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Porl Thompson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Porl Thompson | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Paul Stephen Thompson | |
| Born | November 8, 1957 (age 49) | |
| 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 Babacar Malice Easy Cure |
|
| Website | http://www.thecure.com/ | |
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 (Todd, Bodhi and Darcie) and a daughter (Noosha).
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 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, he played keyboard with the band.
Thompson performed on four 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 delux issue of Three Imaginary Boys. He has also been credited for playing guitar on the b-sides off Taking Off & alt.end - "Why Can't I Be Me?" and "Your God is Fear" - as well as three unreleased songs from 2004 - "A Boy I Never Knew", "Please Come Home", and "Strum".
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. 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.
His guitar work can be heard on such songs as "Push" from The Head on the Door, and "Cut" from Wish.
In mid 2006 it was rumored that Porl was to be involved in yet another musical project with the musician/soloist, filmmaker and writer Black Eyeliner Tears (Born as Stacy Paul Rugely in 1982, in Paris France)
The music is a moody, atmospheric, sometimes acoustic flavoured goth rock with metallic hints and influences very much in the same vein as The Cure.
Porl's art will be featured on the albums and perhaps some guitar work.
- Thompson has the distinction of being the only other person, besides Robert Smith, to have worked with every other member of The Cure both past and present. Although he and Matthieu Hartley were never in the same line-up, the two of them did work together on the single, "I'm a Cult Hero".