Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst (born Laurence Andrew Tolhurst on February 3, 1959 in Horley, England) was a founding member and drummer/keyboardist for the UK band The Cure. At the time of the band's founding, he played drums, and as a drummer he helped record the albums Three Imaginary Boys/Boys Don't Cry, Seventeen Seconds, Faith (Cure album) and Pornography (album). After the tour Pornography tour in 1982, he assumed keyboard duties. Throughout 1986 and 1987, Tolhurst became a victim of excessive alcohol and drug use, often making him unable to perform, which led to Psychedelic Furs keyboardist Roger O'Donnell frequently filling his place. In early 1989, the rest of the band decided that they had enough and fired Tolhurst because at that point he was hardly contributing anything, paving the way for O'Donnell to permanently fill in the empty slot. The Cure is a British band widely seen as one of the leading pioneers of the British alternative rock and post-punk scenes of the 1980s. ... Three Imaginary Boys is English rock band The Cures debut album. ... Boys Dont Cry is an album by The Cure, released in August 1980 (see 1980 in music). ... Seventeen Seconds is an album by The Cure, released in April, 1980 by Fiction Records. ... Faith is the fourth album by British alternative rock band The Cure, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music). ... Pornography is the fourth studio album by British gothic rock/alternative rock band The Cure, which was released in 1982 (see 1982 in music). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Psychedelic Furs are an influential English post-punk band founded in the late 1970s. ... Roger ODonnell (born October 29, 1955) is an English musician best known for his work with bands; The Cure, Psychedelic Furs and the Thompson Twins. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1994, Lol sued Robert Smith and Fiction Records over royalties payments, also claiming joint ownership of the name The Cure with Smith, but he eventually lost after a long legal battle. Since then, he has recently gone on to begin a new project with his wife, Cindy Levinson, called Levinhurst. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Robert James Smith (born April 21, 1959 in Blackpool, England), a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, has been the lead singer and driving force behind English post-punk band The Cure since its founding in 1976. ... The Cure is a British band widely seen as one of the leading pioneers of the British alternative rock and post-punk scenes of the 1980s. ...

Trivia

• Even though Lol didn't contribute to Disintegration whatsoever (according to Robert Smith) he is credited as playing 'other instruments' in the liner notes.
• The main reason for Tolhurst's switch to keyboards was because he couldn't play the drums for "Let's Go to Bed". He tried to record a decent drum track for about three days, which cost a small fortune in studio time. In the end, they wound up hiring a session drummer, Steve Goulding, to do it.