Lol Tolhurst

Laurence Andrew "Lol" Tolhurst (born 3 February 1959) is a founding member and the former drummer and keyboardist of British band The Cure. He left The Cure in 1989 and was later involved in the band Presence and his current project Levinhurst. In 2011, he briefly reunited with The Cure for selected shows but did not officially rejoin.

Life and career

Early years (1959–1975)

Tolhurst was born in Horley, Surrey, England, the fifth of six children of William and Daphne Tolhurst; he has three brothers (Roger, Nigel, and John) and two sisters (Jane and Barbara). He is also distantly related to the composer George Tolhurst. He was born on the day of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. Tolhurst was five years old when he first met Robert Smith at St. Francis Primary and Junior Schools, and thus began a friendship that culminated in the formation of The Cure.

The Cure (1976–1989)

Tolhurst is one of the co-founders of The Cure, and as a drummer he helped write and record the albums Three Imaginary Boys, Boys Don't Cry, Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography. After the Pornography tour in 1982 Tolhurst assumed keyboard duties. In late 1988, with the recording of The Cure's eighth studio album Disintegration, some tensions surfaced, when Tolhurst was battling with alcohol and drugs. During the mix of Disintegration, he was fired from the band, and despite getting credit for 'Other Instrument', the other members of The Cure have said that Tolhurst never performed on the album.