Presence were a British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in 1990, best known for its associations with

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

. They released the album ''

Inside Inside may refer to: Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 film), a Canadian prison drama film * ''Inside'' (2006 film), an American thriller film starri ...

'' in 1992 and split the following year.

History

Presence was formed by keyboardist

Lol Tolhurst Laurence Andrew Tolhurst (born 3 February 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, producer, and author. He was a founding member of the Cure, for which he first played drums before switching to keyboards. He stayed a member of the Cure until ...

, a founding member of

who had left that band in 1989; and singer Gary Biddles, a former member of

Fools Dance Fools Dance were an English rock band active from 1983 to 1987, primarily known for their connections to The Cure. History In 1982, Simon Gallup was bassist for The Cure, and Gary Biddles was a member of the band's road crew who was occasional ...

who had also served as a member of the Cure's road crew in the early 1980s. Two other former members of the Cure, bassist

Michael Dempsey Michael Stephen Dempsey (born 29 November 1958) is an English musician, best known as the bassist for the Cure and The Associates (band), the Associates. Biography Dempsey was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now known as Harare, Zimbabwe ...

and guitarist Porl Thompson, contributed to Presence's early demo recordings, with Dempsey receiving some songwriting credits. The band's lineup was eventually completed with bassist Roberto Soave, guitarist Rob Steen, keyboardist Chris Youdell (formerly of Then Jericho), and drummer Alan Burgess. This lineup first released the single "In Wonder", followed by the album ''

'' in 1992, which despite some favorable reviews was not successful. A second album titled ''Closer'' (produced by John Porter) was recorded during this period, but was not released because Tolhurst decided to end the band for personal reasons. ''Closer'' was finally released in 2014, shortly after the death of Gary Biddles. Following the breakup of Presence, several members remained associated with the Cure. Roberto Soave occasionally filled in for Cure bassist Simon Gallup in the mid-1990s. Soave and Rob Steen were later members of the band Babacar with another former Cure member,

Boris Williams Boris Peter Bransby Williams (born 24 April 1951) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for The Cure from 1984 until 1994, and for forming the band Babacar (band), Babacar in the late 1990s. Biography Williams was born in 1951 (som ...

. Tolhurst later formed the electronic band

Levinhurst Levinhurst is an English electronic band formed by keyboardist/drummer Lol Tolhurst, a founding member of the Cure, and his wife Cindy Levinson on vocals. The band's name is a portmanteau of their surnames. To date, Levinhurst has released thre ...

.Price, pp. 218–219.

Members

''–'' keyboards *Gary Biddles ''–'' vocals *Chris Youdell ''–'' keyboards *Alan Burgess ''–'' drums *Roberto Soave ''–'' bass * Rob Steen ''–'' guitar *

''–'' bass (early recording sessions) *Paul Redfern ''–'' bass (later recording sessions) *Kevin Kipnis ''–'' bass (later recording sessions)

Discography

*''

'' (1992) *''Closer'' (2014)

References

External links

*
Article and picturesInterview with Gary Biddles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Presence English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1993