Jason Toop Cooper (born 31 January 1967) is an English drummer, best known as a member of

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 ...

since 1995.

Biography

Cooper was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and grew up in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. His father, an employee of

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, gave him a copy of the early Cure album '' Seventeen Seconds''; Cooper became a fan of the band and first saw them live in 1990. He studied drums at London's Drumtech institute, where he later became a patron and visiting artist. Cooper's first professional drumming work was as an early member of

My Life Story My Life Story are an English Pop music, pop group formed in London, England, in 1984. The group's success peaked in the mid to late 1990s as part of the Britpop era. Fronted by singing, singer/songwriter Jake Shillingford, the group inherited th ...

, and he also performed as a session drummer for acts including

Jean-Jacques Burnel Jean-Jacques Burnel (born 21 February 1952) is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist with the punk rock band the Stranglers. He is the only original member to remain in the band. Life and career Burnel perf ...

and Billy Ray Martin. In 1995 he responded to an ad that said simply "Drummer wanted for international band". The ad was placed by the Cure following the departure of previous drummer

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 ...

. Cooper's first live performance with the band was in Greece in June 1995. Cooper was one of four drummers to play on the band's 1996 album '' Wild Mood Swings'', but he was invited to join the band officially and has been their drummer ever since. Cooper also participated in the

COGASM COGASM is a side project of singer Robert Smith and drummer Jason Cooper of The Cure, and guitarist Reeves Gabrels. The first two letters of the members' surnames were taken to form the group's name, which is properly spelled with all capital le ...

project with bandmate Robert Smith in 1998. He has made guest appearances with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, Bat for Lashes, Marina and the Diamonds, and

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosi ...

. Cooper also composes music for film, most notably the score for the horror movie '' From Within'', for which he and co-composer Oliver Kraus won the award for best original score at the 2008 Solstice Film Festival. 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. In 2023, Cooper and Smith collaborated with

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...

for a one-off single. Cooper is also known as a bicyclist for charity fund-raising events.

Discography with The Cure

* '' Wild Mood Swings'' (1996) * '' Galore'' (1997) * '' Bloodflowers'' (2000) * ''

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 ...

'' (2001) * ''

Trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

'' (2003), DVD * ''

'' (2004) * '' Festival 2005'' (2005), DVD * '' 4:13 Dream'' (2008) * '' Bestival Live 2011'' (2011) * ''40 Live Curaetion 25 + Anniversary'' (2018) DVD/BluRay * '' Songs of a Lost World'' (2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jason 1967 births Living people The Cure members English rock drummers English male drummers Musicians from London Musicians from Bath, Somerset