The Cure's guitarist-keyboardist Perry Bamonte started out as backstage tech man

Perry Bamonte (right), a guitarist and keyboard player in The Cure, the seminal post-punk band that brought a dark, gothic sensibility to sparkly, upbeat hits like Friday I'm In Love, died on Dec 24 at his home in the west of England. He was 65.

- Michael Levenson

The Cure announced Bamonte's death in a statement on its website on Dec 26 that said he had died after "a short illness".

Bamonte was a roadie and guitar tech for The Cure before he joined the band full time in 1990. The Cure called him "quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative", and a "vital part of The Cure story".

He played guitar, six-string bass and keyboards on the albums Wish (1992), Wild Mood Swings (1996), Bloodflowers (2000), Acoustic Hits (2001) and The Cure (2004).

The album Wish included the hit song Friday I'm In Love, which spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992 and peaked at No. 18 on Aug 8 that year.