The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley in 1976. The group has experienced continuous line-up changes over its lifespan, with vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member. The band's debut album was Three Imaginary Boys (1979) and this, along with several early singles, placed the band in the post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock revolution in the United Kingdom. During the early 1980s the band's increasingly dark and tormented music, as well as Smith's stage look, was a staple of the emerging style of music known as gothic rock.

Following the release of the album Pornography in 1982, the band's future was uncertain. Smith was keen to move past the gloomy reputation his band had acquired, introducing a greater pop sensibility into the band's music. Songs such as "Let's Go to Bed" (1982), "Just Like Heaven" (1987), "Lovesong" (1989) and "Friday I'm in Love" (1992) aided the band in receiving commercial popularity. The band are estimated to have sold roughly 27 million records as of 2004^[update] and have released 13 studio albums, two EPs and over 30 singles to date. As of March 2019, the band are in the process of recording their fourteenth studio album which they hope to have released by the end of the year.^[1] They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.^[2]