Boris Peter Bransby Williams (born 24 April 1951) is an English

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, best known as the drummer for

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 ...

from 1984 until 1994, and for forming the band Babacar in the late 1990s.

Biography

Williams was born in 1951 (some sources mistakenly say 1957) in Versailles, France to English parents and his family moved to Farnham, England during his childhood. He first played drums in local bands with future Cure bandmate

Roger O'Donnell Roger O'Donnell (born 29 October 1955) is an English keyboardist best known as a longtime member of The Cure, which he first joined in 1987 and for which he has served three different tenures. O'Donnell has also performed as a touring and sessio ...

and originally focused on

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

. He then turned to

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and served as a session and touring musician for

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were an English Pop music, pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scori ...

and

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo ...

. In 1984,

needed a new drummer in the middle of an American tour, when previous drummer Andy Anderson was suddenly fired. Williams was recommended for the position by the Cure's then-bassist/producer

Phil Thornalley Phillip Carden Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter, musician, and producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He produced the album ''Pornography'' by The Cure and was later their bass player. He began releas ...

, who had worked with Williams while engineering the Thompson Twins album '' Quick Step'' ''& Side Kick''. Williams learned the Cure's set list in three days, and his first performance with the band was in November 1984. He was then invited to be the band's permanent drummer, and his first album as a full-time member was ''

The Head on the Door ''The Head on the Door'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band the Cure. It was released on 30 August 1985 by Fiction Records. Preceded by the single " In Between Days" which had reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart, ''The Head on t ...

'' in 1985. Williams was present during the Cure's most successful period and is often cited by fans as the best drummer in the band's history. Known for experimenting with electronic percussion and loops, Williams was a primary contributor to the band's remix album '' Mixed Up'' in 1990. He was also known for his innovative drumming style, with ''

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2 ...

'' saying: " eis a god among drummers due to his complete willingness to create an entire beat based on doing rolls on the various toms in his kit." Williams has been cited by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' for his subtle but forceful drumming, "improbably stealing the show from his bandmates"; and critics often praise his technical and timekeeping skills. Williams is also credited with contributions to albums by Shelleyan Orphan, featuring his longtime partner

Caroline Crawley Caroline Lesley Crawley (8 August 1963 – 4 October 2016) was an English singer who sang for various bands. Career Caroline Crawley was the co-founder of Shelleyan Orphan alongside guitarist Jemaur Tayle. They met in their mutual home town ...

. He left the Cure for personal reasons in 1994. Later in that decade, he formed the band Babacar with Crawley and various other associates of The Cure; his former Cure bandmate Porl Thompson made occasional contributions to the band. Babacar released a self-titled album in 1998. Williams contributed to new acoustic versions of Cure songs that were recorded for their ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' compilation in 2001, though he did not officially rejoin the band. In 2019, he was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

as a member of the Cure.

Discography

;The Cure * ''

'' (1985) * '' The Cure in Orange'' (1986), VHS * '' Standing on a Beach'' (1986) * '' Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me'' (1987) * '' Disintegration'' (1989) * '' Mixed Up'' (1990) * '' Entreat'' (1991) * ''

Wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. Sociology Several cu ...

'' (1992) * ''

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

'' (1993) * '' Show'' (1993) * '' Galore'' (1997) * ''

'' (2001) ;Thompson Twins * ''

Quick Step & Side Kick ''Quick Step & Side Kick'' is the third studio album by the English new wave band Thompson Twins. It was released in February 1983 by Arista Records, and was their first album to be released as a trio (the band consisted of up to seven members ...

'' (1983) ;Strawberry Switchblade * '' Strawberry Switchblade'' (1985) ;Robbie Nevil * '' Robbie Nevil'' (1986) ;Ian McCulloch * '' Candleland'' (1989) ;Shelleyan Orphan * ''Humroot'' (1992) * ''We Have Everything We Need'' (2008) ;Babacar * '' Babacar'' (1998)

References

External links

Boris Williams bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Boris 1957 births Living people The Cure members English rock drummers Babacar (band) members New wave drummers