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 is known for his melodic and funk inspired approach to bass playing.[2][3]

Andy Rourke
Background information
Birth nameAndrew Michael Rourke
Born(1964-01-17)17 January 1964
Manchester, England
Died19 May 2023(2023-05-19) (aged 59)
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)
  • Bass guitar
  • guitar
  • cello
Labels
Formerly of
Spouse(s)
Francesca Mor
​
(m. 2012)​
[1]
WebsiteOfficial website

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. He organised the Versus Cancer concerts from 2006 to 2009.

Early life

Rourke was born in Manchester, Lancashire, on 17 January 1964.[1][4] His father was Irish and his mother was English; he was raised by his father in Ashton-upon-Mersey, and later Sharston, after his mother separated from him and left the family home.[5][6] He received an acoustic guitar from his parents when he was seven years old. At the age of 11 he befriended the 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.[7]

Career

Rourke left school when he was 15[8] 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.[9] Growing up on the Racecourse Estate in Ashton upon Mersey, he began using heroin, a habit that would spiral out of control once he made more money with the Smiths.[10]

The Smiths
Main article: The Smiths
Rourke (furthest left) with the Smiths in 1985

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.[11] The band's second studio album, Meat Is Murder, featured the track "Barbarism Begins at Home", a seven-minute funk-inspired track regarded by several critics as one of Rourke's greatest contributions, along with songs such as This Charming Man, The Queen Is Dead and How Soon Is Now? to name a few examples.[12][11][13] He was also praised for rockabilly-inspired basslines on the tracks "Rusholme Ruffians" and "Nowhere Fast".[11][14]

Suffering from heroin addiction,[15] Rourke was arrested for drug possession and sacked from the band in early 1986, via a handwritten note left on his car windscreen by Morrissey.[10] Experienced session musician Guy Pratt was brought in as a replacement and found Rourke's compositions difficult to learn; he was relieved when Rourke was restored two weeks later, having been cleared to tour the United States.[11] Just after Rourke's restoration, the Smiths released their third studio album, The Queen Is Dead. In his absence, second guitarist Craig Gannon joined the band.[16] 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.[17] Rourke played cello on several Smiths tracks, including "Shakespeare's Sister",[18] "Rubber Ring",[14] "Oscillate Wildly",[19] and the Troy Tate version of "Pretty Girls Make Graves".[20] The Smiths released their fourth and final studio album Strangeways, Here We Come in 1987 to critical acclaim, and broke up soon after.[21]

Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce started legal proceedings against Morrissey and Marr over royalties. Short on money due to his heroin addiction, Rourke settled out of court 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.[22] Having spent the settlement, Rourke later found himself being declared bankrupt following a petition of the Inland Revenue on 25 January 1999.[23]

Later career

Soon after the break-up, Rourke and Joyce played with Sinéad O'Connor. Rourke appears on her second studio album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990).[24][25] With Craig Gannon, he provided the rhythm section for two singles by Smiths vocalist Morrissey – "Interesting Drug" and "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" (both 1989). Rourke also played bass guitar on Morrissey's "November Spawned a Monster" and "Piccadilly Palare" (both 1990)[14] and composed the music for Morrissey's songs "Yes, I Am Blind" (the B-side of "Ouija Board, Ouija Board", 1989); "Girl Least Likely To" (a B-side on the 12-inch single of "November Spawned a Monster"; also released as a bonus track on the 1997 reissue of Viva Hate); and "Get Off the Stage" (the B-side of "Piccadilly Palare").[10][26][21]

He played and recorded with the Pretenders (appearing on some of the tracks on 1994's Last of the Independents);[11] Killing Joke,[11] Badly Drawn Boy (with whom Rourke toured for two years),[27] Aziz Ibrahim (formerly of the Stone Roses),[28] and ex-Oasis guitarist Bonehead as Moondog One, which also included Mike Joyce and Craig Gannon.[21] Rourke also played bass guitar for Ian Brown, both on tour and on Brown's fifth solo studio album The World Is Yours (2007).[29]

Rourke, his then-manager Nova Rehman, his production company, Great Northern Productions, and others organised Manchester v Cancer, a series of concerts to benefit cancer research, later known simply as Versus Cancer. The initiative was prompted when Rehman's father and sister were diagnosed with the disease. The first Manchester v Cancer concert took place in January 2006. It featured a reunion between Rourke and his former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr, who performed one song together.[30] He organised further concerts in the three following years.[31][32][33]

Rourke formed Freebass with bassists Mani (ex-Stone Roses) and Peter Hook (ex-New Order) in 2007 and remained active in the group until August 2010. Early in 2009, he moved to New York City, where he had a programme on East Village Radio[8] and worked as a club DJ with Olé Koretsky under the name Jetlag. This led to Rourke and Koretsky forming the alternative rock band D.A.R.K. with Irish lead vocalist Dolores O'Riordan from the Cranberries.[34] The trio released their debut studio album, Science Agrees, on 9 September 2016.[35]

After the death of O'Riordan, Rourke formed Blitz Vega[36] with guitarist and vocalist Kav Sandhu. Their first single was "Hey Christo", released on 16 April 2019. On 17 November 2022, Blitz Vega released the single "Strong Forever", featuring Johnny Marr as their guest guitarist.[37]

In January 2018, it was announced that Rourke, Mike Joyce and Craig Gannon would take part in Classically Smiths, a series of classical music concerts based on the Smiths' discography, with the Manchester Camerata.[38] 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.[39]

Death

On the morning of 19 May 2023, at age 59, Rourke died from pancreatic cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.[1][4][40][41]

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."[42]

Equipment

Throughout his career, Rourke used a Fender Precision Bass,[43] a Fender Jazz Bass, a Yamaha BB3000 bass and others.[44]

Discography

The Smiths
Main article: The Smiths discography

Morrissey

Singles

Albums

FreeBass

Singles

  • "Live Tomorrow You Go Down" – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station[47]

EPs

  • Two Worlds Collide – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station[48]
  • You Don't Know This About Me (The Arthur Baker Remixes) – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station[49]
  • Fritz von Runte vs Freebass Redesign – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station[50]
  • Two Worlds Collide (The Instrumental Mixes) – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station[51]

Albums

D.A.R.K.

Sinéad O'Connor

The Pretenders

Ian Brown

References
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  2. Tomisich, David (15 July 2023). "The 10 most innovative indie bassists of all time". Mixdown Magazine. Retrieved 4 September 2023 – via www.mixdownmag.com.au.
  3. Barker, Emily (24 July 2014). "40 Of The Greatest Bassists Of All Time – Picked By NME Readers". NME. Retrieved 4 September 2023 – via www.nme.com.
  4. "Telegraph Obituaries – Andy Rourke, musician whose melodious bass-playing was a crucial component of the Smiths' sound". www.telegraph.co.uk. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  5. Campbell, Sean (December 2002). "Second-Generation Irish Rock Musicians in England: Cultural Studies, Pop Journalism and Musical 'Roittes'" (PDF). ljmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  6. "Paddy English man". The Irish Times. 20 November 1999.
  7. "Andy Rourke Interview", YouTube. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  8. "Catching Up With Andy Rourke of The Smiths". HuffPost. 8 February 2011.
  9. Simpson, Dave (23 January 2012). "How we made: Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce on the Smiths' first gig". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
  10. Stokes, Paul (19 May 2023). ""The Smiths Were A Gang. A Band Of Brothers…" Andy Rourke Interviewed". Mojo. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  11. Petridis, Alexis (19 May 2023). "Andy Rourke was the other melodic genius in the Smiths: spry, funky and masterful". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2023. […] on Barbarism Begins at Home, regularly held up as the greatest example of Rourke's playing in the Smiths' oeuvre, he plays writhingly funky slap bass […]
  12. Fleischer, Norman (20 February 2014). "13 Essential tracks of The Smiths". Nothing but Hope and Passion. Retrieved 19 May 2023. It's the shining moment of bassist Andy Rourke who delivers his best work on this almost seven-minute long monster.
  13. Garratt-Stanley, Fred (19 May 2023). "Take a look back at some of Andy Rourke's best ever basslines". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 May 2023. The song's thick slaps and rapid fingerwork showcased Rourke's unique talents expertly.
  14. York, Alan (19 May 2023). "Best Andy Rourke Basslines: 10 Classics From The Smiths and beyond". Dig!. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  15. Moynihan, Michael (13 October 2013). "Andy Rourke Tells All". The Daily Beast.
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  22. Garner, Clare (12 December 1996). "Devious, truculent and unreliable". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  23. "The London Gazette" (PDF). The London Gazette: 1363. 4 February 1999. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  24. Heller, Jason (4 February 2014). "Sinéad O'Connor got what she didn't want: mainstream acceptance". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
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  27. Breathnach, Cillian (19 May 2023). "Smiths bassist Andy Rourke has died aged 59". Guitar.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  28. "AZIZ: YOU LIKE IT?". NME.com. 28 February 1999. Retrieved 22 May 2023. Joyce explained that the band formed when Andy Rourke started working with Ibrahim.
  29. "Ian Brown: 'The World Is Yours'". NME. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  30. Ando, Jeff (29 January 2006). "Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke reunite". Gigwise. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
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  33. "Happy Mondays Latest Act Added to Versus Cancer Charity Gig". Live4Ever. 6 November 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  34. Strauss, Matthew (26 March 2016). "Members of the Smiths, the Cranberries Form New Band D.A.R.K., Share "Curvy"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  35. Galbraith, Alex (6 September 2016). "Cranberries/Smiths supergroup D.A.R.K. share gothic club track 'The Moon'". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
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  43. Puttick, Kate (21 February 2017). "Andy Rourke on D.A.R.K, pre-show nerves, the bass he can't live without and more". MusicRadar.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023. That would be my 1964 P Bass I bought it in New York in 1982, it's been with me ever since.
  44. McIver, Joel (19 May 2023). "Andy Rourke: "If I wasn't eating or in the bath, I had a bass in my hand. I played it constantly"". Guitar World. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
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  50. "Freebass Redesign EP – Fritz von Runte". 24 Hour Distribution. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  51. "Two Worlds Collide – The Instrumental Mixes – Freebass". 24 Hour Distribution. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  52. Bergstrom, John (23 January 2011). "Freebass: It's a Beautiful Life". Pop Matters. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
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  54. York, Alan (9 May 2021). "Last Of The Independents: How Pretenders Roared Back Into Battle". Dig!. Retrieved 19 May 2023.

Sources
  • Middles, Mick. The Smiths: The Complete Story. Omnibus 1985, 1988
  • Johnny Rogan. Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance. Omnibus 1992, 1993. ISBN 0-7119-3000-7)
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