The Cure drummer Lol Tolhurst, Siouxsie & the Banshees drummer Budgie, and veteran producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee have teamed for “Los Angeles”, their debut album under their own names. Due out November 3rd from Play It Again Sam, the 13-track effort sports guest appearances from U2’s the Edge, Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, and IDLES’ Mark Bowen, among many others.
The first single and title track is enlivened with vocals from LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and is out with a video directed by John Liwag.
Longtime friends from their days in the legendary U.K. post-punk and goth scene and the co-hosts of the Curious Creatures podcast, Tolhurst and Budgie hatched the idea to make music together after a December 2018 meeting in Los Angeles. After two sessions a few months later, including one at the house of Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee, they sought out assistance from Lee, who advised them to start all over. “Lol is very leveling,” Budgie says. “He calls himself a pragmatist, whereas I’m very impetuous, and it was like Garret was bridging the two, in his consultation room.”
What began taking shape as an instrumental record navigated another new twist at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, when Tolhurst reached out to Murphy about potentially adding some vocals. He then put out feelers to other singing friends, resulting in eventual contributions from Gillespie, Brock, and Lonnie Holley, among others.
The trio is hoping to perform some live shows in some fashion in the future, and Tolhurst is also releasing his second book, “GOTH: A History”, in September. The volume is said to explore “creative giants like the Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division, and many more great bands that offered a place of refuge for the misfits of the 80s and ever since.”
The Fat Angel Sings 