How to sound like Simon Gallup of The Cure - Bass Habits - Ep 20 

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I wouldn't have gotten a bass guitar if it weren't for Simon Gallup. What makes his style so special is that it's NOT complex...but it sounds perfect. His riffs are very catchy. He is extremely talented and could easily play more complex stuff if he wanted to. Instead, he chooses to play riffs that are wonderfully infectious. Hats off to Mr. Gallup. A true legend.

He's a hugely underrated bassist. I'm a bass player having taken it up in my mid 40s after playing the most melodic of all instruments, the violin, for 40 years. Arthritis killed the fiddle for me so I picked up the bass. It is easy to conflate fancy finger work with excellent bass playing and all too often melodic jazz bassists are seen as the 'pinnacle'.. and yes, they are impressive. I speak from some authority here because if you want fancy fingerwork, Vivaldi wrote the book 300 years ago. No, the biggest single challenge and an extraordinarily difficult thing to do well is what classical players call the bass continuo.. the use of the bass to set the groove and stick to it with the accuracy and consistency of a metronome. This is extraordinarily difficult to do well and takes a lot of dedicated practice, as any instrumental skill does. Gallup is all the more extraordinarily because of his extremely physical playing style. I have a 1 year old cocker spaniel and if she was a bass player, she would be Simon Gallup. Last night I watched the Cure live at the Areana in Leeds. Gallup not only plays the bass off his ankles but scampers around the stage like a spaniel, interacting with the other band members, the crowd etc, a bit like Flea does. However, whilst he is doing that he is this human metronome. The Cure, like all great bands, has an incredibly tight rhythm section and Gallup is at the heart of it.

I grew up wanting to play like a Rastaman on Bass, but Simon Gallup did something for me that drew me to The Cure, love it !!!

The Cure and Gallup were my inspirations to start playing bass in the 80's. Still playing today. Thanks for the video.

SIMON GALLUP IS THE CURE AND THE CURE IS SAIMON GALUP ¡FOREVER!

Very simple??? Wow!!! Nothing simple in it! especially when you" create a bass style completely!! He is in the top 5 all time.

My favorite part is he doesn't leave gaps in the sound, Simon always fills the groove with a note for every measure

Simon is a great inspiration - He is one of the reasons i picked up the bass guitar and motivated me to play.

Simon is my biggest idol on bass guitar, and the biggest reason I picked up a bass guitar 30 years ago

U2 and the Cure are very similar in terms of song structuring. Lots of repetition, tons of space for the rhythm section to fill out, and a range of atmospheric melodies that become entrancing. Love them both!

As a vocalist who writes songs from the bass up, this was extremely informative. I could have listened for another 20 minutes! More of these underrated punk new wave bassists of the late 70's/early 80's, please!

Love how succinct and articulate these videos are mate.

Great breakdown. I'd also add that Gallup uses the minor sixth a lot. I learned rudimentary music theory when I was four by plunking on piano keys and figuring out what sounded good together, and I never found the use of the sixth until years later listening to The Cure.

Simple and effective, Simon is one m6 favorites in the world

The reason for people describing the bass as melodic is because of the heavy use of the Fender Bass VI in the band. They use the Bass VI as a lead instrument, playing what would traditionally be guitar parts, for both rhythm and lead. So you have 2 Basses in many songs. If you watch the video for Primary you realize both Robert and Simon are playing P-Basses and guitar is simply sprinkled in certain points to highlight the mid to high notes... Fast forward to Show in 1992 and you see Robert VI in hand doing both parts

1 of UK's best 80's bands. Damn Good. Long Live The Cure

I like how you give props to *Robert* and his style of composing songs as a reason why *Simon's* somewhat simplistic bass lines stand out so much.... However, beyond the truthful realization that he does use a lot of pedals with his bass playing, some of his bass parts are pretty intricate, and actually drive the songs to where they may have not been without!!

Love Simon

One of my favorite Bass players! "Jumping Someone Else's Train" and "Other Voices" are awesome with their Bass lines. Thanks for featuring Gallup on your Channel.

Thanks a ton

Play “push,” fascination street,” and “the same deep water as you” as part of a three hour concert and tell me his bass lines don’t require stamina. :) Great video!

These videos emphasising how important the groove is over anything too complicated is an absolute must for all beginner to intermediate bass players. Your cutting through the bullsh*t, great work.

We need a Steve Severin (of Siouxsie & The Banshees which Robert Smith was also a member of) video as a counterpart to this...

Cool video here. If there's a bass video on Simon Gallup, then another cool and *_SERIOUSLY_* overlooked bass player that deserves a video too is Steven Severin of Siouxsie & The Banshees. Especially since, The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees and The Glove are all sister bands. In many ways, Severin and Gallup share many similarities and in many ways, they don't. Both are excellent players and both deserve their time in the spotlight equally...

Thank you very much for sharing this! Simon is one of my favourite bassists ever, and I'm thinking of going back to bass; I'm a guitarist.

You are so so right! It’s not about playing every note on the fretboard at once! It’s about playing something people want to hear...

Probably the most influential bass player to my own songwriting other than Carlos D of Interpol (and I just watched your excellent video on him as well :) when I go back and listen to some of these Cure songs I'm like "oh my god, when I wrote [my song x, y or z] I was totally just ripping off that bassline" lol

Never clicked so fast. Please, Tim Commerford and/or Ben Shepherd!

Cool video, but I don't really agree. His basslines aren't melodic? But what about Play for Today or Lovesong? They definetly aren't just rootnotes. And I wouldn't call their drum parts too simple either. Most of their late 80's drum parts (when Boris Williams joined the band) are actually fairly complicated and very intricate.

I would say another trait is the use of the emphasis of a particular note to emphasise the rythym. A forest, uses the 7th in the A, the 6th in the C, the 7th in F and the 5th in the D. Fascination Street also does this.

awesome timing, I've just been appreciating Gallup's contributions to some of The Cure's best work over the past month or so ..

Playing repetitive bass lines like his are extremely hard. He writes amazing bass lines and knows how to carry a song so well. Him and Hunter Burgan from AFI are my biggest influences to play bass.

The really melodic basslines are mostly played on a bassVI by smith additionally to Gallup´s bass, but are often mistaken for a guitar line.

Grandissimo, finalmente un video incentrato su Simon Gallup e il suo caratteristico modo di suonare. Sarà anche molto modesto tecnicamente ma in studio e sopratutto dal vivo è un metronomo umano, non sbaglia mai un colpo e le sue trame melodiche sono letteralmente fondamentali per il sound dei Cure!

I love your videos, your analyzes and your covers, you are a great bassist and a genius analyzing the bassists of great bands. Kind regards from Buenos Aires Argentina

Simon Gallup rules!!! His riffs are hipnotic and quite fun to play. My first ever cover was Just Like Heaven which I played from tablature. TY for this brief, but complete analysis of his technique.

I think Galoop is a great bass player i really like the bass line is Seventeen seconds album. Also I have a recommendation... Could you make a video about Fat mike of NOFX? He has a great style

Really nice to hear about Gallup on your channel. Thanks!

Great video. I think Gallup achieved the distorted sound on 'Fascination Street' by doing nothing more than down picking with a bit of fret buzz and light gauge strings.

Dear mr PaulDelBello, next can you please make "how to sound like Paul Simonon of the clash" , please:)🙏🙏

Informative without being too long or overly complicated! Love it!

Awesome video and perfect analysis. Simon is the boss, and such an amazing bassist and songwriter.

Otherside made me love bass... Simon made me a bassist

The Cure, Joy Division/New Order, Bauhause, and the Cult. The big alt bands of my youth that suggested ‘you can do that, too!’. Fun music to play, and build confidence.

Fantastic video. Simon is one of my influences with playing bass, so this is appreciated.

Thank you!

Bravo Paul! ;-) Gallup è sottovalutatissimo, addirittura certi manco sanno che esista. Eppure io, che pure ho sentito poco dei Cure, lo reputo uno da cui ci sia MOLTO da imparare quanto a stile di composizione e di accompagnamento, suono e groove. Io l'ho scoperto sulla colonna sonora del film Il Corvo, la canzone è Burn: beh, c'è un riff di basso tribale, con un suono "rugginoso", che per me sono bellissimi. Ogni bassista dovrebbe studiarlo a fondo, perché è davvero bravissimo e grazie a questo ha segnato un'epoca. Uno dei miei preferiti.

You mention the simplicity of Gallup's bass lines, but to do it right is not simple. Lol

Well done. Informative with great examples. Shows how you don't need to be flashy to get the job done. It's all about playing to the song and keeping the groove.

Great great video man! I love Simon's lines, simple yet effective!

Hi Paul very nice channel of yours and very good analysis. Keep on the good work.

Great video, I think Simon Gallup are like a "happier" or more swinging Peter Hook in his playing style

More information in 4+ minutes than many RU-vidrs post in 20. Cheers mate, you have a new subscriber!

Thanks for the video. Love the bass of Gallup along with Peter Hook.

His basslines are always the musical hook of the song. Not melodic in the common sense (of 'moving up and down in one tuneful passage') but just damn catchy.

I've just found your channel due to recommendations, which RU-vid gave me after watching a couple of John Taylor's home lessons of playing the bass guitar, and now I'm stuck and watching your series "Bass Habits". I've never heard about the videos dedicated exactly to bass guitar features and techniques, and, moreover, I like the way you explain the theme (I say it, while English is not my native language), so thank you very much for your work! By the way, I would be very glad if you made the videos about the bass habits of Steve Kilbey (The Church), Mick Karn (Japan) and John Avila (Oingo Boingo). :-)

Have you mastered The Hanging Garden bass line yet Paul? Best of luck 🙂

Nice work, and dont forget, The Cure came from punk (few chords) and Simon play several intruments and he is a composer also

Thank for this video Paul

Simon gallup and john taylor of duran duran are the reason why i am learning bass at the very young age of 51 😊😊😊

For me the best bass Player in the world. If I want to play bass is because of him. How it sounds. If i'm watching this vídeo it's because of him. When i buzz a song of the cure I've actually realized that it is the bass of Gallup. Einfach der Beste ist er. 👍👍🎸

Yes! Lovesong!!!

Day infinity of asking for Peter Steele of Type O Negative/Carnivore

I really liked this video. The aeolian & using the 2nd are great info. But to say the drums are simple hasn’t listened to Kiss Me. No Toms? Or Cymbals? Yes their snare & kick game is strong but there is a lot happening. The Cure started using professional drummer’s on Head On The Door 1985. Odd time signatures, Cure Drummer’s use two hi-hats. One to pedal accents and one to play the hi-hat more traditionally. The reason this is essential is there are often so many crashes happening the pedal hi-hat keeps beat & time until it settles into the groove. And listen to Icing Sugar on Kiss Me. Not to mention all the essential samples being triggered by the drummer while they play their drum part. In fact a lot of the musicians pull double duty live in the cure. It’s a huge sound and 45 years of music. Great info provided, just no misinformation to support solid bass observations. Thanks

Dope I’ve never heard of the cure I’ll have to check them out

Nice one Paul- Always loved the Cure's early stuff. They had some big hair!

Once upon a time musicians use to call the major and minor scale by “major”and “minor”. Now thanks to what they learn on RU-vid they can look cool by calling them Ionian and aeolian.

Very well explained that seems deceiving easy to do the tricks he does.

When I think about it...kinda like R.E.M....lots of arpeggios and plenty of room for the bass. Mike Mills plays some very cool, kinda simple bass lines. Great vid by the way 🙂

Nice my friend ...hugs from Brazil I'm super fan of cure ..

Really good synopsis ☺ Thanks!

Visto che siamo entrati in territorio post punk secondo me ci starebbe pure un episodio su Peter Hook dei Joy Division/New Order

Keep up the good work. Your videos are very informative. Simon is one of the reasons I took up bass.

Thank you, these videos are so useful.

Don`t forget, that in many cure songs two basses are used. Robert Smith often plays a bass VI.

Nice work

Wow how did i miss this vid for 6 whole days!?!? I learned to play bass circa 1996 to two bands, The Cure and Green Day. You have now covered the bassists who i got my early habits from and that i can still hear in my basslines. The Cure is my fav band of all time too. I picked up the bass because i was using my brother's guitar to play cure basslines... Also his live tone from 1989 to 1993 was killer. I have to say i learned late that SOME of the cool Cure basslines were written by Smith and not Galllup. For example most of the basslines on HOTD, Like Close to me, is a Smith bassline.

Fantastic video as always.

Simon gallop 🏆

Thanks so much, I am embarrassed I need that explanation!

Peter Hook please ;)

Lovesong has the best bassline ever. It is the only cover song I have ever learnt and whenever I am writing a bassline my first attemp is usually trying to emulate it.

Great analysis.

Hell yes

Have you done Andy Rourke of The Smiths

Great Video Can you make a Video about Frank Bello from Anthrax please

Ah this is just another brilliant video. I just love this series you are doing and appreciate all the work that you put into them. Some day I hope you will cover a bassist from my hometown, Adam Clayton, that would be absolutely amazing. Thanks so much for this series 🎸

Man, you should make a video about Martin Glover or Paul Raven of Killing Joke. Those guys were amazing

It's interesting how similar Gallop's playing is to Krist Novecelic. Might just be me, but I feel there may be some influence there.

👍🏻 + Paul Webb (Talk Talk)

I exactly agree! You don't have to go crazy and show off like the Dave 504 to play good basslines

Please, talk about Andy Rourke! Criminally underrated bassist.

Useful! Thanks for this video.

As less notes as possible for the best beat as possible. This is what is all about bass. Simplicity. It is harder than fiddeling a lot of notes. Supporting the Band...the Song...Gallup does it with exzellente.

Very interesting video!

I should add this one VIII : you have to walk or run all along the stage if you really want to sound like Simon Gallup.

Thank you for your videos. I would like to ask one more time to make an analysis video of Eddie Jackson from Queensryche. He is one of the best yet underrated rock bass players from my point of view.

Love the content; I'd really like to see you break down the style of Alex Webster.

Un brano come let s go to bed non è sicuramente semplice da eseguire :)