Andy Anderson, ‘The Cure’ Drummer, Dies At 68

Lol Tolhurst, who founded The Cure, moved from the drums to the keyboard after the band hired Andy Anderson as their drummer back in 1983. Tolhurst sadly announced on Tuesday that his longtime co-band member and friend, Anderson had passed away. Anderson was 68-years-old and is best known for being the drummer for The Cure for many decades, although he also spent much of his time in his later life playing with other bands and working as a session musician.

“It’s with a heavy heart, I have to report the passing of a Cure brother,” Tolhurst wrote on his Twitter account, according to Entertainment Weekly. “Andy Anderson was a true gentleman and a great musician with a wicked sense of humor which he kept until the end, a testament to his beautiful spirit on the last journey. We are blessed to have known him.”

On January 30, 1951, Anderson was born in the West Ham area of London. His first career gig as a professional musician occurred with the band Hawkwind. Anderson performed on Hawkwind’s 1983 tour, but he never recorded an album with the band. Eventually, he left Hawkwind to work on one of Robert Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ projects, a band called The Glove. Anderson recorded with The Glove for their only album in 1983, titled Blue Sunshine.

Anderson, however, did not leave his connections with Hawkwind fully behind. One of that band’s members, Nik Turner, later created a band called Sphynx. Anderson played for that band’s 1978 album titled Xitintoday. On the album, Anderson’s name is listed as “Android Anderson.”

Andy Anderson, The Cure drummer, dies at 68 https://t.co/CDa9U6GIF5

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) February 27, 2019

Regardless of his earlier band days, Anderson’s fame came once he started working with The Cure in 1983. Anderson recorded several albums with the band, including Japanese Whispers, The Top, and Concert. Anderson also played in several of the band’s 1983 singles, including “Speak My Language,” and “The Love Cats,” which was The Cure’s first U.K. top-10 hit.

Anderson worked as a session musician for the later part of his career and worked with many famous musicians like Iggy Pop and Peter Gabriel. Last week, he posted to Facebook and announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

“I have Terminal 4 Cancer, and there is no way of returning back from that, it’s totally covering the inside of my body, and I’m totally fine and aware of my situation I’ve gone for a no resuscitation.” Anderson said, according to Entertainment Weekly.