Michael Stephen Dempsey (born 29 November 1958) is an English musician and composer, who has played bass as a member of several post-punk and new wave bands, including the Cure and the Associates.
History
Early years
Dempsey was born on 29 November 1958 in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now known as Harare, Zimbabwe); the son of Nancy and William. He moved to Salfords in Surrey, England in 1961, and attended Salfords County School from 1963 to 1970.
He then went to Notre Dame Middle School between 1970 and 1972, where he met Robert Smith, Marc Ceccagno and Lol Tolhurst. Here they first played music together as the Obelisk in April 1972, giving an end-of-year performance for their classmates. Although he is ordinarily known as a bass guitar player, Dempsey played guitar for The Obelisk's only known live performance, whereas one Alan Hill played bass.
He later attended Saint Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School (1972–1976), and Crawley College from 1976 to 1978.
In January 1976 Dempsey became a co-founding member of Malice, along with Smith, Ceccagno, and others. The band also later featured Laurence Tolhurst, and Porl Thompson. They played only a few live shows in December of that same year.
Easy Cure and the Cure: 1977–1979
In 1977, Dempsey, Tolhurst, Smith and Thompson formed Easy Cure, who became known as the Cure following Thompson's departure in April 1978. Dempsey appeared as bassist on the Cure's singles "Killing an Arab" (1978) and "Boys Don't Cry" (1979) and on their 1979 studio album Three Imaginary Boys. Other than frontman Smith, Dempsey had the distinction of being the only other member of the Cure (besides Simon Gallup on the unreleased demo, "Violin Song") to sing lead vocals. He sang the cover version of the Jimi Hendrix song "Foxy Lady", which appears on Three Imaginary Boys. He made his final live performance as a member of the Cure on 15 October 1979 at London's Hammersmith Odeon on the last night of the Cure's tour in support of Siouxsie and the Banshees. In November of that year, however, the singles "Jumping Someone Else's Train" by the Cure and "I'm a Cult Hero"/"I Dig You" by Cure side-project Cult Hero were also released with Dempsey performing, respectively, bass and keyboards. The Cure's Three Imaginary Boys album and singles from 1978 to 1979 featuring Dempsey were later repackaged for the US market as the Boys Don't Cry album in 1980, and he appears on the band's early Peel Sessions between 1978 and 1979. In November 1979, he was fired from the band and replaced by Simon Gallup.
Post-Cure
In 1986, Dempsey appeared in the music video for a new version of "Boys Don't Cry". In 2004, the deluxe edition of Three Imaginary Boys was issued featuring a second disc of rare and previously unreleased material recorded between 1977 and 1979, which again feature Dempsey on bass. He also appears on some tracks on the deluxe edition of Seventeen Seconds (1980).
The Associates: 1979–1983
Upon leaving the Cure, Dempsey became the bassist for Scottish post-punk band the Associates, who (like the Cure) were signed to Fiction Records. He had already performed with the Associates prior to leaving the Cure, but made his debut as their new full-time bassist on 16 November 1979 at Eric's Club in Liverpool; the first night of the Future Pastimes Tour; a "Fiction Records Package" tour featuring the Cure, the Passions and the Associates. He remained the Associates' bassist from 1979 to 1983, appearing on the albums Fourth Drawer Down (1981) and Sulk (1982) along with a number of singles between 1980 and 1983. He also performed with the group on a series of radio sessions recorded for Radio 1's John Peel and David Jensen shows, which were later released in 2003 as the album Radio 1 Sessions Volume 1; 1981–83.
Post-Associates
The original group disbanded in 1983 following the departure of co-founder Alan Rankine, however frontman Billy Mackenzie continued to work under the name of Associates with various collaborators, including Dempsey at times. Dempsey has also continued to collaborate with Rankine. His replacement on bass during Associates' second phase was Roberto Soave, who has since appeared in several bands also featuring members of the Cure including Shelleyan Orphan, Presence and Babacar, as well as taking Gallup's place in the Cure for some live performances.