An English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1978. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member.

The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s 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 UK. During the early 1980s, the band's increasingly dark and tormented music helped form the gothic rock genre.