Lol Tolhurst
{{short description|British drummer and keyboardist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Lol Tolhurst
| image = Lol Tolhurst 2020.jpg
| image_size = 150px
| caption = Tolhurst in 2020
| birth_name = Laurence Andrew Tolhurst
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|2|3|df=y}}
| origin = Horley, Surrey, England
| occupation = Musician
| instrument = {{hlist|Drums|keyboards}}
| genre = {{Hlist|Post-punk|gothic rock|alternative rock|new wave|electronic}}
| years_active = 1976–present
| current_member_of = Levinhurst
| past_member_of = {{hlist|The Cure|Presence}}
| website = {{URL|loltolhurst.com}}
}}
Laurence Andrew Tolhurst (born 3 February 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, producer, and author. He was a founding member of the Cure, for which he first played drums before switching to keyboards. He stayed a member of the Cure until 1989; he later formed the bands Presence and Levinhurst. He has also published two books and developed the Curious Creatures podcast.{{Cite book |last=Price |first=Simon |title=Curepedia: An A-Z of The Cure |publisher=William Morrow |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-06-306864-3 |location=New York, NY |publication-date=2023 |pages=367–373}} His most recent studio release is the album Los Angeles (2023), in collaboration with Budgie and Jacknife Lee.
Career
=Early years =
Lol is an English abbreviation of Laurence.{{Cite web|author=Sherburne, Philip |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1303-the-cures-lol-tolhurst-on-blackouts-breakups-and-escaping-the-80s-alive/ |editor-last=pitchfork.com |title=The Cure's Lol Tolhurst On Blackouts, Breakups, and Escaping the '80s Alive |work=pitchfork |date=27 September 2016|access-date=27 September 2023}} Tolhurst was born in Horley, Surrey{{cite book |last1=Apter |first1=Jeff |title=Never Enough: the Story of the Cure |date=2009 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=9780857120243 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6O0Pv8aG44C&q=Lol+Tolhurst+Horley&pg=PT42}} and is the fifth of six children to William and Daphne Tolhurst. His family later moved to nearby Crawley, where he first met future bandmate Robert Smith when they were both five years old. Tolhurst's grandmother lived next door to Smith's family, and Tolhurst and Smith attended St. Francis Primary and Junior Schools together. During their teen years, the two played together in several early bands, with Tolhurst on drums. These bands eventually evolved into the Cure in 1978.{{Cite news |year=2016 |editor-last=Uncut |title=The Cure |work=The Ultimate Music Guide |pages=6–9}}
=The Cure =
Tolhurst played drums and occasionally keyboards for the Cure on their first four albums. After the tour for the Pornography album in 1982, Tolhurst decided to abandon the drums and switch to keyboards and synthesizers full time.Uncut, pp. 32-36. During this period he also produced two singles and one album for the band And Also the Trees.Price, p. 12.
By 1985, Tolhurst's contributions to the Cure were diminishing due to his alcoholism, and during live performances some of his keyboard parts had to be supplemented by guitarist Porl Thompson. Shortly after the release of Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me in 1987, Tolhurst's apparent lack of preparation for the album's upcoming tour caused the band to recruit a second keyboardist, Roger O'Donnell.{{cite book |author=Jeff Apter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6O0Pv8aG44C&pg=PT48 |title=Never Enough: The Story of The Cure |date=5 November 2009 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=9780857120243 |page=227-229}}
During the recording of the following album Disintegration in 1989, Tolhurst's alcoholism became so severe that the other members of the band threatened to quit, and Tolhurst contributed very little to the album even though he was credited as a co-writer on all songs.{{Cite web |last=Banulescu |first=Eduard |date=2023-08-27 |title=The Cure Albums Ranked: What's Their Greatest Album? - from Worst to Best |url=https://alt77.com/the-cure-albums-ranked/ |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=Alt77 |language=en-GB}} While it was later revealed that Tolhurst contributed to the song "Homesick",{{cite web |title=Lol Tolhurst – Interview |url=http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article/8447/Interviews/Lol-Tolhurst--Interview |website=pennyblackmusic.co.uk |access-date=20 February 2024 |archive-date=26 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926180929/http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article/8447/Interviews/Lol-Tolhurst--Interview |url-status=dead }} his contributions to the rest of the album were nearly nonexistent,{{cite web|url=https://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2009/12/28/roger-odonnell-cure-disintegration-memories-recording-session/|title=Roger O'Donnell: Recording of the Cure's 'Disintegration' a 'happy, jokey' time|website=Slicing Up Eyeballs|date=28 December 2009|access-date=16 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006043348/https://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2009/12/28/roger-odonnell-cure-disintegration-memories-recording-session/|archive-date=6 October 2018|url-status=live}} and he was ultimately credited with "other instruments" in the album's liner notes.{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=James |date=8 April 1989 |title=Ten Years in Lipstick and Powder |journal=NME}} Tolhurst was fired by Robert Smith shortly before the album's release.Apter, p. 240.
=After the Cure =
Following his departure from the Cure, in 1990 Tolhurst formed the band Presence with singer Gary Biddles, who had been an early member of the Cure's road crew and was previously a member of Fools Dance. Presence released the album Inside in 1993; a second album titled Closer was recorded during this period but was not released until 2014. Meanwhile, Tolhurst had moved to Los Angeles in the United States and successfully overcame his alcoholism. His son Gray was born in 1991.
In 1994, Tolhurst sued Robert Smith and Fiction Records for unpaid royalties, claiming that he had been coerced into signing an unfavorable contract in the mid-1980s while debilitated by his alcohol problem. That contract had removed him as an equal partner in the Cure with Smith and relegated him to a paid employee. Tolhurst also claimed part ownership with Smith in the Cure's name.Price, pp. 215-216. Tolhurst lost this lawsuit and was ordered by the court to pay Smith's legal expenses.{{cite web|url=http://www.picturesofyou.us/94/94-lol-trial-drummer-beaten-in-cash-battle.htm |title="Drummer beaten in cash battle" 27 June 2007 |publisher=Picturesofyou.us |access-date=29 October 2011}} Smith refunded the money to Tolhurst years later after they reconciled their friendship.
In 2002, Tolhurst and his wife Cindy Levinson formed the electronica band Levinhurst.{{cite web |last=Tocino |first=Kevin |date=3 April 2017 |title=Cindy Levinson, wife of the Cure's Lol Tolhurst, chats with John M |url=https://www.y101fm.com/features/y101-talks/5325-cindy-levinson-wife-of-the-cure-s-lol-tolhurst-chats-with-john-m |work=Y101fm}} This band released the albums Perfect Life in 2004 and House by the Sea in 2007. For their third album Blue Star in 2009 they were joined by another former member of the Cure, bassist Michael Dempsey.Price, pp. 218-219. Tolhurst also composed music for the film 9000 Needles, which won the Best Documentary award at several prestigious film festivals.Uncut, p. 144.{{cite web |last=Simpson |first=Melody |date=April 2, 2011 |title=Documentary Review 9000 Needles |url=http://www.hollywoodthewriteway.com/2011/04/documentary-review-9000-needles.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427062515/http://www.hollywoodthewriteway.com/2011/04/documentary-review-9000-needles.html |archive-date=27 April 2011 |access-date=April 4, 2011}}
In 2011, Tolhurst contacted Robert Smith to suggest a collaboration to honor the 30th anniversary of the Cure album Faith. Tolhurst had also discussed the possibility with another former bandmate, Roger O'Donnell. The Cure decided to organize a short tour commemorating three of their early albums. Tolhurst temporarily appeared with the band for several shows, first at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, playing keyboards and percussion.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2011-05-05 |title=The Cure playing first 3 albums in Sydney with ex-members Lol Tolhurst, Roger O'Donnell |url=https://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2011/05/05/cure-lol-tolhurst-three-imaginary-boys-seventeen-seconds-faith/ |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Slicing Up Eyeballs |language=en-US}}Uncut, pp. 134-137. However, he did not officially rejoin the band.{{cite news|first=Sean|last=Michaels|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/aug/24/the-cure-lol-tolhurst-faith |title=The Cure's original drummer asks to rejoin band|work=The Guardian|date=24 August 2010}}
=Recent activities: writing and ''Los Angeles''=
In 2016, Tolhurst published his memoir Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys, largely recounting his childhood friendship with Robert Smith and the early years of the Cure.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/boys-dont-cry-a-story-of-rock-n-roll-and-surviving-the-cure/|work=Vice|title=Boys Don't Cry: A Story of Rock 'n' Roll and Surviving the Cure|first=Mischa|last=Pearlman|date=27 July 2016|access-date=20 January 2018}} Tolhurst undertook an extensive book tour of the United Kingdom and United States. In 2018, he was featured in an episode of the BBC Radio 4 series Soul Music, in which he discussed the history of the Cure song "Boys Don't Cry".{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09lyhmv|work=BBC Radio 4 - Soul Music|title=Boys Don't Cry|date=17 January 2018|access-date=20 January 2018}} In 2019, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cure.{{Cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=2019-03-30 |title=Read Cure Frontman Robert Smith's Gracious Rock Hall Induction Speech |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cure-robert-smith-rock-hall-of-fame-induction-speech-814638/ |access-date=2024-02-04 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}
In 2021, Tolhurst developed the podcast Curious Creatures with Budgie, a member of longtime Cure associates Siouxsie and the Banshees, in which they explore "post punk's enduring legacy and contemporary relevance" along with invited guests.Price, p. 82. Tolhurst's second book Goth: A History was published in 2023. The Guardian wrote that the book "traces the genre from its 18th-century literary roots to its flourishing as a music subculture".{{cite web |date=21 September 2023 |title=Goth: A History by Lol Tolhurst review – the dark is rising |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/21/goth-a-history-by-lol-tolhurst-review-the-dark-is-rising |access-date=5 October 2023 |work=The Guardian}}
During this period, Tolhurst took up drumming again and teamed up with Budgie and Jacknife Lee on the album Los Angeles, released in November 2023.{{Cite news |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=August 2, 2023 |title=Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, & Jacknife Lee – "Los Angeles" (feat. James Murphy) |work=Stereogum |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2230965/lol-tolhurst-budgie-jacknife-lee-los-angeles-feat-james-murphy/music/ |access-date=24 July 2023}} The album features guest appearances by James Murphy, the Edge, Bobby Gillespie, and Isaac Brock.{{Cite news |last=Trendell |first=Andrew |date=24 July 2023 |title=Lol Tolhurst, Budgie and Jacknife Lee talk new project Los Angeles |work=NME |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/lol-tolhurst-budgie-and-jacknife-lee-talk-new-project-with-los-angeles-3472310 |access-date=24 July 2023}} Mojo praised the album as "thrilling", saying that "Los Angeles lands with a visceral impact, rich texturing and smart distortions adding a destabilising wobble".{{Cite news |last=Segal |first=Victoria |date=October 27, 2023 |title=Lol Tolhurst x Budgie x Jacknife Lee Review: The Edge, LCD Soundsystem, Bobby Gillespie and more join post-punk drummers' dystopian party. |work=Mojo |url=https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/new-music/the-cure-siouxsie-and-the-banshees-supergroup-review/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231103100740/https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/new-music/the-cure-siouxsie-and-the-banshees-supergroup-review/ |archive-date=November 3, 2023}} The album was issued on vinyl, CD, and digital. Tolhurst and Budgie toured in the US in spring 2024.
Discography
With the Cure
{{Main article|The Cure discography}}
- Three Imaginary Boys (1979)
- Boys Don't Cry (1980)
- Seventeen Seconds (1980)
- Faith (1981)
- Pornography (1982)
- Japanese Whispers (1983)
- The Top (1984)
- Concert: The Cure Live (1984)
- The Head on the Door (1985)
- Standing on a Beach (1986)
- Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
- Disintegration (1989)
With Presence
- Inside (1992)
- Closer (2014)
With Levinhurst
- Perfect Life (2004)
- The Grey (EP, 2006)
- House by the Sea (2007)
- Blue Star (2009)
- Somewhere, Nothing Is Everything (EP, 2014)
With Budgie and Jacknife Lee
- Los Angeles (2023)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.loltolhurst.com Official website]
- {{url|https://curiouscreaturespodcast.com/ |Curious Creatures Podcast - Budgie and Lol Tolhurst's Podcast}}
- [https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/lol-tolhurst Lol Tolhurst Interview] at NAMM Oral History Collection (2016)
{{TheCure}}
{{Levinhurst}}
{{2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolhurst, Lol}}
Category:20th-century British drummers
Category:20th-century English male musicians
Category:21st-century English male musicians
Category:21st-century English memoirists
Category:English expatriate musicians in the United States
Category:British rock trumpeters
Category:British male trumpeters
Category:English rock keyboardists
Category:English rock drummers
Category:English new wave musicians
Category:British male drummers