16 Facts About Pearl Thompson

Pearl Thompson was born on Paul Stephen Thompson; 8 November 1957 and is an English musician and artist.

Thompson is best known as a member of the English alternative rock band The Cure from 1983 to 1993 and from 2005 to 2011, during which he was credited as Porl Thompson and played mainly guitar with occasional keyboards and saxophone.

Pearl Thompson spent his early childhood in London and his family later moved to Crawley.

Pearl Thompson was a school friend of Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey, and Lol Tolhurst and played with them in various local bands, eventually evolving into the Easy Cure.

Pearl Thompson adopted the stage name Porl Thompson to avoid confusion with Paul Thompson of Roxy Music.

In 1981, Pearl Thompson volunteered his services for the Cure's single and album covers, with his first designs for the band being the "Primary" single and then the Faith album.

When Robert Smith revamped the Cure's lineup in 1984, Pearl Thompson became the band's lead guitarist and occasionally played keyboards and other instruments.

Pearl Thompson is often cited as the most technically proficient musician in the Cure's history.

Pearl Thompson left the Cure in 1993 to spend more time with his young children.

In 2002, Pearl Thompson contributed to the album Dreamland by Robert Plant.

Pearl Thompson rejoined the Cure in 2005 and played on their 2008 album 4:13 Dream.

Pearl Thompson is featured on the 2016 album Callus by rapper Gonjasufi.

Pearl Thompson then pursued an advanced art degree at the University of Brighton; while a student in 2020, he created the pictorial book Ways of Dying, illustrating types of deaths recorded in London in 1632.

Pearl Thompson earned a degree in illustration with honors from the university.

Pearl Thompson legally changed his name to Pearl Thompson in 2012 to signify his art career as opposed to his previous music career.

Pearl Thompson became Smith's brother-in-law when he married Janet, and the couple had four children before divorcing in 2000.