Cure frontman ousts two members

TORONTO - Two veteran members of the Cure have exited the UK rock act, which has long featured a revolving door of musicians backing leader Robert Smith.

Keyboardist Roger O'Donnell and guitarist Perry Bamonte are out, leaving singer/guitarist Smith, bassist Simon Gallup and drummer Jason Cooper in the fold, according to the Cure's website.

"As of Tuesday this week I am no longer a member of the Cure," O'Donnell wrote on his website. "It was sad to find out after nearly 20 years the way I did but then I should have expected no less or more."

The Cure website coyly said others could be part of the lineup, promising more news soon. The new lineup will be unveiled on Aug. 5 when the Cure play a festival in Castellon, Spain. The band is also confirmed for festival dates in France, Switzerland and Turkey.

O'Donnell first played with the Cure from 1987 to 1990, when he was replaced by Bamonte, a Cure roadie. Bamonte switched to lead guitar after Porl Thompson left in 1993, and O'Donnell returned to the fold in 1995.

O'Donnell has been working on a solo album, "The Truth in Me," for the past six months and will release it in the fall on an as-yet-unnamed independent label.

Rumors are also circulating that Siouxie and the Banshees principal Steve Severin will fill in at the Cure's upcoming shows in some capacity. Severin and Smith are longtime friends who recorded a 1983 side-project album, "Blue Sunshine," under the moniker the Glove.

"It is true that we are talking again, but I haven't spoken to Robert since this story broke," Severin told Billboard.com. "All I know is that we are working together on making the most exciting remaster of 'Blue Sunshine' possible."

- REUTERS/BILLBOARD