Thompson spent his early childhood in
London and his family later moved to
Crawley. He was a school friend of
Robert Smith,
Michael Dempsey, and
Lol Tolhurst and played with them in various local bands that eventually evolved into the Easy Cure. He adopted the stage name Porl Thompson to avoid confusion with
Paul Thompson of
Roxy Music. Thompson's guitar style did not mesh with Smith's
post-punk songwriting, After art school, Thompson formed an artistic partnership with Andy Vella for music-related projects. Their company was later known as Parched Art. In 1981, 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. Parched Art would design most of the Cure's album and single covers, along with various other merchandise, until the early 1990s. During this period, Thompson performed music part-time, as a member of the Exotic Pandas and as an occasional contributor for
the Glove (a side project by Robert Smith and
Steve Severin). Thompson then officially joined the Cure, first appearing in videos and television performances for songs from
The Top and playing guitar and keyboards on the ensuing tour, though he did not play on most of the album's studio recordings. When Robert Smith revamped the Cure's lineup in 1984, Thompson became the band's lead guitarist and occasionally played keyboards and other instruments. He is often cited as the most technically proficient musician in the Cure's history. He rejoined the Cure in 2005 and played on their 2008 album
4:13 Dream. During this period,
Schecter Guitars released a Thompson signature model featuring graphics by artist Kev Grey. The guitar was featured in the book
108 Rock Star Guitars by photographer Lisa S. Johnson. In 2011 he left the Cure again to focus on art. In 2019, he was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cure.
As an artist Thompson and Andy Vella began an artistic partnership in the early 1980s and later co-founded the design firm Parched Art. Known primarily for album and single covers for the Cure, the company's most recognizable sleeves were primarily drawn, painted, or photographed by Thompson. Turning to painting after his first departure from the Cure, Thompson began exhibiting his art in 1999. In 2002, he held an exhibition of paintings in England and Canada titled "100% Sky". In 2015, Thompson held his first exhibition in the United States, with abstract landscape paintings displayed at MusicHead Art Gallery in Los Angeles under the title "...Through the Eyes of Birds". == Personal life ==