10 Rock Bands That Survived Key Members Leaving

Whilst Robert Smith has become the face of the band, The Cure owes an awful lot of its to founding member Lol Tolhurst. Having known Robert since they were both 5 years old, Lol was one of The Cure's original trio, starting out life in the band as the group's drummer. His unique style can be heard in some of The Cure's best works, including Boys Don't Cry, A Forest and Let's Go To Bed.

Following the Pornography tour in 1982, Lol continued to flex his musical muscle by moving over to the keyboards, coinciding nicely with the band's increasing popularity Stateside. Lol worked on 7 studio albums with The Cure, however it was clear that by 1989 personal issues were starting to catch up with him. He was asked to leave the band during the recording of Disintegration, the band's eighth album, bringing an end to 13 years of association.

Lol was credited on Disintegration, but did play anything on the album. The album became the band's very best however, selling more than 3 million copies and giving the world hits such as Lovesong, Lullaby, Fascination Street and Pictures of You. The Cure are still going strong to this day, regularly touring across the world and possessing one of the biggest fanbases in the world of rock.