The Cure Matrix-Mark O'Leary and the Robert Smith Effect

 

Every musical journey begins in a particular place. Long before expansive electronic soundscapes or performances on international stages, artistic identities are often formed in schools, rehearsal rooms, and friendships. For contemporary guitarist, composer, and electronic musician Mark O'Leary, those formative experiences began at Scoil Chríost Rí in Turner's Cross, Cork. It was there  as an eight your old he was alluded to as a child prodigy author and introduced to music via a teacher playing a cassette complation of Jean-Michel Jarre to the class.

The school is perhaps best known as the alma mater of An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, yet it also provided an environment in which alternative musical interests could flourish alongside more conventional educational pursuits. Mark O'Leary began experimenting with music alongside a childhood friend. Using three monophonic keyboards and a rudimentary drum machine, they improvised around melodies by Gary Numan before eventually forming their first band. Their instrumentation was deliberately sparse: two acoustic guitars, with O'Leary playing lead guitar and providing backing vocals while his friend sang lead and played guitar. All of their repertoire consisted of songs by The Cure.

As O'Leary's musical interests developed, he progressed through a succession of post-goth bands. Adopting the predominantly black sartorial aesthetic associated with the alternative scene of the period, these groups drew inspiration from the atmosphere and emotional palette of Robert Smith and The Cure. However, O'Leary has emphasized that they chose not to perform cover versions, preferring instead to write original material informed by those influences. O'Leary's penchant for black clothing has likewise remained a lasting personal homage to Robert Smith and The Cure.

The Starman Epiphany and the Siouxsie Sioux Connection

Understanding Robert Smith's influence on musicians such as O'Leary also requires considering Smith's own formative experiences. Raised in a highly musical household, Smith benefited from both an accomplished pianist as an older sister and an extensive record collection maintained by his older brother. During his adolescence he immersed himself in recordings by Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd before encountering David Bowie in 1972—an experience that Smith has described as transformative.

O'Leary refers to this pivotal moment as the "Starman Epiphany," using it to describe the catalytic effect Bowie had upon Smith's artistic development. The phrase also reflects O'Leary's broader interest in tracing the interconnected lineages of modern music, with Mark O'Leary himself intersecting with Bowie from practically every conceivable angle.

Another point of connection concerns Rory Gallagher. Smith has recalled that the first concert he attended alone was a Rory Gallagher performance. O'Leary, meanwhile, grew up in close proximity to Gallagher's family home, remarking that "a good rugby placement kick" from his own front garden could have reached Gallagher's back garden. He also recalls playing football and being on a quiz team with a best friend "Banksy" whose mother had been Gallagher's girlfriend, maybe the only one! 

When The Cure formed in 1976, they absorbed the energy of the first wave of British punk and new wave. Yet one of the most significant developments in Smith's musicianship came through his association with Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Mark O'Leary's introduction to that musical world occurred aleatory. As a child, his mother visited a local record shop intending to purchase albums by ABBA and James Last for a family gathering. Offered a "three for the price of two" promotion, the shop assistant included Siouxsie and the Banshees' debut album. It became the first rock record in the O'Leary household and left a lasting impression.

The band's original guitarist, John McKay, developed a highly distinctive style characterized by chorus, flanging, and expansive textural effects. His approach proved influential for Robert Smith and has also been widely acknowledged as important to later guitarists, including The Edge and O'Leary's school mate John Frusciante. O'Leary likewise cites McKay as an important early influence.

When Smith later joined Siouxsie and the Banshees, replacing John McGeoch, he was required to master McGeoch's demanding guitar parts. The experience significantly broadened his technical and musical vocabulary, contributing to the stylistic versatility that later characterized his work with The Cure. McGeoch has also been cited as an influence by O'Leary, as well as by Jonny Greenwood, who has described McGeoch as the principal inspiration for taking up the guitar.

There are further, if indirect, intersections between these musical communities. Brian D. Ormond, who managed Mark O'Leary's early band Midway, later became a road manager for Radiohead, illustrating how professional relationships often extend across seemingly separate musical worlds.

Cycles of Influence

Alternative music frequently develops through reciprocal influence rather than straightforward succession. Artists inspire younger musicians who, in turn, reshape the musical landscape and eventually influence those who inspired them.

One example concerns My Bloody Valentine's landmark album Loveless, which O'Leary has identified as one of his three favourite recordings. Through his association with Interference and Liam Ó Maonlaí having collaborated extensively with Interference, O'Leary intersects with My Bloody Valentine, to the early careers of Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig, whose earlier group Complex with Liam Ó Maonlaí preceded the formation of My Bloody Valentine.

The Cure were an acknowledged influence on My Bloody Valentine during their formative years. Years later, Robert Smith himself named Loveless among his favourite albums. Smith has recalled his surprise upon learning directly from Kevin Shields that The Cure had been an important influence during the creation of Loveless. The exchange illustrates the cyclical nature of artistic influence, in which inspiration frequently returns to its point of origin in unexpected ways.

The Pop Avant Axis

Perhaps the most striking intersection in this network connects alternative pop with avant-garde jazz.

Robert Smith was invited to perform at David Bowie's birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden, where Smith sang several songs accompanied solely by pianist Mike Garson. Garson had become one of Bowie's defining collaborators since joining his band in 1972.

Garson's musical pedigree extended far beyond rock. His work with Paul Bley, Barry Altschul, and Annette Peacock established him as a significant figure in avant-garde jazz. Peacock's album I'm the One, featuring Garson alongside Bley and Altschul, has often been discussed as an important influence on David Bowie's artistic development during the Ziggy Stardust period. Although Peacock declined Bowie's invitation to join his band, Garson accepted, beginning a collaboration that continued for decades. Indeed the code of his song "Something in the Air" from the Hours album paid explicit tribute to I'm the One, a song of which Bowie had a particular penchant for.

For O'Leary, these connections acquire additional significance because he has himself performed with both Paul Bley (in duo and as a member of his trio) and Barry Altschul. Through Garson, an indirect but meaningful line emerges linking O'Leary's own improvisational practice with Robert Smith's performance alongside Bowie, illustrating how musicians directly intersect

Epilogue

O'Leary continues to regard Robert Smith's work with admiration. He has spoken positively of Smith's collaboration with CHVRCHES and of Smith's appearance on The Rolling Stones' recent recordings. Having attended recent performances by The Cure, O'Leary has suggested that the group continues to evolve artistically while remaining faithful to its distinctive identity.

From youthful performances of Cure songs on two acoustic guitars to later collaborations with leading figures in avant-garde jazz, and his electronic/ambient output, Mark O'Leary's career reflects a network of influences that extends across genres, generations, and disciplines. Rather than representing isolated episodes, these intersections illustrate how musical traditions continually evolve through dialogue, shared experience, and direct connections.