Andy Rourke

Andrew Michael Rourke (17 January 1964 – 19 May 2023) was an English musician best known as the bassist of the 1980s indie rock band the Smiths. Regarded as one of the greatest bassists of his generation, he was known for his melodic and funk-inspired approach to bass playing.

Rourke joined the Smiths after their first gig, having known guitarist Johnny Marr since secondary school, and played on their entire discography. After the group broke up in 1987, he performed on some of lead vocalist Morrissey's early solo releases. Rourke recorded with Sinéad O'Connor and the Pretenders in the early 1990s, and was a member of the supergroup Freebass and the band D.A.R.K., and later Blitz Vega with Kav Sandhu. He organised the Versus Cancer concerts from 2006 to 2009.

Early life Rourke was born in Manchester, and grew up on the Racecourse Estate in Ashton upon Mersey. His Irish father, Michael, worked as an architect; his mother, Mary (née Stone), He was raised by his father in Ashton-upon-Mersey, and later Sharston, after his mother separated from him and left the family home.

He received an acoustic guitar from his parents when he was seven years old. At the age of 11, he befriended a young John Maher (soon to be Johnny Marr) with whom he shared an interest in music: both attended St Augustine's Grammar School in Sharston. The pair spent lunch breaks in school jamming and playing on their guitars. When Marr and Rourke formed a band, Rourke switched to bass, which he fell in love with and continued to play for the rest of his career.

Rourke left school when he was 15 and passed through a series of menial jobs, playing guitar and bass in various rock bands, as well as in the short-lived funk band Freak Party, with Marr.

Career The Smiths

Marr later teamed up with Morrissey to form the Smiths. Rourke joined the band after its first gig in 1982, when Marr fired original bass player Dale Hibbert, and remained through the rest of its existence. He was also praised for rockabilly-inspired basslines on the tracks "Rusholme Ruffians" and "Nowhere Fast".

Rourke used heroin for twenty years from the age of 16. He was arrested for drug possession and sacked from the band in early 1986, via a handwritten note left on his car windscreen by Morrissey. Marr described Rourke's contribution to that album as "something no other bass player could match", and the heavy bassline on the title track as one of the best he had heard. Rourke played cello on several Smiths tracks, including "Shakespeare's Sister", "Rubber Ring", and the Troy Tate version of "Pretty Girls Make Graves". The Smiths released their fourth and final studio album Strangeways, Here We Come, in 1987 to critical acclaim, and broke up soon after.

Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce started legal proceedings against Morrissey and Marr over royalties. Rourke, who had financial issues due to his heroin use, settled out of court in 1989 for £83,000 and 10% of future royalties while relinquishing all further claims; Joyce pursued the claim until 1996 and was awarded substantially more in court. Rourke filed for bankruptcy in 1999. Aziz Ibrahim (formerly of the Stone Roses) and ex-Oasis guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs as Moondog One, which also included former Smiths members Joyce and Gannon. The trio released their debut studio album, Science Agrees, in 2016 through the independent label Cooking Vinyl.

In 2016, Rourke appeared on the cover of Bass Guitar.

In January 2018, it was announced that Rourke, Joyce and Gannon would take part in Classically Smiths, a series of classical music concerts based on the Smiths' discography, with the Manchester Camerata. Rourke released a statement, saying that he had never agreed to take part in the event; Joyce and Gannon subsequently withdrew and the events were cancelled. with guitarist and vocalist Kav Sandhu, formerly of Happy Mondays. Their first single, "Hey Christo", was released in 2019.

Also in 2019, Blitz Vega recorded a live EP at Abbey Road Studios In 2022, Blitz Vega released the single "Strong Forever", featuring Johnny Marr as their guest guitarist.

Personal life Rourke moved to New York City in early 2009, where he remained until his death. In 2012, he married Francesca Mor. He organised further concerts in the three following years.

Death On the morning of 19 May 2023, Rourke died from a "lengthy" battle with pancreatic cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He was 59.

All three of Rourke's former Smiths bandmates paid tribute to him, with Morrissey writing: "He didn't ever know his own power, and nothing that he played had been played by someone else. His distinction was so terrific and unconventional and he proved it could be done...I suppose, at the end of it all, we hope to feel that we were valued. Andy need not worry about that." Johnny Marr described Rourke as a "beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans";

Mural

On 21 November 2024, a mural depicting Rourke was unveiled at The Wheatsheaf pub in Manchester's Northern Quarter. The mural was painted by Akse P19, a Manchester-based street artist. In attendance at the event was Mike Joyce, Nalinee Darmrong (the photographer whose image the work was based on) and Joe Kirwin from Pancreatic Cancer Action.

Equipment Throughout his career, Rourke used a Fender Precision Bass, a Fender Jazz Bass, a Yamaha BB3000 bass and others.

Discography The Smiths

Morrissey Singles "Piccadilly Palare" "Interesting Drug" "November Spawned a Monster"

Freebass Singles "Live Tomorrow You Go Down" – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station

EPs Two Worlds Collide – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station You Don't Know This About Me (The Arthur Baker Remixes) – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station Fritz von Runte vs Freebass Redesign – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station Two Worlds Collide (The Instrumental Mixes) – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station

Albums It's a Beautiful Life – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station / Essential

D.A.R.K. Science Agrees (2016)

Sinéad O'Connor Albums I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990) Singles

"Night in My Veins" (1994) "997" (1994) "Money Talk" (1994)

Ian Brown The World Is Yours (2007)

Blitz Vega

"Hey Christo" (2019) "Lost & Found" (2019) "LA Vampire" (2019) "Strong Vampire" (2022)