Remembering Andy Rourke

“The sun also rises, and the sun goes down” - Ecclesiastes 1:5

Three years ago today (19 May 2023), Andy Rourke succumbed to pancreatic cancer.

Born Andrew Michael Rourke in Trafford on 17 January 1964, Andy grew up on the Racecourse Estate in Ashton upon Mersey, an area of Trafford that is 5 miles south of Manchester city centre. Andy’s Irish father, Michael, worked as an architect. His mother, Mary was English, making Andy the only member of the Smiths not of fully Irish descent. Andy and his three brothers were raised by their father after his mother separated from him and left the family home.

Andy 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 Wythenshawe in south Manchester. 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.

Leaving school at the age of 15, Andy worked a series of menial jobs while playing guitar and bass in various rock bands, including the short-lived funk band Freak Party with Marr. In December 1982, Marr invited Andy to participate in a recording session at Drone Studios in Chorlton, Manchester, with his new band, the Smiths, who were in need of a bassist. The rest, as they say, is history.

Andy’s bass playing on songs such as Barbarism Begins at Home, This Charming Man, The Queen Is Dead, and How Soon Is Now? was extraordinary, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest bass players of his generation. His rockabilly-inspired basslines on Rusholme Ruffians and Nowhere Fast further attest to the range and breadth of his prowess as a bassist.

When fabled session bassist Guy Pratt was drafted into rehearsals following Andy’s (brief) dismissal from the Smiths in early 1986, he arrived assuming that his involvement with the band was effectively a fait accompli. Surely a seasoned and experienced bass player such as Pratt was more than a match to the contributions of the recently fired Rourke. Pratt later wrote: “let’s face it, how many people would be bothered [by his replacing Andy]?”.

Pratt quickly realized that filling Andy’s shoes would be a formidable task - perhaps one he could not accomplish. Pratt marveled at the “sophistication” of what he was expected to learn. According to Pratt, his proverbial sigh of relief when it became apparent that Andy would be rejoining the Smiths was “almost palpable”.

After the Smiths dissolved in 1987, Andy performed on some of Morrissey’s early solo releases and even co-wrote a handful of songs with his former bandmate. Andy’s relationship with both Morrissey and Marr ended when he and Mike Joyce commenced legal proceedings against their former bandmates over royalties. Rourke settled out of court, and later rekindled his friendship with Marr.

Although best known for his work with the Smiths, Andy built a wide-ranging career beyond the band, collaborating with artists including Sinéad O’Connor, The Pretenders, Killing Joke, and Ian Brown. He later played with Freebass alongside members of Joy Division, New Order, and The Stone Roses, and joined D.A.R.K. with Dolores O’Riordan.

After moving to New York in early 2009, Rourke embraced a new chapter as a DJ and musician, later forming Blitz Vega and composing film music. In 2012, he married Francesca Mor. His final live appearance came in 2022, when he reunited onstage with Johnny Marr at Madison Square Garden.

Upon Andy’s passing, Morrissey released a statement on his former bandmate, the sentiment of which speaks for itself:

“Sometimes one of the most radical things you can do is to speak clearly. When someone dies, out come the usual blandishments … as if their death is there to be used. I’m not prepared to do this with Andy. I just hope … wherever Andy has gone … that he’s OK. He will never die as long as his music is heard. 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. He was also very, very funny and very happy, and post-Smiths, he kept a steady identity - never any manufactured moves. I suppose, at the end of it all, we hope to feel that we were valued. Andy need not worry about that.”

Marr released a touching statement describing Andy as a “beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans“. Speaking about the early days of their friendship, Marr recollected that “We were best friends, going everywhere together [...] When we were fifteen I moved into his house with him and his three brothers and I soon came to realize that my mate was one of those rare people that absolutely no one doesn’t like.”

While they would likely have achieved success with another bassist, the Smiths would have been a very different band without the involvement of Andy Rourke. The distinctive chemistry and musical magic that defined the band would have been diminished without Andy’s melodic and inventive playing.

The enduring legacy of the Smiths stands as a testament not only to Andy’s immense talent, but also to his lasting influence on modern music.

Reflecting on his career, Rourke said: “I only wanted to play music … We knew we had something special.”