The Cure have announced that Simon Gallup’s son, Eden Gallup, is filling in for him on tour as he’s “not well enough to play”.
- READ MORE: The Cure – ‘Songs Of A Lost World’ review: a masterful reflection on loss
Robert Smith and co. are out on tour across the UK and Europe, and are currently in the thick of a three-show stint in Berlin. However, on the first gig in the city’s Wulheide on Friday (July 10), fans noticed that Gallup was absent, with his son Eden taking his place.
The band dedicated ‘Lullaby’, the first song of the encore, to the long-serving bassist, and later took to Instagram to explain his absence.
“Shortly before the first of our three Berlin Wuhlheide concerts yesterday, Simon was taken ill,” Smith wrote. “His son Eden shifted sideways to save the show. Unfortunately, Simon is still not well enough to play, so Eden will be filling the bass breach again tonight.”
“We hope you will join us in wishing Simon the speediest of recoveries – And Eden thanks! – Onwards,” he concluded.
Last month, Robert Smith revealed The Cure are done with a follow-up to 2024’s ‘Songs For A Lost World’ while another “poppy” album is also being worked on. Smith recently teamed up with Olivia Rodrigo for ‘What’s Wrong With Me’. It came after Smith said he’d “enjoyed a couple of memorable nights in the studio” with Rodrigo earlier this year, following his appearance as part of her headline slot at Glastonbury 2025.
“I can’t believe this song exists with the person that it exists with,” Rodrigo said of the collaboration. “I’m just so fucking over the moon […] I feel like I’m gonna cry. I can’t believe that’s a thing that happened in the real world and not just a figment of my imagination.”
Smith also features on The Rolling Stones’ upcoming album ‘Foreign Tongues, contributing guitar on ‘Divine Intervention’ and providing synth and backing vocals on ‘Never Wanna Lose You’.
In a five-star review of ‘Songs Of A Lost World’, NME concluded: “Merciless? Yes, but there’s always enough heart in the darkness and opulence in the sound to hold you and place these songs alongside The Cure’s finest.
“The frontman suggested that another two records may be arriving at some point, but ‘Songs Of A Lost World’ feels sufficient enough for the wait we’ve endured, just for being arguably the most personal album of Smith’s career. Mortality may loom, but there’s colour in the black and flowers on the grave.”
