On Christmas Day, we lost Perry “Teddy” Bamonte – a long-serving member of The Cure who played guitar, synths, and six string bass from ~1990-2005, and who performed with the band during their last tour for Songs of a Lost World in 2023-24.
So the story goes, Bamonte originally joined The Cure’s road crew in 1984 at the urging of his brother Daryl, and served as Robert Smith’s guitar tech and personal assistant before joining the band officially. For six years he would hone his guitar skills and learn to play piano/keyboards. Once Roger O’Donnell left the band in 1990, Bamonte was the perfect choice to step into the role, and his versatile playing and love for the band was a key asset in the years to come. I’ve always been a huge fan of the albums he performed on, especially 1992’s Wish and 2000’s underrated Bloodflowers, and I especially adore a handful of deep cuts/album tracks/b-sides from 1996’s Wild Mood Swings, which was the “new” album when I first fell in love with The Cure in my early high school years. I’ve also heard wonderful stories about Perry from over the years from those who were close to him and he has been highly regarded as being quiet, yet passionate and sweet across the board.
While The Cure is certainly a massive part of Perry’s story, he also was a member of a little-known deathrock/goth/psychobilly band from the UK called Anorexic Dread. Anorexic Dread were a quartet who were inspired deeply by The Cramps, The Birthday Party, Alien Sex Fiend, and many of the other notorious Batcave scene bands from the era. The band formed in Southend in 1983 and gained a local following over the years, with Bamonte joining soon after the band’s debut performance. While they had a handful of tracks in their set, Anorexic Dread would record but one 12”, which was released in 1984 on Criminal Damage Records. The label also released seminal singles by Look Back In Anger, Ausgang, and Play Dead offshoot Mankind’s Audio Development. As was popular practice with many musicians of the era, Bamonte assumed the stage name Leonard De Finchie (Lenny Finch on the back cover). Soon after the release of the single, Bamonte/Finch would depart the band to begin his tenure with The Cure. Anorexic Dread would continue for another year, recording a new demo and opening up for one of their idols, the mighty Killing Joke. I don’t believe that demo has has found its way to the masses just yet, but the band’s legacy has been cemented by Cherry Red, who did include the title track in the Silhouettes & Statues (A Gothic Revolution 1978 – 1986) compilation in 2017. The title track has also appeared on the CD editions of the 2023 Edsel Records compilation Young Limbs Rise Again (The Story Of The Batcave Nightclub 1982-1985).
You can read a bit more about the band here – otherwise, here’s a rip of the full 12”, including the more playful b-side.
Much love to the Bamonte family, his friends, and bandmates past and present.
Anorexic Dread – Tracey’s Burning 12”
1. Tracey’s Burning/Epitaph
2. Tick Tock
