The Cure win their first Grammys with “Songs Of A Lost World”

Nearly fifty years after their formation, the Cure have finally received the most symbolic recognition of their career. On February 1, 2026, at the 68th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, the band from Crawley won their first two Grammys: Best Alternative Music Performance for “Alone” and Best Alternative Music Album for “Songs Of A Lost World”.

Both awards were handed out during the Premiere Ceremony, the non-televised part of the evening where most of the genre categories are announced.

At the moment the winners were announced, however, the Cure were not present: according to some sources, the band members were in England attending the funeral of Perry Archangelo Bamonte, the group's longtime guitarist and keyboardist, who died on December 24, 2025 at 65 after a brief illness.

Bamonte had first started working with the group in the 1980s as part of the crew, before becoming an official member in 1990. He played on key albums such as "Wish", "Wild Mood Swings" and "Bloodflowers", and had returned as a permanent member of the lineup for the "Shows Of A Lost World" tour between 2022 and 2024.

With the band absent, a message prepared by Robert Smith was read on stage, delivered by presenter Jesse Welles. In the note, Smith thanked the Recording Academy, the team involved in “Songs Of A Lost World” and the audiences who had supported the band's most recent tours, closing with a simple, direct line: “Without you, none of this would be possible.”

Until 2026, the Cure's relationship with the Grammys had been limited to nominations. In the past they had been nominated twice for Best Alternative Music Album: in 1993 with “Wish” and in 2001 with “Bloodflowers”, losing out respectively to “Bone Machine” by Tom Waits and “Kid A” by Radiohead. After that defeat, they went more than twenty years without appearing on a shortlist again.

The turning point came with “Songs Of A Lost World”, released in 2024: their fourteenth studio album and first full-length work since 2008, it brought the band back into the spotlight, earning the double nomination that would later turn into a win.

The Grammys coincide with another symbolic milestone. “Boys Don't Cry” has officially entered Spotify's Billions Club, becoming the first Cure song to surpass one billion streams on the platform. Originally released as a single in 1979 and later included on the US compilation “Boys Don't Cry”, the song has always been one of the band's most recognizable tracks. The 1986 remixed version, “Boys Don't Cry (New Voice – New Mix)”, further boosted its international reach.

To celebrate the achievement, labels Rhino/Elektra and Fiction/Polydor have announced a special limited-edition campaign: the digital release, for the first time, of the remastered "Boys Don't Cry (86 Mix)", new 12" and 7" vinyl editions, CDs and digital bundles, as well as a selection of b-sides — "Plastic Passion", "Pillbox Tales" and "Do The Hansa" — remastered by Matt Colton.

Awards aside, the Cure's 2026 was already packed with commitments. Between June and August the band will tour across Europe with a long run of festivals and outdoor shows, as announced on the official website and in recent statements. The tour follows confirmation that the group has already recorded 13 new tracks at Rockfield Studios for a future follow-up to “Songs Of A Lost World”, alongside the release of the concert film “Show Of A Lost World”.

Here are all the Cure dates announced so far:

• Primavera Sound Barcelona (3-7 June 2026) 
• SoundNorth Festival (5-7 June 2026, Maia/Porto) 
• Nova Rock (11-14 June 2026, Nickelsdorf) 
• Firenze Rocks (12-14 June 2026, Florence) 
• Isle Of Wight Festival (18-21 giugno 2026, Newport) 
• Pinkpop (19-21 June 2026, Landgraaf) 
• Cardiff, Blackweir Fields (24 June 2026): with The Twilight Sad and The Joy Formidable  
• Dublin, Marlay Park (June 26, 2026): with The Twilight Sad, Just Mustard and Stella And The Dreaming – sold out
• Belfast, Belsonic (Ormeau Park) (June 28, 2026): with The Twilight Sad and Just Mustard
• Roskilde Festival (June 27-July 4, 2026, Roskilde)
• Open'er Festival (July 1-4, 2026, Gdynia)
• Rock Werchter (July 2-5, 2026, Werchter)
• Pohoda Festival (July 8-11, 2026, Trenčín)
• Berlin, Wuhlheide (July 10-12, 2026): three headline dates — details via the official "Shows" page — all dates sold out
• Ejekt Festival (July 14-15, 2026, Athens): The Cure headlining on July 15  
• Electric Castle (July 16-19, 2026, Bonțida/Cluj)
• Phill Good Festival (July 17-19, 2026, Plovdiv)
• Festival De Nîmes (July 24-26, 2026, Nîmes): three arena shows — July 24 and 25 sold out
• Øyafestivalen (August 12, 2026, Oslo)
• Way Out West (August 13-15, 2026, Gothenburg)
• Manchester, Wythenshawe Park (August 21, 2026): with Slowdive and The Slow Readers Club — tickets via Ticketmaster UK — sold out
• Edinburgh Summer Sessions (August 23, 2026, Royal Highland Showgrounds): with Mogwai, Slowdive and Just Mustard – sold out
• Rock En Seine (26-30 agosto 2026, Paris): The Cure headliner domenica 30 agosto 

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