The Cure are an English rock band formed in
Crawley, West Sussex, in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter
Robert Smith being the only constant member. The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970's with their debut album
Three Imaginary Boys; this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of 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 1980's, the band's increasingly dark and tormented music was a staple of the emerging
gothic rock genre.