Roger O'Donnell

Roger O'Donnell
O'Donnell performing in 2013
O'Donnell performing in 2013
Background information
Born (1955-10-29) 29 October 1955 (age 69)
East London, England
GenresPost-punk, gothic rock, dark wave, alternative rock, new wave, synthpop
Occupations
  • Musician
  • composer
Instruments
  • Keyboards
  • tambourine
Years active1976–present
Member ofThe Cure
Formerly ofThe Psychedelic Furs
Berlin

Roger O'Donnell (born 29 October 1955) is an English keyboardist best known as a longtime member of The Cure, which he first joined in 1987 and for which he has served three different tenures. O'Donnell has also performed as a touring and session keyboardist for many artists and maintains an active solo career.

Career

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O'Donnell was born in East London into a musical family, next to the piano in his parents' home.[1] O'Donnell briefly attended art school but left to pursue a career as a professional musician; his first paying gig was in 1976, backing Arthur Brown.[2] He also played in local bands, primarily in the jazz fusion genre, with future Cure bandmate Boris Williams.[3]

O'Donnell joined Thompson Twins as touring keyboardist in 1983, playing alongside Williams. During this period he also served as a session and touring keyboardist for Berlin and the Psychedelic Furs.[4] O'Donnell began a long association with synthesizers produced by Sequential Circuits, and while performing with the Psychedelic Furs he set a record for having the most Sequential models onstage at one time.[5]

In 1987, O'Donnell was recruited to join The Cure as touring keyboardist, at the recommendation of Williams who had been the band's drummer since 1984.[6] The Cure needed an additional keyboardist to supplement founding member Lol Tolhurst, who had become unreliable due to alcohol abuse. O'Donnell joined just before the release of the album Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and appeared in the videos for two of that album's singles, though he did not play on the studio recordings.[1]

At the end of the ensuing tour, group leader Robert Smith invited O'Donnell to join the Cure as an official member.[1] O'Donnell was a major contributor to their 1989 album Disintegration.[7][8] Unhappy with the large stadium-sized shows that the Cure played during that album's tour, and with personal differences among bandmates, O'Donnell left the band for the first time in 1990.[1]

O'Donnell self-released the solo album Grey Clouds Red Sky in 1994. During this period, Smith revamped the lineup of the Cure due to multiple recent departures and invited O'Donnell to rejoin in early 1995. O'Donnell played on the band's next three albums: Wild Mood Swings, Bloodflowers, and The Cure. He was dismissed by Smith in 2005 in another revamping of the band's lineup.[1]

O'Donnell released three solo albums in the following years, including The Truth in Me,[9] and formed a record label called 99X/10 with longtime partner Erin Lang.[10][11] He also contributed to a documentary about synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog.[2] In 2011, he and former Cure bandmate Lol Tolhurst discussed a collaboration to commemorate the band's early albums. The Cure themselves had been discussing such a project of their own, and O'Donnell and Tolhurst joined the band onstage at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.[12] O'Donnell then officially rejoined the Cure and remains with the band to the present day.[1]

In 2019, O'Donnell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cure.[13] Since rejoining the band, he has continued to release solo works regularly,[14] most recently the album 7 Different Words for Love in 2022;[15] he has also composed a classical suite called "Quieter Trees" for orchestral performance.[16]

Personal life

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On 1 September 2024, it was revealed that O'Donnell was diagnosed with lymphoma the previous year. O'Donnell posted a lengthy thread on X for Blood Cancer Awareness Month, stating: "In September last year I was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. I had ignored the symptoms for a few months but finally went," he wrote, "and after surgery the result of the biopsy was devastating."[17]

Discography

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Albums and compositions

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  • Grey Clouds, Red Sky (1994, re-released 2005)
  • The Truth in Me (2006)
  • Songs from the Silver Box (2009)
  • Piano Formations (2010)
  • Love and Other Tragedies (2015)
  • 2 Ravens (2020)
  • 7 Different Words for Love (2022)

EPs

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  • Charlie Crow – Trains on Bridges (2009)

Songs and scores

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  • "Another Year Away", song to the film score for the documentary Moog (2004)
  • "Another Name" from Nothing Concrete – 99X/10 Label Sampler (2006)
  • "Quieter Trees" (2011)
  • Requiem (2012)
  • The Bernhard Suite (2013)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Price, Simon (2023). Curepedia: An A-Z of The Cure. New York, NY: William Morrow. pp. 263–265. ISBN 978-0-06-306864-3.
  2. ^ a b Lennon, Andi (14 October 2016). "Interview: Roger O'Donnell on finding his voice outside of The Cure". collide. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. ^ Price, p. 415.
  4. ^ "Interview with Roger O'Donnell of The Cure". Synth History. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  5. ^ "The Haunting of Roger O'Donnell | An Interview with The Cure Keyboardist and 2 Ravens composer". Post-Punk.com. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  6. ^ "All My Keyboards: Roger O'Donnell". Synth History. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Making The Cure: Disintegration". Classic Pop Magazine. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  8. ^ Brown, Jake (6 January 2010). "Recording Disintegration: 20 Years Ago". Glorious Noise. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  9. ^ Uncut, ed. (2016). "The Cure". The Ultimate Music Guide. p. 144.
  10. ^ "Roger O'Donnell (The Cure) releases new solo album '7 Different Words For Love' on 18th November on his own label 99X/10". 15 November 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Ten Questions with Roger O'Donnell". Textura. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  12. ^ "The Cure playing first 3 albums in Sydney with ex-members Lol Tolhurst, Roger O'Donnell". Slicing Up Eyeballs. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  13. ^ Grow, Kory (30 March 2019). "Read Cure Frontman Robert Smith's Gracious Rock Hall Induction Speech". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Roger O'Donnell's album '2 Ravens' is perfect for quiet reflection". 3 September 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  15. ^ Martin, Ryan (18 November 2022). "The Test Drive: Roger O'Donnell - 7 Different Words For Love". jammerzine.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  16. ^ Raggett, Ned (3 August 2015). "Love And Other Tragedies: Roger O'Donnell Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  17. ^ Cain, Sian (3 September 2024). "The Cure's Roger O'Donnell reveals 'rare and aggressive' blood cancer diagnosis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
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