Andy Anderson, The Cure drummer, dies at 68

Drummer Andy Anderson, best known for his stint with The Cure, has died. He was 68.

Founding member of The Cure, Lol Tolhurst, who switched to keyboard from drums when Anderson joined the band, confirmed the passing of his fellow bandsmen on Twitter on Tuesday.

“It’s with a heavy heart, I have to report the passing of a Cure brother,” he wrote. “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.”

Anderson announced his terminal cancer diagnosis on Facebook just last week, writing, “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.” After explaining that he did not wish to risk sustaining brain damage, he explained he was exploring chemotherapy and radiation as treatment options. He concluded, “No Boo Hooing, here, just be positive, for me it’s just another life Experience and Hurdle, that one has to make yet another Choice in life, be cool, I most definitely am and positive about the situation.”

Anderson was born in the West Ham neighborhood of London on Jan. 30, 1951. He kicked off his professional career as a musician working with Hawkwind. He never recorded with them, but he did play on their 1983 tour. Ultimately, he left the group to work with The Glove, a side project of Robert Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees and played on their only album, 1983’s Blue Sunshine.

Hawkwind member Nik Turner later formed a band called Sphynx, and Anderson played on their 1978 album Xitintoday, credited as “Android Anderson.”

Ultimately, he was best known for his work with The Cure, which he first joined in 1983. He recorded on the albums Japanese Whispers, The Top, and Concert, as well as 1983 singles “Speak My Language” and “The Love Cats.” “The Love Cats” marked The Cure’s first top 10 hit in the U.K.

After his time with the rock band, he dedicated much of his career to working as a session musician, playing with the likes of Iggy Pop, Jeffrey Lee Pierce, the Sex Pistols’ Glen Matlock, Edwyn Collins, Peter Gabriel, Isaac Hayes, Youth, The Steve Hillage Band, and more.

In recent years, Anderson struck out as a solo artist. He never put out an official album, but he did release several tracks under the name AAMuzik.