The Cure's Simon Gallup

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

anyone else like the stuff he's done with The Cure?
favourite basslines; "Piggy In The Mirror", on the "Cure In Orange" live video.
"Another Journey By Train"
"Lovesong"
"Torture"
"Other Voices"
"Primary"
"Pictures Of You"
"Club America"
"Fascination Street"
"Sinking"

he's used some distinctive bass sounds too, eg. Stingray through chorus, a quite twangy sound out of a Gibson EB2 around 1991, and an almost Rickenbacker-like clank out of a Knight long-scale semi-acoustic 92-95.

[Niels Keijzer]

Hell yeah,

I have one compilation album from the Cure, (beginning to 1884 or so) and he's done wonderful things on bass. I don't play with a pick, but I like to sounds he gets by using it. Not playing a pick, I don't really care about his equipment cause I don't aim on getting that sound, but those basslines he writes are tremendous pieces of high art.

Not that they're terribly flashy, but he knows what to play, and always has some simple thingies in it that lift the song up and make it more interesting.
My personal favourites are:
"A forest" (how could you miss that?)
"Play for today"
"Lullaby"
I can almost play that whole album, which is not an achievement, but a sign of dedication.

But, listening to the cure, I'm not always in the mood for the singing skills of Robert Smith (his guitar skills are great), but the bass corrects it all.

[Velkov]

Back in the day, when I was a big The Cure fan, I thought he was the greatest player in the world. Listen to "Faith" from 1981, I think. Every song in that album has a bass line that you feel right in your stomach.

I grew out of that kind of music but I still think he's a great bass player. And The Cure is definitelly one of the better bands we've had around in the past 20 years.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

yay! there are other bassists who appreciate his playing after all. he's pretty much ignored in muso circles;
once a drummer auditioning for the band I was in said "it's great you play decent basslines, not boring stuff like The Cure", and I got a bit pissed off, and I had to say that actually I consider Simon Gallup to be a major influence (I play fingerstyle only, though).

also I'm a bit bored of other bassists always saying stuff to me like "don't you think Flea is "the man"? - Flea's very good, sure, but come on, there are other players out there, and surely it's good to pick up other styles of playing too.

My personal favourites are:
"A forest" (how could you miss that?)
"Play for today"
"Lullaby"
[/b]

A live version of "A Forest" is what got me into listening to The Cure to start with; Gallup's Gibson EB2 blasting out the final notes at Wembley Stadium at The Great British music weekend 1991.

the unusual note phrasing on the bassline to "Lullaby" is what makes the part great for me- deceptively tricky- best heard in the live videos (like a lot of Cure basslines)- eg. "Show".

there are great versions of "Play For Today", "A Forest" and "Faith" on the "Cure In Orange" live video.

I finally bought the "Faith" album a couple of months ago- I've been playing the basslines to the songs on it for ages before, so it was high time I actually got the album (now I've got all The Cure albums except The Top)

[Niels Keijzer]

I think if I'll buy another Cure album, it'll be Disintegration...I like the songs on that.

I saw a concert of them without make up and all, don't know from when...the bassplayer played a stingray and had lots 'o hair.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

Gallup with big hair and black maple-neck Stingray with white scratchplate= "The Cure In Orange" video.
it's from 1986.

[ColdYinTiger]

Other people know this guy exists? Woh. I personally like Love Song, A Forest and...crap..whats the last second to last song on Blood flowers? 37? something like that. Great bassist that didnt have to over play to sound good.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

Bloodflowers was a bit disappointing, bass-wise, for me, but I like "39" too for the bassline. I'm not too keen on that Gibson Thunderbird sound - he should have stuck to using his Knight semi-acoustic- but I've seen pics of Gallup recently using an Epiphone Jack Cassady hollowbody bass.

[Blackbird]

Was Gallup the bassist on "Love Cats"?



Will C.

[Matthew West]

Originally posted by Big Wheel
Was Gallup the bassist on "Love Cats"?

Actually, that was Phil Thornally. Simon left the band after the Pornography tour and didn't rejoin until Head on the Door. Phil was engineering during the sessions for what turned into The Walk/Japanese Whispers, and ended up playing bass for a year or so (that's him on the Concert album). Robert did all of the bass on The Top himself.

Simon is who I think of when I think of a true bass player. His lines are almost always the melodic foundation of the songs, but he does not feel the need to overplay. But then again, I could be predjudiced, as I've been listening to The Cure over half of my life.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

hey Matthew, have you ever heard them play "Lovecats" live? I think there's a bootleg recording somewhere. I'd like to hear how Gallup would play it.

[Matthew West]

They do it on the Live in Japan video I have at home. Track listing is as follows:

Shake dog shake / Play for today / Primary / Wailing wall / The empty world / The hanging garden / The walk / 100 years / Give me it / A forest / The top / Charlotte sometimes / Let's go to bed / The caterpillar / Boys don't cry / 10:15 Saturday night / Killing an arab / The lovecats

The only thing is that it's the Smith/Tolhurst/Thomas/Anderson/Thornally line-up, which means no Simon. Phil plays it just like the song, only on electric instead of upright.

Never seen them do it in person though. Don't think they have in several years.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

yeah, today I downloaded a recording of Lovecats live in Japan 84- it must be the same gig as the video you have.
I suppose Robert Smith has since disowned Lovecats (I read that he was ashamed of "Let's go to bed" too).

I read that Phil Thornally formed "Johnny Hates Jazz" a (rather bad IMHO) 80's pop band.

[Willie Dizon]

Love him!!! He plays what the song needs.He has been an influence on me.They have so many good songs,it would be impossible to name them all.Glad that someone brought up his name;can't wait to add them to my cd collection.

[jugoziithouu]

He is an awesome player the very early album was kinda lead bass really cool

yep faith is quite bassy as well seventeen seconds

also the las cure album but to be honest it sucks

everything from three imaginary boys to wish is pure gold

disintegration is a masterpiece easily one of the best albums ever and by far the cure's best

the live version of pornography when he uses that crunchy disortion *__*
play for today ;D
another journey by train
scared as you
fascination street

[MetroBass]

The time has come - resurrect the Cure as one of the top bands of the ages. Both Thornally and Gallup are great bass players.

[Rusty Chainsaw]

Saw The Cure last year, and Simon's still got it. He seems to be exclusively playing a Thunderbird live these days.

Awesome player, wonderfully melodic and his parts define so many of the Cure's tunes.

[bassteban]

What's not to love? Broodingly dark, clanky P-tones. Great stuff.

[Ian Perge]

He's the bassist who taught me that playing midrange/high-end lines and patterns was not only okay to do (like most "rock" bassists I imagine, I was much more used to playing lines down low and walking up/playing fills higher on the fretboard) but that it can give a different and unique effect to the bassline. Certainly an influence, and "Show" is one of my all-time favorite concert tapes, which I hope would be reissued on DVD at some point.

[hypercarrots]

i like simon's bass lines and the different sounds and styles he's had over the years. some of his lines sound quite good played fingerstyle even though he played them with a pick. my favorite cure song to play is "how beautiful you are" on "kiss me kiss me kiss me". other cure songs that i enjoy playing are icing sugar, to the sky and charlotte sometimes.