The Cure: Simon Gallup forced to step back for health reasons, replaced by his son Eden

The Cure's tour, which kicked off on June 5 at Barcelona's Primavera Sound and had run smoothly ever since, hit a snag this weekend in Berlin. Longtime bassist Simon Gallup was forced to pull out of the three shows scheduled at the Parkbühne Wuhlheide after falling ill shortly before the first performance. Stepping in for him onstage was his son Eden Gallup, already part of the touring lineup. Robert Smith explained the situation in a message posted through the band's official channels: "Just before the first of the three Wuhlheide shows, Simon was taken ill. His son Eden stepped in on bass to allow the show to go ahead as planned. Unfortunately Simon still isn't well enough to play, so Eden will be filling in for him again tonight."

During Friday's show, the Cure dedicated "Lullaby", the opening song of the encore, to Gallup. Before playing it, Smith asked the crowd to spare a thought for his lifelong bandmate: "We hope you'll join us in wishing Simon a speedy recovery. And thanks to Eden. Onwards we go."
No further details were given about the bassist's health or when he might return.

Meanwhile, Robert Smith continues to work on the band's upcoming projects. In recent weeks he confirmed that the follow-up to "Songs Of A Lost World", released in 2024, has already been completed, and that the Cure are also working on a second album leaning towards a more pop sound.
The frontman has also been busy with several recent collaborations: he recorded the track "What's Wrong With Me" with Olivia Rodrigo, born out of their joint appearance at Glastonbury Festival 2025, and he also features on the new Rolling Stones album, "Foreign Tongues", where he plays guitar on "Divine Intervention" and contributes synth and backing vocals on "Never Wanna Lose You".

Eden Gallup, son of longtime bassist Simon Gallup, made his permanent debut onstage at Barcelona's Primavera Sound. The young musician joined Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Jason Cooper, Roger O'Donnell and Reeves Gabrels, taking up the role left by Perry Bamonte, who passed away last December at the age of 65.

Eden Gallup's trajectory bears a curious resemblance to Bamonte's. The latter joined the Cure's orbit as a roadie and Robert Smith's guitar tech back in 1984, before becoming a full-fledged member in 1990 and rejoining the band in 2022 for the "Shows Of A Lost World" tour. Over the course of his career with the band he has played guitar, six-string bass and keyboards, contributing to albums such as "Wish", "Wild Mood Swings", "Bloodflowers", "Acoustic Hits" and "The Cure".
Eden, too, had already had the chance to prove himself. In 2019, at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan and later at the Austin City Limits Festival, he stepped in on bass for his father when Simon Gallup was forced to skip the shows for personal reasons. At the time, Smith explained that the young man usually took care of tuning his father's instruments and that, after a quick rehearsal, he'd managed to take the stage without a hitch.

For a band that had let sixteen years go by between studio albums before releasing "Songs Of A Lost World", the present looks remarkably busy. Between new recording projects, a refreshed live lineup and shows that keep digging into the less predictable corners of their catalogue, the Cure seem determined to open a new chapter in their nearly fifty-year history.

The Cure's upcoming 2026 tour dates

• July 15 – Athens (Greece), Ejekt Festival
• July 17 – Plovdiv (Bulgaria), Phill Good Festival
• July 19 – Cluj (Romania), Electric Castle
• July 22 – Nyon (Switzerland), Paléo Festival
• July 24 – Nîmes (France), Festival de Nîmes
• July 25 – Nîmes (France), Festival de Nîmes
• July 26 – Nîmes (France), Festival de Nîmes
• August 7 – Vilnius (Lithuania)
• August 9 – Tallinn (Estonia)
• August 12 – Oslo (Norway), Øya Festival
• August 14 – Gothenburg (Sweden), Way Out West
• August 21 – Manchester (UK)
• August 23 – Edinburgh (UK), Summer Sessions
• August 28 – Bordeaux (France), Pagaille Festival
• August 30 – Saint-Cloud (France), Rock En Seine

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