behind the drums again for a night!

  3. That’s huge news. I’ll be curious to see what happens next.

    http://brethelm.blogspot.com/2010/11/cures-best-15-songs-5-best-rarities.html

  4. Always, you have the great news! :)

  5. oh man…so cool

  6. God, I wish they’d find some way to tour with it and bring it to the States. I’d pay a mint to see it here in Chicago in some form. A mint.

  7. WOW….what cool news. Would do anything to see these albums played live, and LOL back in the Cure. Happy Day!!

  8. This is pretty exciting. Hoping to make the Los Angeles show. Seeing a concert of the first 3 albums with this line up is pretty stellar.

    h

  9. ellert the king

    The best days are back

  10. Jason sucks… Boris was Cure’s god but sadly he left. Great to see Lol again.

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