Porl Thompson

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Porl Thompson

Background information
Birth name Paul Stephen Thompson
Born November 8, 1957 (1957-11-08) (age 50)
Origin Wimbledon, England
Genre(s) Punk rock
Post-punk
Gothic rock
Alternative rock
Occupation(s) Musician, Artist
Instrument(s) Guitar, Keyboard, Saxophone, Banjo
Years active 1976-
Associated acts The Cure
Page and Plant
Shelleyan Orphan
Babacar
Malice
Easy Cure
The Glove
Website http://www.thecure.com/
Notable instrument(s)
Schecter Porl Thompson Corsair Bigsby Signature

Porl Thompson (born Paul Stephen Thompson, November 8, 1957, in Wimbledon, England) is an English musician best known for his work with The Cure. Porl is the oldest of four children born to Tom and Dot Thompson; he has two brothers (Andrew and Robert) and one sister named Carol, who used to be married to Simon Gallup. Meanwhile, Porl is married to Janet Smith, the younger sister of Robert Smith and together they have three sons and a daughter, all of whom are home educated.

Contents

[edit] Life and work

Thompson was part of the original line-up which also included Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey, and Lol Tolhurst when the band was first formed in 1976; however, he was dropped by the time they released their debut album, Three Imaginary Boys, in 1979 because his lead guitar style was at odds with Smith's growing preference for minimalist songwriting. He rejoined the band in 1983 on saxophone and helped record the album The Top. During the Top Tour, Porl played guitar as well as the saxophone and, occasionally, keyboards. He also performed with The Glove when they appeared on television. [1]

Thompson performed on four more studio albums (The Head on the Door, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Disintegration and Wish) and four live albums (Concert, Entreat, Paris and Show) as well as the videos The Cure in Orange, Picture Show and Festival 2005. He also appears on the remix album Mixed Up and the deluxe issue of Three Imaginary Boys.

Thompson and designer Andy Vella are the co-founders of Parched Art, which has produced many of the record sleeves found on The Cure albums, many of which Thompson drew or painted.

Thompson left the Cure in 1993 to play with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin during the Page and Plant tour of 1995. He also played with Babacar, the band formed by Boris Williams following his departure from The Cure.

Thompson still paints and has a collection entitled "100% Sky" posted at his website. He officially rejoined the band for a third time in June 2005 and recorded the live DVD The Cure: Festival 2005.

The Cure are currently recording a new album, and, although a 2006 release date was initially confirmed by Suretone Records [1], the album is due for release on the 13th September 2008. Thompson is also touring with The Cure for their 2007-2008 4 Tour.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Discography

[edit] The Cure

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Live albums

[edit] Compilations

[edit] Page and Plant

[edit] Shelleyan Orphan

  • Humroot (1992) [2]

[edit] Babacar

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Suretone Records Proudly Announces First Release". Suretone Records, 2006. Retrieved on 23 March 2007.
  2. ^ Humroot

[edit] External links