Laurence Tolhurst
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| Laurence Tolhurst | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Laurence Andrew Tolhurst |
| Also known as | Lol Tolhurst |
| Born | February 3, 1959 |
| Origin | Horley, England |
| Genre(s) | Punk rock, post-punk, gothic rock, alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, keyboard |
| Associated acts | The Cure, Presence, Levinhurst, Malice, Easy Cure |
| Website | http://www.levinhurst.com/ |
Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst (born Laurence Andrew Tolhurst, 3 February 1959, in Horley, Surrey, England) is a founding member and former drummer/keyboardist for the UK goth rock band, The Cure. He left The Cure in 1989 and was later involved in the band Presence and his current project Levinhurst, which bears the names of him and his wife, vocalist Cindy Levinson.
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[edit] Early years
Tolhurst is the fifth of six children born to William and Daphne Tolhurst; he has three brothers (Roger, Nigel, and John) and two sisters (Jane and Barbara).[1] Tolhurst was five years old when he first met Robert Smith at St. Francis Primary and Junior Schools, and thus began a friendship that would culminate in the formation of The Cure. Lol has been married twice. He married his first wife Lydia some time in 1989 and they had one son together, but they have since divorced.[2] Since then, Lol has married Cindy Levinson with whom he has formed an electronic band called Levinhurst.
[edit] The Cure
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.
Throughout 1986 and 1987, Tolhurst began to participate in excessive alcohol use, often making him unable to perform, forcing the band to often ask Psychedelic Furs keyboardist Roger O'Donnell to substitute his role. In early 1989, the rest of the band decided that they had enough and gave Smith an ultimatum, which resulted in him asking Tolhurst to leave the band. This paved the way for O'Donnell to fill in the empty slot
During his time in The Cure, "Lol" Tolhurst is known to have written or co-written the songs Grinding Halt, All Cats Are Grey, Let's Go To Bed, Just One Kiss, The Walk, The Upstairs Room, Speak My Language, Mr. Pink Eyes, The Caterpillar, Piggy In The Mirror, New Day and A Thousand Hours.
[edit] Post 'The Cure'
Following his departure from The Cure, Tolhurst and Gary Biddles - who previously worked with Simon Gallup in Fools Dance - formed the short lived band Presence, which only released one full-length album called Inside. He said several years later that he recorded a second album with this band, but he said it is unlikely that it will ever be released.[3] In 1994, he sued Robert Smith and Fiction Records over royalties payments, also claiming joint ownership of the name The Cure with Smith. He eventually lost after a long legal battle.[4]
In the early 2000s, Tolhurst and his wife Cindy Levinson formed a band called Levinhurst. A few months prior to the release of their debut album, Tolhurst said in an interview that he had reconciled with Robert Smith and that the two of them were friends again.[5] Shortly afterward, Levinhurst released their debut album, Perfect Life, in 2004. Since then, they have also released an EP called The Grey featuring a cover of The Cure's "All Cats Are Grey" - which he claimed credit for writing lyrically in another interview[6] - and two other songs. Their second album, House By The Sea, was released on 17 April 2007. They are presently working on a third album and Lol confirmed on their official website that the original Cure bassist Michael Dempsey is involved with the project.[7]
[edit] Discography
→ See The Cure discography
→ See Presence discography
→ See Levinhurst Discography
[edit] Trivia
- He produced the first two singles and the debut album of And Also The Trees.
- According to Robert Smith, Tolhurst did not contribute anything whatsoever to the albums Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me and Disintegration but he was credited anyway for contractual reasons.[8]
- Tolhurst appears in the music video for 311's cover of "Lovesong".[9]
- Tolhurst was born on the day of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper.
- Somewhat ironic is the fact that Tolhurst went on to work with Gary Biddles, who once insulted him during a concert. Biddles is famous, or infamous, for stirring up trouble when he got on stage during a concert and started singing, "Smith's a wanker, Tolhurst's a wanker, only Simon is worth anything in this band."[10]
- In the same interview where Tolhurst claimed that he and Robert Smith had reconciled, he also confirmed that he has a son, who was eleven years old at the time. When asked if his son showed any signs of musical talent as well, Tolhurst said he doesn't try to push it on him, but lately he (his son) had taken up the guitar and fell in love with it right away.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ [1] "Lol Tolhurst" 27 June 2007
- ^ [2] "Lol Tolhurst pictures" 27 June 2007
- ^ [3] "Interview with Lol" 1 August 2007
- ^ [4] "Drummer beaten in cash battle" 27 June 2007
- ^ [5] "Laurence Tolhurst" 27 June 2007
- ^ [6] "Interview to Lol Tolhurst" 27 June 2007
- ^ [7] "Lol on Third Album" 5 June 2008
- ^ [8] "I'm Getting One Of My Headaches" 27 June 2007
- ^ [9] "Lol Tolhurst pictures" 27 June 2007
- ^ [10] "Did You Know..." 27 June 2007
- ^ [11] "Laurence Tolhurst" 27 June 2007
[edit] External links
- Levinhurst
- Lol's MySpace
- Wikicure.com: All the synthesizers played by Tolhurst during The Cure period (soon all pages will be available in English).
- Interview with Tolhurst at chaindlk.com
- Interview with Tolhurst at freewilliamsburg.com
- My Conversation with Lol Tolhurst
- Where Do You Go From The Cure?
